SwingCity Melbourne (Nov 24 - Dec 1, 2004)

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Zot
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SwingCity Melbourne (Nov 24 - Dec 1, 2004)

#1 Post by Zot » Mon Jun 21, 2004 12:32 am

YOU ARE INVITED TO SWINGCITY MELBOURNE
Nov 24 - Dec 1, 2004
http://www.swingcitymelbourne.com/

SwingCity is one of the world's foremost international swing music and
dance events, previously hosted in Zurich 2001, Stockholm 2002, and New
York City 2003. Previous festivals have attracted major performers and
have included world class swing dance workshops and public events.

This year SwingCity will be in the Southern Hemisphere for the first
time ever, being held in Australia's undisputed swing music and dance
capital: Melbourne. The festival will include the Hellzapoppin' World
Championships, and will be operated in conjunction with the popular and
highly successful annual Melbourne Lindy Exchange, which attracts
hundreds of swing dancers from all parts of the country and overseas
every year.


SWINGCITY MELBOURNE EVENTS

SwingCity Melbourne will include a packed program of swing music and
dance events from 24 Nov to 1 Dec, the likes of which has never before
been seen in Australia. Highlights of the program include:
* Live performances by jazz legend Barbara Morrison (USA)
* The Hellzapoppin' World Championship Lindy Hop Final
* Performances by local swing bands, both big and small
* Lindy Hop dance workshops from internationally renowned teachers
* Internationally recognised Swing DJs, including Manu Smith (USA),
Bill Borgida (USA), and Matt Riddle (Aus)
* Late night dancing in some of Melbourne's best dance venues
* And much, much more
The full program will be published on the website soon.


SWINGCITY TEACHERS

SwingCity Melbourne (MLX 2004) will include an outstanding series of
Lindy Hop swing dance workshops from some of the finest instructors in
the world today. Rob & Diane Van Haaren (USA), Catrine Ljunggren &
Elliott Donnelly (Sweden/USA), Bill Borgida & Julee Mertz (USA), and
Manu Smith & Ria DeBiase (USA) will all be teaching classes at SwingCity
Melbourne.

More info:
http://www.swingcitymelbourne.com/teachers/


HELLZAPOPPIN' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Hellzapoppin' World Championships will this year be held in
Melbourne, Australia to coincide with SwingCity Melbourne. This is the
very same contest that has been run for the past two years at the Harlem
Jazz Dance Festival 2002 & SwingCity 2003 in New York City. Other
national Hellzapoppin' contests leading up to SwingCity are also
planned, so watch out for information about a Hellzapoppin' contest in
your region.

Note that you do not need to compete in a local event to qualifty for
the World Championships in Melbourne. If you would like to compete in
Hellzapoppin' World Championships, we would love to see you here.



SWINGCITY MELBOURNE PERFORMERS

Barbara Morrison

Celebrating her 28th year in the music industry in this year, Barbara
Morrison has performed with a virtual "who's who" of the Jazz and the
Blues worlds including legends, Dizzy Gillespie, James Moody, Ron
Carter, Etta James, Esther Phillips, David T. Walker, Jimmy Smith,
Johnny Otis, Dr. John, Kenny Burrell, Terence Blanchard, Joe Sample,
Cedar Walton, Nancy Wilson, Mel Torme, Joe Williams, Tony Bennett, and
Keb' Mo (Kevin Moore).

The dazzling Barbara Morrison has been featured on over 20 recordings in
almost every genre from traditional Jazz and Blues to Gospel and Pop.
Her melodic voice, with its two- and-a-half-octave range, are known
worldwide, as are her rich, unique, soulful and highly spirited
interpretations of both, familiar Jazz and Blues classics, and original
contemporary tunes. Most striking is Ms. Morrison's  ability to belt out
down-home, soul-stirring Blues. Breathtaking are her impassioned
renditions of old and favorite torch songs.

