alain’s dance blog

Some of you were surprised to discover that I paint on t-shirts - I remember now that I took down my t-shirt website a while ago. So here goes… the first in a series of handpainted t-shirts by yours truly, inspired by Lindy Hop dancers.

This one depicts the Solo Charleston dance-off at Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown 2006 between Max Pitruzzella and Sharon Davis. Max had injured his right arm, so he danced with his arm in his shirt. To me, this was a truly memorable moment. Sharon tore down the house with her gutsy performance (and yes, she won).

Can’t wait for Showdown this year. In two weeks!

The Harlem Hotshots on Sweden’s version of America’s Got Talent. The dancers are Sakarias Larsson and Frida Segerdahl, Daniel Heedman and Åsa Palm, Mattias Lundmark and Hanna Zetterman.

The “Old KFC” tag team of DJ Danny-O and superman DJ Karrwright “Ka-El” Lee fought valiantly, but in the end, the youngsters got their revenge from the previous year’s battle. Winners this year: “Nu Skool Musical Stompers” tag team of DJ Carl Nelson and DJ Alain Wong.

Here’s the list of songs played during the DJ battle on Friday September 7th, 2007 at Cat’s Corner. The format was a 4-4-2 trade-off for a total of ten songs per team (starting with the first four by the Nu Skool Stompers and ending with the last two by the Old Skoolers).

Goody Goody - Ella Fitzgerald
Blue Drag - New Orleans Jazz Vipers
Posin’ - Jimmie Lunceford
Monday Night in New Orleans - Kermit Ruffins
Shake Rattle and Roll - Big Joe Turner
Are You All Reet? - Cab Calloway
Red Light - Indigo Swing
Build Me Up - Foundations
Black And Tan Fantasy - Lincoln Center Jazz Orch w/Wynton Marsalis
Tutti Frutti - Slim Gaillard & Slam Stewart
Tuxedo Junction - Ken Johnson
Rehab - Amy Winehouse
Muddy Water - Aretha Franklin
I’ll be satisfied - Ryan Shaw
Shufflin’ And Rollin’ - Buddy Johnson And His Orchestra
Now You Has Jazz - Louis Armstrong
I Want You Back - The Jackson 5
Main Stem - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
Big Fine Girl - Jimmy Witherspoon
Natural Man - Ron Sunshine

Looking to start DJing yourself? Read this post on how to start a swing music collection. You can also check out my DJ playlists.

DJ Jesse Miner from San Francisco broadcasts a monthly podcast on swing and blues music for dancers. The current podcast was recorded live at Swing Out New Hampshire, a Lindy Hop dance camp happening on Labor Day weekend every year in Hebron, NH, and features a Top 8 song selection by SONH DJs.

I listen to these podcasts every month. They are a great way to keep up-to-date on current Lindy Hop events as well as to discover new music. The Top 8 series is my favorite feature because the music is always hot! In the past, there’s been a Top 8 Ella Fitzgerald, a Top 8 Jump Blues, a Top 8 Holiday swing songs and many more.

Download and listen to the Hey Mr. Jesse podcast on Yehoodi.

This fall, there seems to be an explosion of new weekly dance events in Montreal. So no more excuses. There’s plenty of opportunities to dance!

Here’s an update on swing dance nights in Montreal.

1. Tuesday night at Les Bobards, 4328 St-Laurent, corner Marie-Anne. Live band at 10pm. This is organized by Patrick Evans and Swing Connexion. $5 cover. Of the two dances on Tuesday, this one is more appropriate for Lindy Hop. You can read a review on Carl’s blog.
2. Tuesday night at Le Petit Medley, 6206 St-Hubert, corner Bellechasse, near Beaubien metro. $4 cover and mandatory coat check. Organized by Studio88swing. A mix of swing, blues and rock and roll.
3. Wednesday Balboa practice at Studio Metronome, 4557 St-Laurent north of Mont Royal. Organized by Sylvain Tchang, who also teaches Balboa there. I’m not sure if this is regular, so you might want to ask just to make sure.
4. Thursday West Coast swing night at Union Francaise, 429 Viger Est near Champ-de-Mars metro. Run by Studio88swing. Music by Max Pitruzella.
5. Friday Downtown Stomp at Cat’s Corner, 486 St-Catherine West suite 303. $7 cover, crash course at 8:30pm, dancing at 9:30pm. My all-time favorite night of the week.
6. Saturday at Le Jazz Hot. Live band every week. $12 cover. Run by Studio88swing.
7. Sunday Swing’n Groove at La Porte Rouge, 1834 Mont-Royal East, corner Papineau. Music by DJ Daniel “Pocail” Champagne. Free. Starts around 8:30pm. I went to the first one last week, and boy did we party! The music played is not strictly jazz - you’ll be able to break out to a mix of Motown, funk, blues and soul.

So far this fall, my top three dance nights have been on Fridays at Cat’s, then Sunday at La Porte Rouge and to round it up, Tuesday at Les Bobards. But do try out every dance and make up your own opinion.