alain’s dance blog

Benji Schwimmer, the winner of So You Think You Can Dance season 2, will be appearing in the upcoming movie Love N’ Dancing, about a deaf West Coast swing champion. Jordan Frisbee, Tatiana Mollmann and Heidi Groskreutz are also part of the cast.

I’d like to thank everyone involved in making Sept. 4th, 2007 a successful Cat’s Corner Facebook Day already.

Here are some of the creative things that Cat’s Corner fans have come up with:

In the comments section of this page, I’ll be linking to everyone who contributed to CCFD, including their “status update” and their “updated profile picture”.

It’s not too late to take action. Change your status, update your picture, post the Cat’s Corner video - join us in celebrating Cat’s Corner Facebook Day!

Given the traffic I’m getting on my blog from being featured in the thumbnail of the Gmail: Behind the Scenes (Final Cut), I think it’s time for me to post about why Ann and I submitted our video - and why we are so glad it was selected.

We’re in love with Lindy Hop, the original swing dance from the 1930’s and 40’s.

I discovered Lindy Hop when I started my first year at McGill University. Back then, the swing dance community in Montreal was pretty small. The Swinging Air Force had just started, Kurt and Cleo from Swing Express still taught swing, and Cat’s Corner was still looking for a home. SAF is now Studio-88-swing, Cleo is now Mlle Oui Oui Encore and teaches striptease burlesque, and Cat’s Corner is proudly in downtown Montreal.

My initial attraction was to a cute girl named Nicole dancing in front of the Arts building at Mcgill. It later become a hobby for me and Elvire, a friend from Cegep. And now, it has turned into a life’s passion.

Lindy Hop is a dance, but it is also a dance culture and community.

The dance is pure joy. Being part of the African-American vernacular dance tradition, it embodies rhythm and improvisation, and allows you the freedom to express yourself however you choose. And because Lindy Hop is a street dance, there’s no right or wrong way to dance it. You make it your own.

There’s the dance history. There is much history involving Lindy Hop and jazz music. Swing revivalists and historians alike have done much to preserve the dance history. Peter Loggins created a historical jazz dance foundation, Nick Williams and David Rehm collected vintage video clips, Margaret Batiuchok wrote her master’s thesis on the Lindy, Cynthia Millman helped Frankie Manning with his autobiography.

There’s the dance culture. In classes, dancers rotate partners. You get to meet everyone right away. And at dances, you can ask anyone to dance without fear of rejection. People do not come as couples and dance solely with a partner. Instead, everyone socializes and it’s great fun.

There’s the dance community. The Lindy Hop community is known for its warmth and openness. For some reason, there are no bad people in the dance scene. Maybe it’s natural selection at work? When I traveled to Europe last summer, Judy from London gave me the keys to her house. Sonia from Montpellier picked me up and hosted me at her apartment. Olivier from Lattes helped me out during a whole weekend workshop - I even sat down for supper with his mom and two children!

But most notable among these hospitable people during my trip were the dancers from Barcelona, who drove me across the border into Spain. They were kind enough to fit me into their itinerary and even took the time to introduce me to their nude beaches first before dropping me off. Now how cool is that?!!

In fact, in any city with a Lindy Hop scene, you will find dancers who will welcome you into their home. I’ve had great experiences in Canada (Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec city) and in the United States (Burlington VT, Rochester NY, New York City). And from friends, I’ve heard that the hospitality extends to the entire planet, from Sweden to Korea.

I’m really glad Lindy Hop made it onto the Google video so that it gets the exposure I think it deserves.

The best slow motion I’ve ever seen on a Lindy Hop video (at around 1:20 into the clip). The dancers are Nick Williams and Carla Heiney from California during the Reno Dance Sensation 2007.

Nick was the choreographer of the So You Think You Can Dance Lindy Hop routine this season for Lacey and Neil. I love his musicality. And Carla is one of my favorite dancers at Lindy Hop events. She’s so much fun to dance with! No matter what level you’re at, she’ll smile and make you feel good.