More info:
http://www.swingcitymelbourne.com/performers/


CALL FOR SPONSORS

There are many exciting opportunities for your organisation to be a part
of Australia's premiere swing event by sponsoring a specific event of
your choice. We are now calling for potential sponsors for the following
events:
* Hellzapoppin' World Championships - major international dance contest
* SwingCity Melbourne (overall)
* SwingCity Ball - featuring Barbara Morrison
* Many other public programmed events
There are three possible promotional packages available: Major Sponsor
(Platinum), Premier Sponsor (Gold) and Event Sponsor (Silver). Please
contact us to discuss your needs by emailing:
sponsor@swingcitymelbourne.com


MLX 2003 DVD NOW AVAILABLE

By popular demand, the DVD version of the MLX 2003 video is now
available to order!! The 120 min DVD was produced this year by award
winning director Jaqui Davis of big jaq films and is of a very high
standard. It includes all MLX workshop routines, Harlem tribute
performances by Frida and Zack, Gordon and Solomon and Yvette Johansson,
highlights from The Australian Hellzapoppin' Prize, and interviews with
the teachers. The DVD costs $AU49 + postage ($4.20 within Australia).

To order your copy email: matthew@melbournelindyexchange.com.

--
SwingCity Melbourne: Nov 24 - Dec 1, 2004
http://www.swingcitymelbourne.com/
"Take the worst of neo-swing and put it together with Glen Miller. The man thinks the Count is someone from a horror flick. Take pity on him and let him play two or three tunes. But be sure you have some errands to run." -- Bill Borgida

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Zot
Posts: 104
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 12:37 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

#2 Post by Zot » Thu Jul 08, 2004 8:07 pm

Hi all,

We've put together a small brochure for people outside of Melbourne who may like to distribute information about SwingCity at classes or in their social scene.

To download a brochure in Adobe PDF Format, click here:
http://www.swingcitymelbourne.com/image/brochure.pdf
"Take the worst of neo-swing and put it together with Glen Miller. The man thinks the Count is someone from a horror flick. Take pity on him and let him play two or three tunes. But be sure you have some errands to run." -- Bill Borgida

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Henry Hui Hui
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2003 12:38 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

#3 Post by Henry Hui Hui » Tue Aug 10, 2004 5:58 am

So who's coming down to Melbourne to try and whip Matt Riddle's ass in the Battle of the DJ's?

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Zot
Posts: 104
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 12:37 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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#4 Post by Zot » Mon Aug 16, 2004 7:05 pm

We are hoping that the entrants in the DJ Battle will include:

Bill Borgida
Manu Smith
Rob Van Haaren
Catrine Ljunggren
Matt Riddle

...with the outside chance of...

Solomon Douglas
"Take the worst of neo-swing and put it together with Glen Miller. The man thinks the Count is someone from a horror flick. Take pity on him and let him play two or three tunes. But be sure you have some errands to run." -- Bill Borgida

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Henry Hui Hui
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Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2003 12:38 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

#5 Post by Henry Hui Hui » Sun Aug 22, 2004 2:15 pm

The Program for SwingCity/MLX 2004 is now available

Check it out HERE

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Zot
Posts: 104
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 12:37 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Update...

#6 Post by Zot » Mon Aug 23, 2004 9:34 pm

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

SwingCity Melbourne News

In this update...

[1] SwingCity Melbourne Program Announced
[2] SwingCity Melbourne Registrations
[3] (Even) More Teachers Announced
[4] Frequently Asked Questions
[5] Call for Sponsors


