Tell Us About Your Scene

Tips and techniques of the trade

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BigCash
Posts: 34
Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2003 1:27 pm
Location: New Orleans
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#16 Post by BigCash » Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:15 pm

Ahhh.... Good ol' N'awlins. The city that care forgot.

:)

Our scene got a late start when you compare us to the rest of the nation. (Lindy hadn't really been introduced until around 2000.) Our scene is pretty small, but we make up for it with music that is second to none, (sorry Dave).

Lindy Hoppers have existed on nothing but live music since the scene began. However, the music that is provided to 'the dancers' at our regular dance venue(s) has not always been the best for lindy hopping and our dancing has stagnated because of it. (Starting in a few weeks, we'll have a weekly DJd dance however.)

We really only have one night a week of dancing right now, (Wednesdays). There are traditionally around 10-15 Lindy Hoppers in the room and 100+ EC dancers. However for large events, and workshops, we get 70+ Lindy Hoppers.

It's a bit sad, but the music that New Orleans is famous for, hardly makes it into the dance floor. Most of the music we see at our weekly venue is blues & Boogie Woogie. We're hoping the DJd dance will cure that.

Most of the lindy hoppers are found out and about in the city, dancing to live jazz in clubs with little or no dance floor in packs of 6-8 dancers.
Actively asserting my will upon others since 1970!

mousethief
Posts: 984
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 1:29 pm
Location: dfw - a wretched hive of scum & villainy

#17 Post by mousethief » Thu Nov 04, 2004 8:11 am

Dancers in packs - eww.

Kalman
"The cause of reform is hurt, not helped, when an activist makes an idiotic suggestion."

Mystere88
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2005 11:34 am

Cream City Swing

#18 Post by Mystere88 » Wed May 11, 2005 1:03 pm

From the Land of Milk and Cheese, Beer and Brats.

www.ccswing.com

It may take some by surprise, but we actually do have a Swing Scene here in the great city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and there is an interesting history of dance and jazz in this town as well.

Tuesday Nights are @ The Milwaukee Ale House - Maureen Majeski has had Swing Nights there for over 5 years, and teaches a basic 6 count Swing lesson at 8. There is open dancing from 9:15 - midnight. It is a large bar area thats cleared out for the dance night. It is full of beginners, and is a popular social event. Attendance can range from 75-150, pending the weather and the night. Its a good place to get started, and there are many regulars. It can be intimidating for the shy socialite, and often the better dancers can feel like exhibitionists.

Wednesdays - Maureen teaches 6 ct. in Waukesha (30 minute drive from Downtown) Attendance is rarely about 30 people, and no one is under 40 years of age.

University of Wisconsin had been having their swing nights, with attendance rarely getting above 30. There is typically an abundance of leads.

Thursdays - Maureen teaches somewhere, it changes. She teaches most intermediate swing and Lindy Hop. I think she maybe gets 10-15 couples.

We have a new venue that started in February, Hot Water Swing. Music by Cream City Swing, and goes from 8:30-11:30. This is a new bar with a beautiful wood floor. There's plenty of space, but feels more intimate. Attendance sits around 50-125: still erratic due to its new nature, but attracts the more advanced dancers. This is definitely our Lindy Based night, and has been a lot of fun.

Ever First Friday of the Month, Maureen sponsors a live band at the Knights of Columbus hall. Typically a solid 200+ people attend. Its a tile floor, buts its a live band, and its what we got. Maureen teaches a basic swing lesson at nearly every event she holds.

Maureen also sponsors extra dances throughout the month. Often the Second Saturday of the Month she hosts a local boogie/ blues band, and its another chance to dance to something live.

On occasion, the Ale House will have a swing, blues, or boogie band, and they do make some* room for the dancers. One can still smoke in this town, and this is a rather large bar for drinkers in mind, not dancers. I've had some great nights dancings in my 2x4 foot space. Sometimes 6 regular dancers will show, sometimes 50.

I formed my own lindy based group and held a late night dance (midnight -5am) on April 8. About 50 people came. I'm having another June 10.

We are also heading into summer, where we have dance bands play at Jazz in the Park (Thursdays 6:30 - 9), and other bands pop up here and there in public spaces throughout the summer more than in the winter.

Amazingly, we have an energetic and enthusiastic scene, and I feel like we dance to live bands much more often than appears. Compared to Madison, or Appleton, we are lucky to have our "abundance" of live music to go out to. Our scene differs in that the age of the scene is much older, about 85% is between 33-60, and those of us in our 20s are only 10-15% represented. We do have a few that did this back when.

Our geography is 90 miles away from Chicago, 80 miles from Madison, 300 from Minneapolis, and surprising 440 miles from Cleveland (but you have to get around Chicago) St. Louis is 380 miles away, and I know that Knoxville, TN is a solid 650 miles away. (Its a long drive but a fun exchange!)

I have some additional comments I want to make, but I'll have to wait for another day to post.

Naomi
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed May 11, 2005 5:45 pm
Location: Oakland

SF Bay Blues

#19 Post by Naomi » Thu May 12, 2005 12:51 pm

I guess we're pretty spoiled here in the Bay Area. There's a ton of stuff going on every night, and a plethora of instructors teaching.

http://www.lindylist.com/

And lindylist doesn't list everything.

Barbara Morrison & Houston Preston were here for the Oakland Swing Dance Festival last weekend (so was David Jacoby for that matter - great DJing at the late-night. I left over an hour later than I should have, just cause the music & dancing were so good).

On Memorial Day weekend, there's the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee. More trad Jazz oriented, but still fun.
http://www.sacjazz.com/

And we've got the San Francisco Jazz Festival, with visitors like Madeleine Peroux & the Manhattan Transfers. And a ton of non-dancable stuff.
http://www.sfjazz.org/

All in all, it's a pretty good town for music & dancing.

Oh, and we've got "The World's Greatest Record Store," Amoeba Music.
http://www.amoebamusic.com/html/modules ... me&op=home

Even with all this, it's easy to get stale, & play the same things over & over again. It's good to hear what others do.

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