I'm so excited to share the news that I will be traveling in South Africa from March 17 to April 3! My friend Hanah and I are headed for a fantastic African adventure, including a four day safari, a week in Capetown, and a lindy hop dance camp! One of the main reasons for our…
What I’m Good At: Listening, Questioning, Focusing…
I've been thinking about the things that I think I excel at. I don't mean specific skills or talents, like dancing or public speaking, although that is certainly important. I am thinking more about broad buckets of strengths that I have. Here's what I've come up with so far. Active Listening I'm a good listener….
Lip J Waacking to “That Man” by Caro Emerald
Check this awesome waacking performance by Lip J of Korea to a fun electro-swing song. Great musicality, energy and movement! Ibuki has more powerful, aggressive movement and dynamism. But Lip J, in my opinion, has more beautiful expression and lines. Track is "That Man" by Caro Emerald. Other sick videos of Lip J.
SwingNation #81: Dealing with Sexual Assault and Rape Culture in the Lindy Hop Community
My friends Manu and Nicole take on the difficult and painful subjects of sexual assault and rape culture in the lindy hop community. One of the most important episodes of SwingNation. Trigger Warning: This video contains images of alleged rapists Steven Mitchell and Max Pitruzella.
Celebrating a Swing Icon and Pastry Bingeing in NYC
This week, I had the pleasure of visiting New York for a happy and sad occasion, a celebration of the life of Dawn Hampton, an icon in the lindy hop community who passed away late last year. I always love being in New York, a place that still has my heart, despite being away for six years…
Japanese-Americans Swing Dancing at Internment Camp
This photo gives me all sorts of feelings as an Asian-american. There was a time – not very long ago– when people who looked a lot like me were judged as being a threat to the state by the very nature of their race and ancestry, rather than their deeds. They may have immigrated here and…
Hidden Figures: The Liberal, Feel-good (Mostly) True Story that We All Need Right Now
Here's the thing about the new film "Hidden Figures." It's a bald-faced, liberal-agenda, Hollywood-ized, fictionalized, feel-good fly-over of a complicated and painful era in our nation's history. It has some of the most ham-fisted lines ever like, "Here we are, three Negro women in 1961 chasing a white police officer down the road…." And yet,…
Maison Bleue: Yummy New Bistro and Creperie in Berkeley!
My brother-in-law Fadh and his partner have just opened Maison Bleue, a new French bistro / creperie in downtown Berkeley that I am super excited about. Located just a couple of blocks from the Downtown Berkeley BART station on Kittredge, Maison Bleue looks like a nice addition to the neighborhood. They specialize in both savory…
Rob C’s Definitive Guide to Identifying Street Dances During a Cypher / Battle
From my boy (and dope Chicago Footwork dancer) Rob C. A GUIDE TO IDENTIFYING STREET DANCE FOR NON-DANCERS DURING A CYPHER/BATTLE If that dancer in the battle has been spinning on any appendage for over a minute irregardless of what is happening in the song: B-Boying/B-Girling If that dancer is flapping their arms repeatedly…
A Message from Michael and Jaya: Decorate Time and Space with Art
Photo Credit: Bobby Bonsey photography Page one of the program for the Lindy Focus 2016 swing festival is a welcome letter from the organizers Michael and Jaya to the participants. Most people I'm sure skipped right through it to get to the schedule and other logistical information. That would be a mistake. I was reading it on the…