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

[1] SWINGCITY MELBOURNE PROGRAM ANNOUNCED

SwingCity Melbourne Program is now available! Highlights of the program include:
* Live performances by jazz legend Barbara Morrison (USA)
* The Hellzapoppin' World Championship Lindy Hop Final
* Performances by local swing bands, both big and small
* Lindy Hop dance workshops from internationally renowned teachers.
Weekend workshops will have three streams and class sizes will be
strictly limited.
* Special extra workshops on Friday and Monday covering a wide variety
of themes such as Show & Competition, Charleston, Blues, Bal/Shag, Jazz,
and more.
* Internationally recognised Swing DJs, including Manu Smith (USA), Bill
Borgida (USA), Rob Van Haaren and Matt Riddle (Aus)
* 7 Late night dance parties in one of Melbourne's best dance venues
with two air conditioned floors. Late nights will include live bands and
special themes like the international Battle of the DJs, Tap, Tango,
Blues classes, Film clips, and much more!

See the draft program at:
http://www.swingcitymelbourne.com/events


[2] SWINGCITY MELBOURNE REGISTRATIONS

You will be able to Register online for Lindy Hop Workshops, Swing City
Passes and Hosted Accommodation from the website from around September the
1st, 2004. Credit card booking facilities will be available when booking
online.

Places for workshops are strictly limited, and although we have extra
places available this year, we have been booked out well in advance each
year so far.


[3] (EVEN) MORE TEACHERS ANNOUNCED

SwingCity Melbourne (MLX 2004) will include an outstanding series of
Lindy Hop swing dance workshops from some of the finest instructors in
the world today.
* Catrine Ljunggren & Elliott Donnelly (Sweden/USA)
* Bill Borgida & Julee Mertz (USA)
* Manu Smith & Ria DeBiase (USA)
* Rob and Diane Van Haaren (USA)

and announcing...
* Sing Lim & Chan Meng (Singapore)
* Lorenz Ilg & Ursi Ledergerber (Switzerland)

More info:
http://www.swingcitymelbourne.com/teachers



[4] FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS):

1. What is MLX?
MLX stands for the Melbourne Lindy Exchange -- an annual swing dance
event and the first Lindy Exchange ever to be run in Australia, starting
in 2001.

2. What's a Lindy Exchange?
The idea of a "Lindy Exchange" is that a city hosts Lindy Hoppers from
all over the country -- even the world -- just for the fun of it.  Lindy
Exchanges have been going on since December 1998, when a bunch of
hoppers from Chicago headed to San Francisco for "The Weekend".  Since
then over a hundred exchanges have been held all around the world.

3. What's SwingCity?
SwingCity is an international swing music and dance festival that was
started in Zurich in 2001 by a guy called Lorenz Ilg.  The Zurich event
was huge, involving about 4 years of planning and a fully paid staff
working around the clock!  The bands that performed at that event were
second to none, and included the Count Basie Swing Orchestra and George
Gee's Make Believe Ballroom Orchestra, among others.  After the amazing
success of SwingCity, Lorenz decided that the idea was too good to leave
there, so he helped to organise a second event, this time in Sweden
directly after the Herrang Dance Camp in 2002.  This event was also a
big success and included the World Lindy Hop Championships (WLHC).  The
third SwingCity was organised by Janice Wilson last year at the home of
Lindy Hop -- Harlem -- to coincide with the Harlem Jazz Dance Festival.
This event included the contest that many regard as the best Lindy Hop
contest of the revival era -- the Hellzapoppin' World Championships, the
finals of which were held at the famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem.

4. So what is SwingCity Melbourne?
First Zurich, then Stockholm, then Harlem, and now Melbourne!  We were
lucky enough to be endorsed to host SwingCity after Matt travelled to
SwingCity 2003 in Harlem at the request of Janice Wilson, and later to
Zurich to meet with Lorenz Ilg.  Melbourne is recognised internationally
as one of the largest and fastest growing Lindy Hop scenes in the world
today and it was thought that it was a fitting time for the world event
to move outside of the Northern Hemisphere for the first time.

5. MLX, SwingCity?  Which is it?!
It's all of the above! But the whole thing is going under the title of
SwingCity Melbourne.  MLX 2004 is being combined into SwingCity just for
this year.  Think of it like the Swing Olympics.  We only get our chance
once in a long while, so this is it!  It's still an exchange -- but it
will have wider exposure this year and there will be a slightly extended
programme of events.

