Swing and Soul 2008 Dec 12th - 14th
Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 1:44 pm
Registration is OPEN!!!!
Peter has given a quick break down of the weekend, read below!
__________________________
Hey all, Peter Strom here, wanted to make sure everyone knows about Swing & Soul this year. It's on once again in Atlanta, GA, December 12-14 so hit up the website and register asap!
http://swingandsoul.com/register.php
For those who are new to Swing & Soul or couldn't make it last year, here is a little background on the event, how it went down last year, and why we are doing it again. (for those who know about Swing & Soul, feel free to skip the following, potentially overly-sentimental paragraph - for those who want more info check out the "about" page on our website: http://swingandsoul.com/about.html)
When we first dreamed this up, we always hoped for this to be an annual event, but there is no guaranteeing that kind of thing nowadays. I think I speak for everyone when I say the event was flat out exhausting to put on. It is surprising how much of my time I spent just trying not to accidentally double-click while DJing off my laptop. But in the talk we had on Sunday afternoon, hearing peoples' stories of how they had connected to this music and how it had changed their lives, I began to have a clearer picture of what the event was. My friends who were teachers were so happy to attend an event where they could just step into the enjoyment of their own dancing, with no job to do besides getting their groove on. And my friends who just love to dance were so happy to have a whole weekend where there were no competitions, just lots of dancing and classes that were low-key and just for fun. And I heard from almost everyone I talked to that they felt less separation at Swing & Soul than they did at most big events - that dancing to this music that was so familiar and awesome, but also off the beaten path just a little bit for your average swing dancer, really put everyone on a more level playing field where people had to create a new dance every song with each new partner.
So with that being said, we are proud to invite everyone back to the ATL in 2008 for another weekend-long celebration of soul. We have a new venue, some new guests, and some new surprises, but still the same great team that brought you Swing & Soul last year. If you missed it the first time, don't miss it again, we promise that this event is going to be something special. Here is some of the cool stuff to expect at Swing & Soul this year:
Dancing Friday, Saturday, & Sunday from 8pm until the wee hours of the morning
Midnight soul food buffet on Friday & Saturday (with bomb ass fried chicken and vegetarian food too)
Amazing special guests including:
• Popin' Pete - Legendary popper from the Electric Boogaloos (google him - you will see the deal)
• Rob Bowman - Grammy award-winning author of Soulsville U.S.A. the Story of Stax Records
and back by popular demand...
• Mama Yeye - this time bringin' live (as opposed to robot) drummers for a class and performance
In addition to all of the happy fun party times we are gonna have a bunch of classes on Saturday and Sunday during the day. Here is a preliminary list of some of the classes we will be offering this year at Swing & Soul, complete with world famous dancers and instructors, and terrible puns (see if you can spot the pun!):
• Soul-o Routine with Steven Mitchell
• Hip Hop with Popin' Pete
• Party Line Dances
• Slow Dance with Steven & Tena
• African Dance with Mama Yeye (with LIVE drummers)
• Peter & Manu's Magical Mystery Ride
and...
• Several hours of Swing & Soul classes - our take on how to swing dance to this soul music
We will have talks by Rob Bowman & Popin Pete as well as performances by Popin' Pete and Mama Yeye along with some surprises that you will have to show up to enjoy. And in addition to all of the above, just like last year, we will have some of the best swing dancers in the world in attendance, ready to get their groove on all weekend.
We are really excited about some of the changes we have made this year but we expect that same good feeling to be there once again. So if you have a love of music that is full of soul then you belong at the Swing & Soul party. Get on down to Atlanta, GA: December 12-14, 2008 and let loose and satisfy your soul.
-Peter & the Swing & Soul team (Manu, Tena, & Steven)
Peter has given a quick break down of the weekend, read below!
__________________________
Hey all, Peter Strom here, wanted to make sure everyone knows about Swing & Soul this year. It's on once again in Atlanta, GA, December 12-14 so hit up the website and register asap!
http://swingandsoul.com/register.php
For those who are new to Swing & Soul or couldn't make it last year, here is a little background on the event, how it went down last year, and why we are doing it again. (for those who know about Swing & Soul, feel free to skip the following, potentially overly-sentimental paragraph - for those who want more info check out the "about" page on our website: http://swingandsoul.com/about.html)
When we first dreamed this up, we always hoped for this to be an annual event, but there is no guaranteeing that kind of thing nowadays. I think I speak for everyone when I say the event was flat out exhausting to put on. It is surprising how much of my time I spent just trying not to accidentally double-click while DJing off my laptop. But in the talk we had on Sunday afternoon, hearing peoples' stories of how they had connected to this music and how it had changed their lives, I began to have a clearer picture of what the event was. My friends who were teachers were so happy to attend an event where they could just step into the enjoyment of their own dancing, with no job to do besides getting their groove on. And my friends who just love to dance were so happy to have a whole weekend where there were no competitions, just lots of dancing and classes that were low-key and just for fun. And I heard from almost everyone I talked to that they felt less separation at Swing & Soul than they did at most big events - that dancing to this music that was so familiar and awesome, but also off the beaten path just a little bit for your average swing dancer, really put everyone on a more level playing field where people had to create a new dance every song with each new partner.
So with that being said, we are proud to invite everyone back to the ATL in 2008 for another weekend-long celebration of soul. We have a new venue, some new guests, and some new surprises, but still the same great team that brought you Swing & Soul last year. If you missed it the first time, don't miss it again, we promise that this event is going to be something special. Here is some of the cool stuff to expect at Swing & Soul this year:
Dancing Friday, Saturday, & Sunday from 8pm until the wee hours of the morning
Midnight soul food buffet on Friday & Saturday (with bomb ass fried chicken and vegetarian food too)
Amazing special guests including:
• Popin' Pete - Legendary popper from the Electric Boogaloos (google him - you will see the deal)
• Rob Bowman - Grammy award-winning author of Soulsville U.S.A. the Story of Stax Records
and back by popular demand...
• Mama Yeye - this time bringin' live (as opposed to robot) drummers for a class and performance
In addition to all of the happy fun party times we are gonna have a bunch of classes on Saturday and Sunday during the day. Here is a preliminary list of some of the classes we will be offering this year at Swing & Soul, complete with world famous dancers and instructors, and terrible puns (see if you can spot the pun!):
• Soul-o Routine with Steven Mitchell
• Hip Hop with Popin' Pete
• Party Line Dances
• Slow Dance with Steven & Tena
• African Dance with Mama Yeye (with LIVE drummers)
• Peter & Manu's Magical Mystery Ride
and...
• Several hours of Swing & Soul classes - our take on how to swing dance to this soul music
We will have talks by Rob Bowman & Popin Pete as well as performances by Popin' Pete and Mama Yeye along with some surprises that you will have to show up to enjoy. And in addition to all of the above, just like last year, we will have some of the best swing dancers in the world in attendance, ready to get their groove on all weekend.
We are really excited about some of the changes we have made this year but we expect that same good feeling to be there once again. So if you have a love of music that is full of soul then you belong at the Swing & Soul party. Get on down to Atlanta, GA: December 12-14, 2008 and let loose and satisfy your soul.
-Peter & the Swing & Soul team (Manu, Tena, & Steven)