swing dance

Lindy Focus 2012

I am excited to announce that I will be working at this year’s Lindy Focus Dance Camp in three capacities! First, I will be a part of the event’s DJ roster, spinning tunes in the Balboa room, now known as the Avalon Balboa Dance Party. It has been a dream of mine for years to be invited to DJ at Lindy Focus and I am excited to be invited to spin my favorite tunes (i.e. uptempo swing) for the event.

Second, I will be making an appearance as Lindy Shopper on a panel discussion during Lindy Focus’ Field Day – the discussion is titled “Scene Building in the Age of New Media” and I will be accompanied by four other esteemed panelists, including Dance World Takeover‘s Rebecca Brightly, Wandering and Pondering‘s Jerry Almonte, Mobtown Ballroom‘s Michael Seguin, and international dance instructor and swing jazz guitarist Mike Faltesek.

Finally, I’ll be singing a few tunes with the Solomon Douglas Swingtet on December 30!

Did I mention I was excited?! I mean, who isn’t excited about the opportunity to attend Lindy Focus? The cherry on my awesome LF sundae is that my husband, trombonist Lucian Cobb, will be working the event, as well, performing with Ben Polcer, Glenn Crytzer, and Solomon Douglas – huzzah!

Pure Balboa Class at The Lindy Lab, Wednesdays in October!

In preparation for the upcoming Eastern Balboa Championships, Jason Sager and I will be teaching a pure Balboa class for The Lindy Lab! Classes will run for four Wednesdays, from October 3 through October 24, 8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at Triangle Dance Studio in the Guest House (the house to the left of the main building on Miami Boulevard). Here’s the info from the Lindy Lab website:

It doesn’t look like we are moving, but I promise our feet are moving really fast!

“One of the often overlooked dances of the swing world, Pure Balboa is the original close-position-only side of Balboa and Bal-Swing. This dance originally developed in crowded dance halls where owners forbid open position dancing in order to pack in more people and make more money. More than just step step, hold, step, there is a lot of room for improvisation in Pure Bal position. And the better your Pure Bal is, the better those times in between bal-swing toss-outs and lollies will feel. Jason Sager and Laura Windley will lead class in a way that builds on principles rather than moves and gives you plenty to play with at the Eastern Balboa Championships competitions in November in Raleigh.”

Pure Balboa isn’t just for comps, it’s so easy and fun to work into your regular dancing and gives you the fundamentals that make Balboa feel so comfortable, even at faster tempos. Bring your heels and/or your leather soles and we’ll work on all that great shuffle-y, tiny footwork. 🙂

Registration is available online at Schedulicity or you can show up at the class to register. See you in October!

Swing For Scrap: A Scrap Exchange Fundraiser Dance, November 19, 2011

Can't find a good photo of the floor, but here is the lovely ceiling!

On Saturday, November 19, 2011, I will be DJ’ing at the Swing and Scrap Fundraising Dance, a DJ swing dance to benefit the Scrap Exchange. From their website: “The Scrap Exchange is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote creativity, environmental awareness, and community through reuse. We collect materials from hundreds of individuals, businesses, industries, and municipal sources and distribute those materials through our retail store in Durham, North Carolina as well as through workshops, parties, and outreach events across the Southeast.”

This dance will be held at Duke Gardens in the Doris Duke Center, which has the most beautiful inlaid wood floor in the Triangle – I’ve been dying to dance on it!

The details:

7:00 p.m. Beginner East Coast Swing lesson with Jason Sager

8:00 – 11:30 p.m. Swing dance to music provided by DJs Chris Owens and Laura Windley

Tickets are $12, or $10 for Scrap Exchange Friends Club members and also members of the Triangle Swing Dance Society, Carolina Dance Club, or the Piedmont Swing Dance Society. Tickets are available at The Scrap Exchange, 923 Franklin St., Bays 1 and 2, Durham (behind Golden Belt) or online (with a small processing surcharge) at http://swingforscrap.eventbrite.com/.

The Scrap Exchange will provide snacks and drinks, and have dance bags and other goodies for sale. Raleigh Rolfing will offer short bodywork sessions in exchange for donations.

For more information, call (919)688-6960 or email scrapdance@yahoo.com.

The Southside Stomp: Carolina Invasion with Atomic’s Trio and The Carolina Fascinators

This coming weekend I’ll be heading to Norfolk, Virginia for The Southside Stomp: Carolina Invasion swing dance on Saturday, May 21, 2011. The Atomic Rhythm All-Stars‘ trio offshoot, commonly known as George Knott’s Square Trio, will be playing the dance, with George Knott on Guitar, Mark Wells on piano, and Lucian Cobb on trombone. The Carolina Fascinators will also be debuting their new routine at this event, so this is all very exciting! Great jazz, a new performance, and a great dance hosted by Bill Speidel and Victor Celania.