6. Okay, but what's Hellzapoppin'?
Hellzapoppin' is a movie from 1941 that contains probably the most
famous ever Lindy Hop routine ever filmed.  It's so fast and furious and
so incredibly amazing that most Lindy Hoppers think it's as good as it
gets.  So when the American Institute for Vernacular Jazz Dance was
looking for a name for the contest to represent the essential values of
Lindy Hop, they borrowed the name.  The Hellzapoppin' World
Championships have only ever been run in New York City before this year
-- so we're very lucky to be hosting them.  Since MLX usually attracts
people from around 10 countries, we expect quite a few international
entrants. So, this will be a step forward for both the contest and the
Aussie scene at the same time.

FAQs:
http://www.swingcitymelbourne.com/faq


[5] CALL FOR SPONSORS

There are many exciting opportunities for your organisation to be a part
of Australia's premiere swing event by sponsoring a specific event of
your choice. We are now calling for potential sponsors for the following
events:
* Hellzapoppin' World Championships - major international dance contest
* SwingCity Melbourne (overall)
* SwingCity Ball - featuring Barbara Morrison
* Many other public programmed events
There are three possible promotional packages available: Major Sponsor
(Platinum), Premier Sponsor (Gold) and Event Sponsor (Silver). Please
contact us to discuss your needs by emailing:
sponsor@swingcitymelbourne.com

http://www.swingcitymelbourne.com/sponsors
"Take the worst of neo-swing and put it together with Glen Miller. The man thinks the Count is someone from a horror flick. Take pity on him and let him play two or three tunes. But be sure you have some errands to run." -- Bill Borgida

User avatar
Zot
Posts: 104
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 12:37 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

Registrations Are Open

#7 Post by Zot » Thu Sep 02, 2004 7:29 pm

SWINGCITY MELBOURNE REGISTRATIONS ARE OPEN
We're happy to announce that registrations for SwingCity Melbourne / MLX
2004 are now open!

Please read this entire message before you register. Important
information about SwingCity Passes appears below. You should also keep
this window open while you register in case you need to check any
details.

We are using a new pre-registration system this year. The system
provided is more flexible than previous years, allowing you multiple
payment options including online credit card payment. It also allows
you to book your pass now and add items such as special workshops or
merchandise at a later date. Note that tickets for all social events
will also be available on the door, providing the events are not sold
out.

Registration is available on the SwingCity website:
http://www.swingcitymelbourne.com/bookings


QUESTIONS?
For information and support on the registration and payment system,
contact Meetings First.
Tel: +61 3 9739 7697
Fax: +61 3 9739 7076
Email: meetings@meetingsfirst.com.au


SWINGCITY PASSES
Places for workshops are strictly limited, and although we have extra
places available this year, we have been booked out well in advance each
year so far. Pre-registration is now available for the passes listed
below. The SwingCity Full Pass is equivalent to the MLX Full
Pass in previous years, and is for people who want to do workshops and
social dancing mainly around the weekend. It includes a copy of the
professionally produced official SwingCity video, which will be posted
out once it is completed. This pass is excellent value for people who
may be travelling to Melbourne and can only stay for the weekend events,
or for those in Melbourne who are not taking time off work but would
like to be involved in all the weekend events.

The SwingCity Workshop Pass is just for the main workshops on the
weekend, and also includes a copy of the official video. This can be
combined with a Social Events Pass, which will give you access to
all official social events over the entire week of SwingCity.

Passes for special optional workshops on Friday evening and Monday
during the day will be made available in the coming weeks -- it will be
possible to add these to your registration if you already have one of
the passes listed below. Dancers without passes will be able to
register for individual classes at the event, providing that space is
available.


WHAT THE PASSES INCLUDE
All prices are inclusive of GST.

