Our next set of six week series classes will be starting on Sunday, August 17th. For those just starting out, we will be offering the six count Swing Dance series class. This class will start from scratch and teach you all the fundamentals of swing dancing including a whole assortment of six count moves and variations. For those looking to advance their dancing, we’ll also be offering the Intermediate Lindy Hop series class. This class will build upon the foundation of Lindy Hop and delve into more moves and styling. Each intermediate series is unique and focuses on different material and concepts each time. Be sure to reserve your spot soon!

Once again, we have been nominated in the “Best Dance Studio” category on the WESH A-List competition. Last year we made it into the “top 5″ best dance studios in Orlando… pretty good for a specialized, non-traditional “studio” like us up against traditional studios in varieties of dance disciplines.

We ask you to drop by our A-List profile and cast your vote. Voting works slightly different this year. Once you click the “vote” button, it will prompt you to create an account. Note that they used good website etiquette and the “contact me” options are unchecked so you won’t land on any lists. Once you create an account, they will send you an email to verify your account. You must click on the link in the email to cast your vote. Once you have voted and are logged in, please feel free to write a review or leave comments! Thank you!!!

…and it only took six months!

Back during the holiday season, we did an exhaustive marathon video filming session.  We recorded a total of five videos in about three to four days. Might not sound like much, but it was quite a task and quite an accomplishment to get done. Once the filming was done, the editing process began. We’ve managed to fit the editing process into our workload and have completed each instruction/review DVD right before the corresponding classes have started. This way, all of our 2008 series classes have a fresh new video to go along with them.

The Charleston class starting this week marked the last of the five DVD that needed to be edited and produced. Everything was on track… until… I realized that an entire section of material was missing. No problem… pull the original tapes and re-import… something must have been left out. But no. It wasn’t there. It was then Dawn and I both realized that in our exhaustion from the marathon film session (and Charleston being the last to get filmed), we forgot to tape an entire section. Oh crap! What to do? Well, there was no alternative… contact Mr. Spielberg, fly back out to Hollywood and refilm. So we spent Saturday in front of the camera again. We now have the material we need and the video is in the final edit process and we’ll be testing the DVD tonight. So by this weekend, we will officially have all five of the DVDs competed!

…oh and the car chase scenes turned out to be awesome!

Saturday, May 24th: For the first time ever at Whirl & Twirl, we’ll be featuring a big band! Harlem Madness is a 9-10 piece band that focuses primarily on hot jazz of the Harlem Renaissance. The band draws their inspiration and material from greats like Duke Ellington, King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Cab Calloway, Andy Kirk, Jimmie Lunceford, Fletcher Henderson, Don Redman, Paul Howard, and the Casa Loma Orchestra just to name a few. From the up tempo to soulful swingin’ slower rhythms, there is something for everyone. Certainly a night not to miss! To complete the theme of the evening, everyone who shows up dressed from the era will get a ticket for a chance to win some great prizes (including an iPod Shuffle)! Click here for more info

Starting Sunday, June 15th: The summer series class schedule has been set! In the next rotation will be the ever popular Lindy Hop Series Class. This class will take you from scratch and show you all the ins and outs of Lindy Hop. In addition, we’ll be offering the Charleston Series Class. This will start out with 20’s style partner Charleston and move into side-by-side and front-back Charleston; all the while showing you how to integrate it into your swing dancing. Both classes are open to dancers of all levels. Classes tend to fill in advance, so be sure to reserve your spot soon!

On Saturday, May 10th: Flyin’ Footwork has teamed up with DJ Natch to take you on a trip down memory lane as we track back 10 years of local history. There will be a decade’s worth of favorite swing tunes to spin for your dancing inspiration. But that’s not all… you’ll see the best (and maybe the worst) photos and videos of the last ten years projected on the big screen. Oh… and don’t miss the feature video presentation starting at 10:30.

As always, the dance starts out with a beginner swing dance lesson at 8pm. Dancing is from 9pm to midnight. All ages are welcome and admission is only $6. Click here for more information on the dance and click here for more info on the event.

