Last Thursday was the Austin Swing Syndicate's 10th Anniversary bash. It was a fabulous night of wonderful live music by the Syndicate All-star Band, including such awesome local musicians as Jonathan Doyle, JD Pendley, Ryan Gould, Mark Gonzales, Emily Gimble, Donna Hightower, and Erik Hokkanen. I'm missing a couple names in there, so if you know the piano, cornet and drummer's names, feel free to leave them in the comments. Anyways, the All-star Band was fantastic, playing a lot of mid-tempo, hard-swinging standards that kept the entire floor packed all night long! In particular, I absolutely loved that JD played straight rhythm guitar. Having that hard swinging guitar really brings the band together and makes me need to move.
We also got to hear and see a bit of the history surrounding the Syndicate's creation. Burke McRae and Amanda Matthews, the main founders, were in attendance. Amanda received one of this year's Syndie's, a golden ticket that allows her the privilege of never again having to pay cover or membership dues. Burke received his a few years ago. The other Syndie went to lindy-lifer Colin "Reverend Shadyglenn" Wise. Colin, a lawyer, helped draft the Syndicate's original by-laws and has been dancing, DJing or helping out at the Fed almost every single Thursday for the last 10 years! It was awesome to see them honored. It ended with a huge snowball/jam with all the board members over the years and those that were dancing back in the beginning.
Tony Spielberg took a ton of pictures, and hopefully they'll be online sometime soon. I'll make sure to add a link to them at the end of this post when that happens.
For the occasion, Laura and I put together a couple performances that we put on right after the Birthday Jam. We did our new Lindy Routine and got a few people together do the Tranky Doo. Thanks to Tony for posting those videos on Vimeo.
Here's to another 10 years of Lindy Hop in Austin!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Overwhelming and Amazing: A Review of the Frankie95 Celebration.
Frankie Manning, the single most influential force in Lindy Hop. It's no surprise that about 2000 Lindy Hoppers from around the world converged on New York over Memorial weekend to honor his passing and celebrate his Spirit. The Spirit of Frankie Manning was indeed present as those 2000 dancers pulsed on the enormous dance floor of the Hammerstein Ballroom in the Manhattan Center. Every where you looked dancers smiled and bounced around until they kicked everyone out in the wee hours of the morning. Frankie95 was the largest and most important Lindy Hop event to date.
My absolute favorite aspect of Frankie95 was the Spirit of Frankie. Everyone at the Event was filled with the Spirit of Frankie. Throughout the 5 nights, everyone carried with them a Warmth, a sense of belonging to something greater. It was a fantastic feeling. Even with several noticeable hiccups over the weekend, everyone stayed excited and supportive.
That excitement was fueled in part by the amazing Performances each night, culminating in a Big Show Sunday night. Dancers from all over the world performed Jazz, Tap, Charleston, and Lindy Hop in a Variety of Forms. There were Vintage recreations, new routines inspired the past, and plenty of tributes to the Man, Frankie Manning. In the Sunday show, they recreated Hellzapoppin'! Sadly, that won't be appearing on Youtube. Performers throughout the weekend included: The Harlem Hotshots, The Silver Shadows, The Ninjammerz, and many others. Here's a few of the most notable nightly performances.
A Recreation of The Berry Brothers' Facinating Rhythm by the Killer Dillers:
A Tribute to Frankie Manning by the Silver Shadows:
The use of the spotlight was brilliant!
A Super Fast Routine, Jitters by the Ninjammerz:
The Harlem Hot Shots performed many times, but my favorite was this weird one:
Since this review is starting to get really long I'll only talk about one last thing, the crazy competitions. The two competitions of the weekend were the Hellzapoppin' Lindy Hop contest, and the World's Largest Jack and Jill competition. The Hellzapoppin' contest pitted some of the best dancers in the world against each other in a no holds barred throw down! Ok, it wasn't the craziest thing ever, but it was pretty awesome. Scott recently posted the finals, but here it is again:
If you look closely at the 4th couple, you'll see yours truly dancing with Laura! I still don't know how we made finals, but we did and it was super fun. The World's Largest Jack and Jill had somewhere around 500 dancers enter! In the end it boiled down to just 7 couples. And again, Laura and I somehow made it to the finals, and Laura was even in the top 3! It was judged by Audience applause. Take a look:
That's it for now! Look out for further installments with details on the Comps, Performances and anything else I can think of!
My absolute favorite aspect of Frankie95 was the Spirit of Frankie. Everyone at the Event was filled with the Spirit of Frankie. Throughout the 5 nights, everyone carried with them a Warmth, a sense of belonging to something greater. It was a fantastic feeling. Even with several noticeable hiccups over the weekend, everyone stayed excited and supportive.
That excitement was fueled in part by the amazing Performances each night, culminating in a Big Show Sunday night. Dancers from all over the world performed Jazz, Tap, Charleston, and Lindy Hop in a Variety of Forms. There were Vintage recreations, new routines inspired the past, and plenty of tributes to the Man, Frankie Manning. In the Sunday show, they recreated Hellzapoppin'! Sadly, that won't be appearing on Youtube. Performers throughout the weekend included: The Harlem Hotshots, The Silver Shadows, The Ninjammerz, and many others. Here's a few of the most notable nightly performances.
A Recreation of The Berry Brothers' Facinating Rhythm by the Killer Dillers:
A Tribute to Frankie Manning by the Silver Shadows:
The use of the spotlight was brilliant!