SwingCity Workshop Pass: $240
* All main workshops (Sat/Sun) -- 8 hours of teaching from 4 international couples
* 1 copy of the official video (DVD or VHS)

SwingCity Full Pass: $320
* All main workshops (Sat/Sun) -- 8 hours of teaching from 4 international couples
* Weekend social events -- Fri DJ Battle, Sat Ball, Sun live,
Fri/Sat/Sun late night parties
* 1 copy of the official video (DVD or VHS)

Social Events Pass: $170
* All social events (Wed/Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon/Tue) -- Wed Film night,
Thu live, Fri DJ Battle, Sat Ball, Sun live, Mon Hellzapoppin', 7 late
night parties


SWINGCITY TEACHERS
The teaching couples for the Main Workshops are: Rob and Diane (USA),
Catrine & Elliott (Sweden/USA), Manu and Ria (USA) and Bill and Julee
(USA). For more information about these world class teachers, see:
http://www.swingcitymelbourne.com/teachers


SPECIAL WORKSHOPS
Special optional workshops will be held on Friday evening and Monday
during the day. Registration for these workshops will be available in
mid September. More information will be published here soon.

SWINGCITY MAIN WORKSHOPS
SwingCity workshops (Saturday and Sunday) will be offered in three
levels. All classes will be 80 mins long and will be taught by
international teaching couples. Choose your level carefully based on
the descriptions below. Please remember that we will not move dancers to
a different level by request. Occasionally teachers may ask dancers to
change levels because they clearly do not belong in the level in which
they signed up. You will not be moved simply because you might be at the
top of your level and would rather be in the next higher level, or
because your friends were placed in a higher level.

We attempt to create the best groups possible and to place you in the
level where you can benefit most as a dancer, and in past years most
people have been very happy with this process and their placement. If
you are not comfortable trusting this process and accepting the judgment
of the teachers and organisers regarding level assignments, this is
probably not the best workshop series for you.

Note that class sizes are strictly limited by the capacity of available
classrooms and the need to maintain lead/follow balance in class. You
will not be able to attend classes for a level other than your own.

A: Intermediate
You've been dancing Lindy Hop for at least 6 months. You feel very
comfortable with the basics and have already started to put the moves
together and go out dancing. It's time to build your vocabulary and
really work on some lead and following skills and some fancy footwork to
make your dancing swing. It's also time to start work on connecting to
the music.

B: Intermediate/Advanced
You've probably taken lots of classes and workshops and attended MLX,
Lismore, or Camp Jitterbug as well. You've got a whole heap of Lindy Hop
moves and social dance experience. You look forward to really working on
the quality of your basic movement and your musicality, as well as lead
and follow at a more refined level.

C: Advanced
This level is limited to the top Lindy Hoppers at MLX. You have years
of social dancing experience under your belt, and you're completely
comfortable with your dancing. You understood long ago that doing four
swing outs well is far more satisfying than your four flashiest moves.
You're ready to challenge yourself to really work on your technical
skills as well as all the rest.
"Take the worst of neo-swing and put it together with Glen Miller. The man thinks the Count is someone from a horror flick. Take pity on him and let him play two or three tunes. But be sure you have some errands to run." -- Bill Borgida

User avatar
Zot
Posts: 104
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 12:37 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

#8 Post by Zot » Thu Oct 21, 2004 7:51 pm

Hi everyone,

The Special Workshops for SwingCity Melbourne are now available for booking!

Please note that there have been some changes to the Special Workshop program.  This is because Sing Lim and Chan Meng will unfortunately not be able to teach this year due to unforeseen circumstances.

See:

http://www.swingcitymelbourne.com/workshops
"Take the worst of neo-swing and put it together with Glen Miller. The man thinks the Count is someone from a horror flick. Take pity on him and let him play two or three tunes. But be sure you have some errands to run." -- Bill Borgida

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