Take your Lindy Hop to the next level with our Lindy 2 Series Class. This class is designed for anyone who has taken our Lindy Series class or who knows the Lindy 8 count basic and the Lindy Circle. You don’t have to be great at either one (that’s what Lindy 2 will do for you), you just have to know them. Learn new moves that will tighten up your connection and expand your move repertoire. Plus, learn how to dance to faster music without killing yourself (or your partner)!

If you’ve never dance before and want to learn, the Swing Dance Series Class is for you! Both classes start on April 11th with Lindy 2 at 2:30pm – 4pm and Swing Dance following from 4pm – 5:30pm. Each class has an hour of group instruction followed by a 30 min. practice period where we go around and help you one on one

After hosting events for upwards of a decade, I can honestly say one thing: Nothing ever runs smoothly. For every event you attend that appears to run like clockwork, there is at least one somebody behind the scenes ripping their hair out. From sound system glitches, to weather problems… restroom “malfunctions”, to miscommunications with staff and venues. You are always fighting a battle with something that threatens to disrupt the event or worse… bring it to a grinding halt.

When I got the message on my phone Saturday from Maria saying there was a double booking for the night and the dance had to be cancelled at the last minute, I could feel her pain. It’s an event organizer’s worst nightmare. What do you do? The only thing you can. You extend an apology, offer to make things right with your audience, and move on. It seems most people I’ve talked to have been very understanding about this glitch. We hope you will be to. If you can, rally the troops and we’ll see you at the next dance on March 13th.

So Maria doesn’t feel so bad… here are a few memorable event glitches that Dawn and I have gone through:

Weather: Yes, we’ve had to cancel a dance at the last minute too. In 2004, Hurricane Charlie was bearing down on Central Florida. Leading up to the weekend, the storm wasn’t supposed to hit Orlando. It wasn’t until Friday afternoon that it changed course leading to a direct hit Friday night. After weathering the storm and accessing the damage at our own house, it suddenly hit us… what about the dance? We made a hair-raising drive across Orlando (with no working stop lights) to check out the situation at the venue. The venue was okay, but there was no power and there was at tree down in the parking lot. We decided to cancel the event. However, since we had no power ourselves and the cell phone network was intermittent at best, we had no way of letting anyone know. The best we could do is post a hand written sign on the venue door. To this day, we have only met two people who ever saw that sign.

Power: I’ve encountered a lot of technical glitches. From missing adaptors to the blue screen of death (why do you think I DJ with a Mac now?), however, there is one technical problem that is almost impossible to overcome… loss of power. One night power to the venue suddenly cut out due to some mild weather overhead. I mean, what do you do? Whistle and hum? How do you prevent something like this? Most portable UPS units will only last for few minutes. Even then, what about lights? Fortunately, the power came back on a few minutes later. Over the course of the night, this happened twice. Five minutes after the dance was over, the power blinked out and stayed out. We had to break down and clean up by pointing our car headlights in the front door.

Venues: There are a few factors in event planning that are out of your control. The venue is one of them and the one that leads to the most issues. Sure, you try to prevent problems by securing contracts, but even then, there are no guarantees. I don’t think I have ever worked with a venue that didn’t have one issue or another over the course of holding events there. As an event coordinator, this one constantly looms over you. From the A/C units undergoing “schedule maintenance” on the night of your event to last minute schedule changes and cancellations, I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times we’ve had to make emergency adjustments due to an issue related to the venue. One venue suddenly changed their close time and informed us during the dance. Another promised to provide food and drink for a special event and reneged the day of the event. The worst? One venue cancelled our booking at the last minute because they had an offer for more money… yes, they even admitted that. Obviously, that ended any future business they got from us.

So in the scheme of things, an over 8 year run at a good quality venue with only one scheduling glitch is pretty darn good! And to Maria… it happens!

Happy Birthday Dawn! Feel free to leave a comment with birthday wishes!

That’s right, the next Sunday class in the 4pm time slot is the Swing Dance series class that starts in April. This is the ideal class if you have never danced before, or need to freshen up your 6 count swing basic or moves. The class is structured in a way that is very easy to follow with clear, concise communication in a relaxed and casual atmosphere.

This six-week class is designed to give you all the fundamentals of swing dancing, plus some great moves and variations. We will cover the 6-count swing dance basic and progress into a variety of moves, turns, and combos. The goal of this course is to make you a strong dancer that is knowledgeable and feels confident on the dance floor. Click here for more information.

