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Swing Out II
Blues is easy to play, but hard to feel.
-- Jimi Hendrix
Monday, December 28, 1998
One year ago: Reeling
The dance last night was great! The band was "Jump Up!" They played mostly jump blues (faster than optimal for lindy hopping), but they did tone it down a bit towards the end. I stayed until the last song, then came back to camp for after-hours dancing.
Unfortunately, I neglected to dose myself with cough suppressant! So when I started coughing, I came back home and read a bit, then went to sleep.
* * * * * * * *
Today was the second full day of dance classes. My first class was my favorite so far! Lennart Westerlund was a very key person in the modern revival of lindy hop. In the eighties, this young Swede saw the movie Hellzapoppin, which has scenes that record the original Savoy dancers from Harlem, Whitey's Lindy Hoppers. He was so bowled over by their skill and style that he said, "I want to do that!" He and a friend traveled to New York to search out some of the dancers that were still alive and learn from them. Now he's a noted teacher and performer, himself!
Our entire group was in the USO hall for this lindy hop class, taught by Lennart and Ulrika. I've been thinking since about what made me enjoy this class more than some of the others. I don't think it was just that the routine was similar to one I've recently learned at a Friday night practice lesson! Rather, Lennart had a very calm, clear style of teaching, and emphasized the areas of the dance that I like to pay attention to, like smooth leading and being with the music.
The second lesson of the day was back out at the fairgrounds. Chazz Young is Frankie Manning's son, and a jazz dancer in his own right. I was only able to stay for part of this class, but I liked the part I learned! We got some simple jazz steps.
* * * * * * * *
The reason I left class early -- I'd volunteered to work a lunch shift at the camp store, selling t-shirts, videos, and CDs. The camp t-shirts sold out during lunch today, but I was able to snag one for myself. If I'd known they were in such short supply, I'd have bought one sooner!
I'm glad I don't work in retail. Telling people the same thing over and over ("These are all the shirts we have left. No, we don't have any in the back. No, you can't grab one and pay us later; we need the money before you leave with the shirt.") can be rather tedious, and I don't know if I'd be able to stay my cheery self.
* * * * * * * *
The last class I took today went by the name "Blues", but it's really grinding or dirty dancing! Steven Mitchell and Louise Thwaite taught all of level 2 and level 4 how to get up close and personal with a partner. It's an interesting paradox, even more with this sort of dancing than with regular lindy hop: at the same time, the instructors tell us "This dance is all about improvisation," and "Do this routine, this way." I did better with some partners than with others. I think I'd need a regular series of lessons in this area to feel confident in it.
I skipped the last regular class of the day, and the optional late-afternoon class, too, because I wanted to get to the internet cafe and get online! The hours of the place are rather limited. I felt happy after handling email (good thing I unsubscribed from several mailing lists while I'm out of town!) and updating my journal. I didn't have time to read any journals, though!
* * * * * * * *
The first part of this evening's entertainment was clips of lindy hop and tap, shown in the camp theater (on projection TV, not film). This was great! The volunteer in charge of this project had put lots of thought, time and money into finding cool dancing and jazz in movies, along with some interviews and archival footage. I was especially surprised by the Berry Brothers, a trio from the forties. Amazing energy and skill! I'd seen most of the other performers somewhere along the way, but I'd never heard of this act! Too bad this compilation video can't be made available for purchase (for copyright reasons). I might buy some of the movies that the clips came from, sometime!
At the after-hours dance, I pursued my objective of dancing with new partners, but I did dance with a few familiar friends as well. When I was sitting out one dance, I looked at the full floor and noted that there were only four or five leads that were both new to me and that I hadn't danced with tonight.
A note of thanks to Paul Franklin. He lent me his laptop computer so that I could do some journal writing at camp, rather than composing at the internet cafe.
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