Tonight is the celebration of the birthday of the incomparable dancer and entertainer Ms. Dawn Hampton. If you’ve never seen her, here’s a clip of Dawn dancing with her favorite dance partner John Dokes at Frankie Manning’s memorial service last year. Dawn’s birthday dance party is tonight at Club 412, 412 Eighth Avenue, 4th floor,…
Category: Dancing / Music
World of Dance Today in Brooklyn!
It's a busy Memorial Day weekend, but there was no way I was going to miss the World of Dance urban dance event today at Brooklyn Tech. It's an all-star dance lineup of performers, including: Poreotix, winners of Americas Best Dance Crew Season 5 Jungle Boogie Blueprint Cru of Montreal Static Noyze and Ryhthm City…
Memorial Weekend Swing: Dawn Hampton’s Birthday, Dedication of Frankie’s Gravestone, Vintage Beach Party!
This looks to be an incredible Memorial Day weekend for swing dancing in New York City! I've been away so I'm itching to get my lindy hop on. Among the highlights are: Saturday May 30 — Dawn Hampton's Birthday Bash: The fabulous dancer and entertainer Ms. Dawn Hampton is celebrating her birthday with a dance…
“Opus Jazz”: a ballet film with grit, sexiness and fun
My friend Mike sent me the info about a showing of the new dance film "Opus Jazz" last night at BAM. I jumped at the chance to see this loving paean to legendary American ballet choreographer Jerome Robbins, which aired on PBS a couple of months ago. Told in five acts, the film re-creates Robbin's…
Tango Series in 2010 World Press Photo Winners
Yesterday I got to see a beautiful exhibit of the winners of the 2010 World Press Photos competition, showing at the old church in central Amsterdam. The annual contest highlights the best news photography from around the world in various categories. I was astounded and moved by so many of the winning photos, which are…
Dancing with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Cheryl’s Inspiring Story (video)
I've been meaning to blog this up for awhile, but here it is. Seattle-based Lindy Hopper Cheryl Crow shares this inspiring video about her own experiences as a dancer with rheumatoid arthritis. I have several uncles and aunties who have trouble walking down the street because of various pains and disabilities. But when the music…
Balboa Demo by Laura Keat and Jeremy Otth at Frim Fram last night (video)
Here's a sweet little balboa demonstration by LA-based Laura Keat and Jeremy Otth at the Yehoodi Frim Fram Jam dance last night. I'm not much of a balboa guy, but even I have to admit this is pretty tight. [Link to original video.]
Headed to Herrang Swing Dance Camp in Sweden this Summer!
Tonight I finalized my plans to go to the Herrang International Swing Dance Camp that takes place every year in Herrang, Sweden. Every summer, hundreds of lindy hop enthusiasts from around the world converge on the remote, tiny town of Herrang for five weeks of workshops, performances, social dancing and hanging out with their peers. …
More Ridiculous Harlem Hotshots Footage (video)
In my zeal to post about the awesome hip-hop / lindy hop battle that took place last month in Sweden, I forgot to mention the other badass video clip I found on Jerry Almonte's blog: the Harlem Hotshots performing before tens of thousands of people in Stockholm! According to Jerry this was for the show…
Lindy Hop / Hip-hop “Old School” Battle in Sweden: Holy Smokes! (video)
If ever there was a dance event created just for me, it's this "old school battle" between hip-hop crew Streets R Us versus the world-famous lindy hop troupe the Harlem Hotshots that took place last month. Where did this take place… Sweden, of course. Lindy hopper Jerry Almonte turned me on to this epic dance…