All of us here at Lindybloggers want to wish you a wonderful holiday season!

We launched back in August and have been delighted by the support we’ve received from the community.

We look forward to a whole New Year serving you reviews, interviews and more on our favorite Lindy Hop community: Yours!

Photo by Emmanuelle Girard

Joyeuses fêtes!

Filed Under: Dance Community, Lindybloggers | Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

Coming up May 21st to the 26th, Frankie Manning’s 95th birthday celebration is being held in NYC.

This is not an event to miss with performances and tributes by top dancers from all over the world, great live music and support from the entire lindy hop community.

This celebration is not just about the 95 years Frankie has lived but also the amazing gift of dance that he helped create.  Lindy Hop has influenced so many peoples lives and this is an event of appreciation.  To show Frankie how much impact he has had on the world.

If you haven’t read Frankie’s book it is a must read for anyone who dances Lindy Hop. Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop

Thank you Frankie!

If it’s not on your calendar it should be.  May 21st - 26th, New York City.

Are you going or performing for the 95th?  Comment.

Filed Under: Dance Community, Dance History, Travel Advice, Upcoming Events | Wednesday, December 10th, 2008

Arassay Reyes and Izaak Smith performed a Punk Rock Lindy Hop choreography on So You Think You Can Dance Canada this week. The dance piece was choreographed by Benji Schwimmer, winner of season two on SYTYCD USA and champion West Coast Swing dancer.

Watch the video here:

I started a discussion in the Lindy Hop community, and so far there have been some heated reactions to this choreography. You can also view comments on the Youtube video.

My first thoughts were (1) this is not swing music (2) Benji Schwimmer is not a Lindy Hop dancer (3) why didn’t they hire a real Lindy Hopper for the choreography like they did with Nick Williams on SYTYCD USA?

(more…)

Filed Under: Dance Community, Dancer Interviews, Upcoming Events | Friday, November 21st, 2008

Joanna Lucero is a dancer and performer living Atlanta, GA.  She performed as part of a benefit gala for a local preservation society and here is her review of the event.  It is great to see these sorts of organizations keeping the dance alive and honoring old timers who helped bring us the dance. -Carl

On September 6th, I and many other Southeast lindy hoppers took part in the Atlanta Jazz Dance Preservation Society’s first annual benefit gala and performance showcase. The AJDPS is the brainchild of Atlanta lindy hoppers Michelle Postles and Nima Farsinejad.
“The Atlanta Jazz Dance Preservation Society is a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to the preservation of historic jazz dance forms of the early 1900’s through the promotion of performance, live music, dance events, educational community programs and historical archiving.” Last week’s gala honored special guest and jazz legend, Dawn Hampton.

Sosh and Joanna doing a candlestick

Each performance was preceded by a brief introduction by the evening’s MC, Jesse Gearhart, regarding the dance style to be presented, or the composer whose music we were about to hear. There were many styles of jazz dance presented; Black Bottom, 20’s Charleston, Breakaway, Tap, Blues, and of course, Lindy Hop. Some performances were tributes to some of the famed dancers of the past, such as Josephine Baker, Al Minns, Leon James, the Nicholas brothers, and Honi Coles, and some performances were recreations of vintage dance clips well known in the lindy hop community such as “After Seben”, “Day at the Races”, the “Tranky Doo”, and the “Big Apple”. Lastly, there were also many original choreographies performed.

(more…)

Filed Under: Dance Community, Event Reviews | Wednesday, September 17th, 2008

Welcome to Lindybloggers.com!

Alain and I are excited to launch at the first ILHC (International Lindy Hop Championships) this weekend in Washington, D.C.

Stay tuned for up-to-the-minute coverage of this first time event and look forward to articles, interviews and reviews.

Filed Under: Dance Community, Upcoming Events | Friday, August 22nd, 2008
Tags: dance, dc, ilhc, international lindy hop championships, lindy hop, washington