SwingDJs

yeah, let's hope those mad scientists don't create the first AI DJ computer that can pass the Turing test for dancer requests! haha <below is a dramatization> DJ Shuffle: Hello, my name is Dee Jay and I am a swing DJ. dancer: hey, can you play some 'real' swing music? DJ Shuffle: I am a swing DJ. da...

Haydn wrote: P.S. What's the 'swing and soul movement'

http://swingandsoul.com/

...definitely a thread changer if you follow the path towards that discussion...

Surreal wrote:After class yesterday, I had my computer pulling random songs from the 120-150 bpm range and the song that got everyone dancing was... Sex Bomb.

this sounds like the american wedding DJ effect -- play YMCA and you'll have them at "Young man..."

It's interesting when I talk to a few of my friends that feel that we should be teaching people to foxtrot or do some sort of two step basic at a beginner level. I don't mean to misinterpret their opinions, but I think the idea is that much of the hot dance music of the past had people dancing pre-s...

I too love the old faster tunes, and choose to play them when I DJ. Depending on the crowd I might play more or less of them. For instance, at the large ballroom in town I'm more likely to play fast-ish old tunes because the atmosphere seems right, and the dancers enjoy it there. At the smaller danc...

and if it was the nudie magz?

I havn't heard a convincing argument so far on why not to (also, not exclusively) use "modern/neo-/not-really-swing stuff" as long as it is directing people towards where we want them to go to. Many of the replies were like "if you use that stuff, they'll never be able to dance to re...

Mark is awesome, that's a great quote. He is another example of a teacher that successfully uses classic music and that shows in the Seattle scene. A big factor is that he is passionate about the dance, the music and teaching. That combination is a recipe for success. If you are passionate about th...

Same holds for the clips, too. Showing people without any previous dancing knowledge Hellzapoppin doesn't work too well. To them it will just be an old movie with crazy people hopping around in an uncoordinated way (unless they've been dancing themselves a lot). At most they'll laught at it, but it...

Some people here still try to read "never ever use 30s swing for teaching". Again: Nobody said that. Just that there are some newer songs that work very well for teaching, *too* (not exclusively new stuff!). Not it! :) Though by "newer songs" I think of modern swing with swing e...

straycat, I can appreciate what you're trying to do, and I agree it's no easy thing. Starting a scene I'm sure is full of challenges, and I haven't done it myself, so I applaud your efforts. Building off of John's comment, one thing I've been doing with all my swing classes is to take the first 5-10...

Swing Heil, Whitey, Swing Heil!

Dave, I couldn't agree more. Mr e, I guess I just fundamentally disagree with your ideas about cons of playing so called "real" swing music, and the pros of playing "not-swing" or "neo-swing" in a beginning swing class. If this is a truly beginner class, they may not ev...

Dang, if only I had a few million dollars kicking around. It's also sad seeing music fans getting out of the music business. I was sad to learn that Bud's Jazz Records in Seattle closed earlier this year as well. Just like many other bricks and mortar stores with knowledgeable music fans and collec...

amen. Do your scene and your local DJs a favor and play good swing music in your classes. The music in class should always be good for dancing and teaching. Your beginners hopefully wont always be beginners, so giving them crap in their infancy is no way to raise them to be strong lindy hoppers and ...