A Super Fast Routine, Jitters by the Ninjammerz:
The Harlem Hot Shots performed many times, but my favorite was this weird one:
Since this review is starting to get really long I'll only talk about one last thing, the crazy competitions. The two competitions of the weekend were the Hellzapoppin' Lindy Hop contest, and the World's Largest Jack and Jill competition. The Hellzapoppin' contest pitted some of the best dancers in the world against each other in a no holds barred throw down! Ok, it wasn't the craziest thing ever, but it was pretty awesome. Scott recently posted the finals, but here it is again:
If you look closely at the 4th couple, you'll see yours truly dancing with Laura! I still don't know how we made finals, but we did and it was super fun. The World's Largest Jack and Jill had somewhere around 500 dancers enter! In the end it boiled down to just 7 couples. And again, Laura and I somehow made it to the finals, and Laura was even in the top 3! It was judged by Audience applause. Take a look:
That's it for now! Look out for further installments with details on the Comps, Performances and anything else I can think of!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Congrats to Mike and Laura!
The Lindy Project's very own Mike and Laura made it to the finals of one of the biggest lindy hop competitions since the 1940s!
They are the 4th couple.
They are the 4th couple.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Frankie's event and documentary
A bunch of people from Austin just went and attended the HUGE event for Frankie's 95th birthday. I believe there were close to 2,000 people there... and it has to be one of the largest lindy hop events ever. As we talked about before, Frankie passed away a few weeks before his 95th birthday. So the event became a celebration of his life / memorial.
Mike Roberts attended the event and will be giving us a review and his experience there.
Also, there is a documentary about Frankie here... which... is... awesome: http://www.thirteen.org/sundayarts/frankie-manning-never-stop-swinging/291
Lastly, let's take a minute and watch one of Frankie's finest works: Hellzapoppin'. He is the dancer in the overalls... the fourth couple. You can see where he got the nickname "musclehead".
Mike Roberts attended the event and will be giving us a review and his experience there.
Also, there is a documentary about Frankie here... which... is... awesome: http://www.thirteen.org/sundayarts/frankie-manning-never-stop-swinging/291
Lastly, let's take a minute and watch one of Frankie's finest works: Hellzapoppin'. He is the dancer in the overalls... the fourth couple. You can see where he got the nickname "musclehead".
June classes at Tapestry and Uptown
The Lindy Project's June classes are starting up next week! Be sure to come out to continue your lindy hop education and enhance your dance moves with professional training.
June @ Tapestry on Wednesdays (6/3, 6/10, 6/17, /6/24)
Level I @ 7:30 - [A] Swing & Charleston w/ Mike & Maya
Level II @ 8:45 - [C] Lindy & Tandem w/ Thain & Karri
Level III @ 7:30 - [D] Charleston Expanded w/ Jonathan & Laura
Level IV @ 8:45 - Frankie Manning Moves* w/ Mike & Laura
* Learn the moves that inspired Lindy Hoppers for generations! Also adapted for follow styling.
June @ Uptown on Mondays (6/1, 6/8, 6/15, 6/22)
Level I @ 7:30 - [B] Lindy Hop w/ Scott & Vanessa
Level II @ 8:30 - [A] Lindy & Swing Charleston w/ Scott & Vanessa
Check out our classes page for the full schedule and class descriptions.
June @ Tapestry on Wednesdays (6/3, 6/10, 6/17, /6/24)
Level I @ 7:30 - [A] Swing & Charleston w/ Mike & Maya
Level II @ 8:45 - [C] Lindy & Tandem w/ Thain & Karri
Level III @ 7:30 - [D] Charleston Expanded w/ Jonathan & Laura
Level IV @ 8:45 - Frankie Manning Moves* w/ Mike & Laura
* Learn the moves that inspired Lindy Hoppers for generations! Also adapted for follow styling.
June @ Uptown on Mondays (6/1, 6/8, 6/15, 6/22)
Level I @ 7:30 - [B] Lindy Hop w/ Scott & Vanessa
Level II @ 8:30 - [A] Lindy & Swing Charleston w/ Scott & Vanessa
Check out our classes page for the full schedule and class descriptions.
TLP Outing: May 28th
Come join us at the Syndicate's weekly dance at the Fed at 8:30pm this Thursday, May 28th. The basic gist is for all of us to get together to dance, practice, and for us to be around to dance with you guys and answer any questions you might have. But beyond that, we want to get to know you guys outside of the classroom.
Here is some more info about the dance:
The Syndicate (Austin Swing Syndicate) is a non-profit group that throws weekly dances - in fact the Thursday night dance is one of the largest weekly events in the country. Especially impressive since Austin is much smaller than places like NY and LA. The Thursday night dance is at the Fed, on 24th and San Gabriel, and you can park across the street at the Freewheelin' parking lot. It just costs $5 to get into the dance, or if you become a member it's just $2.
Also, this is a great chance for your friends to come out and try swing dancing - there is a FREE beginner lesson from 8:15-9:15. You can drive together!
Next month's outing is going to be at the Engine Room, on June 20th!
Here is some more info about the dance:
The Syndicate (Austin Swing Syndicate) is a non-profit group that throws weekly dances - in fact the Thursday night dance is one of the largest weekly events in the country. Especially impressive since Austin is much smaller than places like NY and LA. The Thursday night dance is at the Fed, on 24th and San Gabriel, and you can park across the street at the Freewheelin' parking lot. It just costs $5 to get into the dance, or if you become a member it's just $2.
Also, this is a great chance for your friends to come out and try swing dancing - there is a FREE beginner lesson from 8:15-9:15. You can drive together!
Next month's outing is going to be at the Engine Room, on June 20th!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Frankie's memorial and New Orleans-style processional
Read about Frankie's memorial in this NY Times Article.
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