Only a little over 24 hours are left to sign up for the Balboa Series Class or the Lindy Hop Series Class and get the early registration rate of $60/person. All of the follow spots are full, but there is still room for guys and couples to sign up. There is also a waiting list for follows in case a registered follow cannot take the class. Just email us any names that you would like us to place on the list.

The Balboa class start at 2:30pm – 4pm and the Lindy Hop class starts at 4pm – 5:30pm. Each class will build upon information from the previous class to continuously further your knowledge week by week. Classes will be an hour long followed by a half hour of practice, questions, and individual help. Previous dance experience is helpful, but not required. No partner needed; individuals and couples welcome! Class size is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot soon!

A little inspiration from the 1943 short “Maharaja”.

Dancers: Hal & Betty Takier

Who knew that being a dance instructor could be so dangerous? Just look at what this Wisconsin dance teacher went through.

A Baraboo man was accused of repeatedly shocking a male dance instructor with a stun gun, claiming the instructor was a “sinner” who “defiles married women.” A Dane County prosecutor said the suspect, 59, hastily arranged a dance lesson at the instructor’s Madison home and showed up with a stun gun and sledgehammer last Friday. The criminal complaint said the man told a detective that his church does not condone touching while dancing and that he was going to scare the instructor “and tell him to leave the women alone.”

Read the full story.

Wow… and ouch!

Partner dancing can be a touchy subject in some religions. In fact, there are many in my own faith that disapprove of dancing. However, over the years, I have seen attitudes change and norms relax as more people see there is a difference between social dancing and… um… things that should be left behind closed doors.

Thanks George for sending this link along!

Our friend Shelley sent us a video that has been floating around in email. It’s of Eleanor Powell & Fred Astaire dancing. The email says:

A bit of history:

It seems as if Eleanor Powell was just too good for Fred Astaire, as he never wanted to be paired with her again.

He evidently was played down by her, but they were both great, and the likes of this will never be seen again.

The year: 1940 (69 years ago).   The narrator is Frank Sinatra.

It was filmed in ONE unedited camera shot.  Amazing!

It is considered by many as one of the best dance scenes ever filmed

Personally, I tend to like this clip from the same 1940 film (Broadway Melody):

That’s right, our next two series classes are now open for registration. First up we have the Balboa Series Class starting on Feb. 21st at 2:30pm. The Balboa is a 1930’s era dance from Southern California that is the perfect dance to both look and dance smooth from slow to fast tempos. The class will start out with the basic footwork, connection, and fundamentals of the dance. It will then progress into turns, moves, and the basic styling points of Balboa. Starting on the same day, but in the 4pm time slot, we will be offering our Lindy Hop Series Class. Come learn the original form of swing, the Lindy Hop. The six-week series will cover all the essential moves and variations of Lindy Hop with the 6 count basic and moves the first 3 weeks, then the 8 count basic (whip/swing out) and moves the last 3 weeks. This is a great class to take your dancing to the next level and really expand your dance repertoire!

Each class will build upon information from the previous class to continuously further your knowledge week by week. Classes will be an hour long followed by a half hour of practice, questions, and individual help. Previous dance experience is helpful, but not required. No partner needed; individuals and couples welcome! Class size is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot soon!

Many people’s resolutions this year includes getting fit and shedding some unwanted pounds. Rob and I are no different in this area. We too are suffering from the result of too much “joy” and “holiday cheer” enjoyed this past Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday. Aside from our clothes fitting a bit tighter than normal, our lowered fitness level became all too obvious to us when we danced a mid-tempo Collegiate Shag at this past Saturday’s dance.

While many people will be hitting a local gym to work off the extra weight, we are going to incorporate dancing into our weight loss plan (along with eating better). Even done without a partner, Collegiate Shag and Charleston make great dances to get the heart pumping. Moving your body to music you enjoy also makes getting the 30 minutes per day of suggested cardiovascular exercise easier and more fun. Not to mention all that practice will surely show on the dance floor with smoother, more relaxed footwork and body movement. Just remember to stretch your leg muscles before and after dancing to prevent any injuries and stay hydrated.

Don’t forget that our series classes are a great way to get a guaranteed 1.5 hours of movement per week while meeting other great people looking to learn dancing, move their bodies, and/or do something new. The 2nd and 4th Saturday swing dances at Whirl and Twirl are additional opportunities to get moving, hear great music, and have fun.

So no matter how you plan to drop those unwanted pounds, here’s to a slimmer, fitter, 2010