During the Century Masters event in Seattle this summer, a group of Lindy Hoppers paid tribute to the Harlem Congaroos by recreating two 1940s clips in front of many jazz dance greats. The dancers are Mike Faltesek and Casey Schneider, Stefan Durham and Bethany Powell.
You can watch the original Killer Diller clip here.
Camp Jitterbug is a weekend long event in Seattle Washington featuring amazing teachers, workshops and competitions. This year’s DVD trailer just came out.
Last year, I helped some b-girl friends with their latest show, a fusion of break and swing.
I met Jodee Allen, co-owner of the dance company, a few years back when I volunteered for the Inner City Dance Project. We both gave of our time to provide young children with affordable $1 dance classes. Unfortunately, the project fell through. But we have stayed friends ever since. So when they pitched me their idea of creating a fusion of two street dances, I jumped on right away. And the result is amazing.
Why don’t people dance in couples anymore?
They premiered “Take It Back” at Espace Tangente last October, to a string of sold-out crowds. It got rave reviews in all the major newspapers. I was even wrongly credited for composing the musical score in La Presse. Here’s the official blurb about the concept.
TAKE IT BACK
With “Take it Back”, Solid State asks the question, ” Why don’t we dance in couples anymore?” It comes down to the idea that someone must lead and the other must follow. The popularization among urban youth of dancing in mass groups or the soloing format of street forms has created an environment where we dance how we want. Everyone is a leader. Who is willing to follow? So where did the role of the follower go? In an attempt to create a social partner dance for our generation, Solid State has paired the high physicality of B-boying (Breakdance) with the partnering structures of Lindy Hop (Swing) and the gestural abstractions of Contemporary Dance. The result of this fusion is a humourous yet profound look at our societal issues with trust, and the shift in our perception of gender roles.
Check out this article in the Montreal Mirror. Or these reviews in The Dance Current.
Their next performance is this weekend in Toronto, so if you have friends over in Hogtown, spread the word. If you’re in Montreal, you can catch “Take It Back” next month. The dancers are JoDee Allen (b-girl Feisty), Helen Simard (b-girl Cheeco), Raul Guevara (b-boy 4Everfresh), Joe Danny Aurelien (b-boy Dingo), Johnny Bien-Aime (b-boy Skywalker).
Watch them dance at the Osheaga music festival last year in Montreal.
For more info, visit Solid State Break Dance.
Yesterday I stopped at one of the many second-hand music shops in Montreal. L’Échange on St-Denis near Des Pins had some pretty good finds. There was a Sidney Bechet 2CD import for $14 with some of my favorite tunes like “Shake it or break it” and “Viper Mad”. There was also an Ella Fitzgerald CD for $7 with the hand-clapping version of “Goody Goody” (25/2/1952).
L’Échange St-Denis, 3694 rue Saint-Denis, Montréal, QC H2X 3L7 Tél.: (514) 849-1913
Here are a few other choice second-hand spots in Montreal to shop around for jazz music.
I’ll admit that for DJ-ing, you can be pretty picky about the albums you buy, especially when you are on a budget. So if you’re looking for specific CDs, don’t forget online retailers for used CDs - Ebay, Amazon and Gemm. However if you like to explore music by artist, it’s much more fun to dig in and get your hands dirty rummaging through those used record shops.
It’s pretty much a treasure hunt. You’ll get frustrated a lot, but finding the occasional gem will make it all worthwhile!
I was shocked to find out that Luciana Pavarotti passed away today. Although I’ve never been a big fan of opera, he had a truly moving voice. Watch him perform Nessun Dorma in Paris.
Here’s another performance of Nessun Dorma by Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts. Check it out as well - his performance brought tears to my eyes.
On May 31st, 2008, I'm biking 3000 km from Vancouver to Mexico to raise money for micro-credit - small loans that change lives.