Saturday, May 24th: For the first time ever at Whirl & Twirl, we’ll be featuring a big band! Echoes of the Cotton Club, the Savoy Ballroom, Roseland and Small’s Paradise. These were the clubs and dance halls where jive thrived. Now Kid Dutch presents Harlem Madness to bring it all back! Harlem Madness(tm) is a 9-11 piece band that focuses primarily on hot jazz of the Harlem Renaissance. The list of bands active in New York during this time (the 1920’s and 30’s) reads like a who’s who of jazz history and covers all regions of the country: Duke Ellington, King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Cab Calloway, Andy Kirk, Jimmie Lunceford, Fletcher Henderson, Don Redman, Paul Howard, and the Casa Loma Orchestra just to name a few. Harlem Madness draws their inspiration and material from these groups. They use original orchestrations from the period, along with period instruments and mutes. The band brings this vital and joyous part of American heritage to life for dancing and for listening audiences. From the up tempo to soulful swingin’ slower rhythms, there is something for everyone. Certainly a night not to miss! To complete the theme of the evening, everyone who shows up dressed from the era will get a ticket for a chance to win some great prizes! There will be a beginner dance lesson from 8 to 9pm with the band taking stage right after and playing all the way till midnight. Special event admission is $12.

Sunday, May 25th: The Tampa/Orlando city exchange is once again in effect for Memorial Day weekend! After the invasion of Tampa dancers on Saturday night, we encourage everyone to return the favor and head down to Zendah Grotto in Tampa for their annual 40’s style USO dance. More details are coming in on the night, but this dance is always a blast and the Swing Gang always keeps the dance floor full of energy. Keep an eye out here for more updates.

It’s not an easy task finding new dance venues as it’s often a trial and error process. Due to continued and varied problems with the Elks Lodge, we’ve decided to discontinue dances there. It’s one thing for the venue to be difficult for the event coordinators to deal with. However, it’s completely unacceptable when venue staff’s attitudes and rude behavior is directed towards our guests. We sincerely apologize to anyone who encountered this.

We would like to thank everyone who came out! While the night was short lived, the great energy and good crowd made it really fun to put on. Thank you for your support! This is just a setback, so be sure to keep an eye out here for future announcements. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing you at the 2nd & 4th Saturday dances.

In May of 1998, Jani Lane’s Sunset Strip changed names and reopened as Rat Pack’s on the Avenue, the first club in Orlando dedicated exclusively to swing dancing. Around the same time, Atlantic Dance Hall on Disney’s Boardwalk started adding swing nights. Hep cats and kittens lined the walkways in front of the clubs nightly waiting for their chance to step back in time to the swing era.

This marked the birth of the Orlando swing scene. Over the next ten years, the scene has rode the high of the swing boom as nightclubs cranked out jumpin’ tunes and survived the low as fads changed and clubs changed formats or perished. We’ve weathered the post boom and seen a renaissance as the scene underwent massive grassroots growth and expanded more than anyone could have guessed. Join us on Saturday, May 10th as we celebrate a decade of swing in Orlando!

On Saturday, May 10th: Flyin’ Footwork has teamed up with DJ Natch to take you on a trip down memory lane as we track back 10 years of local history. There will be a decade’s worth of favorite swing tunes to spin for your dancing inspiration. But that’s not all… you’ll see the best (and maybe the worst) photos and videos of the last ten years projected on the big screen. Oh… and don’t miss the feature video presentation starting at 10:30.

As always, the dance starts out with a beginner swing dance lesson at 8pm. Dancing is from 9pm to midnight. All ages are welcome and admission is only $6. Click here for more information on the dance.

August 8-10 - Orlando, FL: The Sunstate Jam is a weekend of great dancing and so much more! The goal of the event is to inspire and advance your dancing through workshops and competitions. Continuing with the traditions of the awesome Central Florida events that came before it, the Sunstate Jam will feature a host of competition divisions for dancers of all levels… amateur to advanced. In addition, there will be two full days of workshops and classes with nationally known instructors. So what are you waiting for? Set your calendars for the weekend of August 8-10 and come to the Sunstate!

The website will be online soon. Keep an eye on www.SunstateJam.com for more info.