The LXD

I've been following the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers since the teaser first dropped last year. They're not Lindy Hop, but they're well worth your time and attention.


The first teaser, Choices.
I've posted this here before.


Official trailer: Moments


The LXD perform on So You Think You Can Dance

The first point

I was working with some students after class yesterday (by the way, the class went wonderfully. One student said it changed the way that it made him think about dancing!) and I returned to a point that I remember so clearly and which has influenced the way I have taught leading and following for my entire career.

The scenario: he had some basic lindy instruction and she didn't. I asked them to dance and he tried to do the swingout, with her completely befuddled and wondering what she'd have to do the whole time.

I don't buy into the mishegos that every mistake made in dancing is the lead's fault. However, in the case that the lead isn't noticing how much his partner is struggling, this is certainly the case.

My response: F*** your training. If your partner isn't with you then you've got to find them first. Practically, it's better to just do steps in place than to do swingouts if your partner isn't ready.

Then I taught them how to make a swingout work. Of course, the first impulse was to find each other first and the second is to do something together.

Then I set them on the dance floor and as always I asked them to find some dancers they didn't know and ask them to dance too. I miss having students that need to be taught how to find dances. I think that homework is probably the most important assignment of a beginner's dancing life.

Stomp Stomp

I have absolutely no idea what this video is about, but this song has been stuck in my head all morning, so here ya go. The Wonders of YouTube!


The song is Stomp Stomp, recorded by The Cats and the Fiddle.

This evening we'll be doing some exercises exploring rhythm. Charlotte will be preparing an exercise. I have some thoughts on the subject myself and have some ideas that I'm really looking forward to exploring.

Last week we discussed accomplishments and goals. One student mentioned that they were feeling much more confident dancing with experienced dancers. Another suggested that a goal for them was to let their dancing feel less deliberate. We also discussed taking a field trip down to some farther dance venues.

I confirmed that I would be doing a lot more yoga, which is keeping in line with the commitment I made to the class last year to be more physically active in my life off the dancefloor. I'm also doing improv classes again, which is getting back to my roots. Some of my first dance instruction exercises were based very much on improvisation exercises that I did in college.

So here's to an exciting twenty-ten. I'll be posting a bit more often in the weeks to come!

Facebookery

I'm currently working on a fan page for Facebook. This is mainly so that there will be another venue through which to post updates about the class. If you're on Facebook and you're interested in becoming a fan, please click here.

I'll still be posting here, but for quick shouts, Facebook seems to be able to get a lot done.

I haven't posted anything for a while, so here's another clip of the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers!

A toast and kudos!

Before I share these clips, I'd like to mention an anecdote. I was working with one of my students a few weeks back on his swingout. He was having that normal frustration with body leads that happens before you figure out how to do it. He huffed "this is like spelling!" and explained that you had to have all the pieces in the right place. It made sense to me. It's often said that dance is a language. Even if we only count the communication between lead and follow, shouldn't it matter we take care to communicate clearly?

I've been working through The Artist's Way for a few weeks now. The author mentions that Spelling is one of the main reasons that some writers choose to give up on their art. Whatever frustrating thing comes up in the dance, the choice seems to be either to give up or to climb past the challenge. I think the most interesting folks are the ones who choose the latter!

I propose a toast: Here's to more challenges!

As an aside, I should note that this student has made some enormous strides in the past few weeks. He is starting to put it together really nicely.



From last weekend at the US Open, here are Dave Frutos and Kim Clever competing in and winning the Sophisticated Swing division. Sophisticated is an age range competition, which essentially means that both performers are between the ages of 35 and I'm guessing 50. Dave and Kim are the first ever Lindy Hoppers to win that division, so kudos to them for not only winning, but for making history!



Also making us proud were the One2Swing California Rolls. This is the routine that brought down the house twice this weekend! Congratulations to the whole team.

As far as I'm concerned, the hand dancers won the weekend. See the previous post for a little more about that. I'm gonna have to go back to the videos I picked up a few years ago.

I Want to Hand your Hold

I mentioned Hand Dancing briefly in class yesterday. It was such a brief mention I don't think anyone would remember it. Hand Dancing is an offshoot of swing dancing that's as far as I have observed completely regional to Washington, DC.

Here's an example of what has now become known as Old School Hand Dancing:


Lately Hand Dancing has taken on a lot of influence from West Coast Swing. The modern movement in Hand Dance is dancing to more modern music. Here's a bit from last year's US Open, just under a year ago:


Thoughts?

Lindy on the Rocks!

Here's footage of Peter Strom and Nina Gilkenson dancing in the invitational jack and jill at Lindy on the Rocks.