Friday, February 26, 2010

Swing the wing and whip the hip!

The title to this post is a quote from The Groovie Movie, which is one of the shorts that Los Angeles dancers found inspiration in during the late 90s. The quote refers to Jean Veloz' hip action during her swivels. Since one of the topics we covered last night was swiveling, and since I asked the follows to watch for examples of swivels, you should check that video as well. The Groovie Movie can be found elsewhere in this blog, if you'll just click on the tag marked "Groovie Movie" you'll find it.

We mentioned a few names to check out on YouTube. I don't have time to post links of them all. Alice P. will probably be happy to do that over on Rantings of a Lindy Hopper. At the moment I have time to post one clip, which features the hips of Jewel McGowan, possibly Dean Collins' most watched partner. Dean Collins is often credited with bringing Lindy Hop from the Savoy Ballroom to Los Angeles. Whether or not this is strictly true, it can't be denied that he's a very important figure in the Southern California Lindy Hop world, and a pivotal figure in the evolution of Swing Dancing. Jewel McGowan was his partner for quite a while, appearing with him in several movies. The clip below is from Buck Privates, featuring Abbot and Costello.



You'll see Dean and Jewel doing their thing around (1:36), but overall this clip has been a pretty influential one.

While we're on the subject of swivels, we are asking for the follows to check youtube for the following names: Nina Gilkenson, Frida Segerdahl, Freda Angela, Jean Veloz, Sylvia Skylar... There are probably so many names to mention. Follows, your work is ahead of you!

Any regular posters have suggestion on dancers to watch? That goes for Leads and Follows. Who would you recommend watching for pure style?

1 comment:

  1. I shall be posting a compilation of swivel-y videos on Monday along with a more in depth elaboration of things I said in class! Sorry it's taken me so long!

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