Sometimes great and inspired things happen when you’re with such an awesome group. And sometimes you throw your partner up in the air and she lands flat on her ass (which is what happened with a different move about 20 minutes later).

That’s just the beauty of the dance.

Waller was kidnapped in Chicago leaving a performance in 1926. Four men bundled him into a car and took him to the Hawthorne Inn, owned by gangster Al Capone. Fats was ordered inside the building, and found a party in full swing. Gun to his back, he was pushed towards a piano, and told to play. A terrified Waller realized he was the “surprise guest” at Al Capone’s birthday party, and took comfort that the gangsters didn’t intend to kill him. According to rumor, Waller played for three days. When he left the Hawthorne Inn, he was very drunk, extremely tired, and had earned thousands of dollars in cash from Capone and other party-goers as tips.
Waller, Maurice and Anthony Calabrese. Fats Waller. Schirmer Books. 1977.

Tell me that isn’t badass!

Update: As per my father’s suggestion below, a great primer to Fats Waller is to start with his boxed set If You Got to Ask, You Ain’t Got It! (CD | MP3).

Just like last year, we have an amazing lineup of guests dancing with us and teaching workshops:
Kevin St. Laurent, Jo Hoffberg, Nina Gilkenson, and Michael Seguin.

We’re now less than 2 weeks away. Registrations are starting to pour in from everywhere — DC, Philly, New York, Boston, Cali, Atlanta, and more! We’re going to have a ton of great dancers again this year.

Last but not least, the band lineup:

• Friday: Cangelosi Cards
• Saturday: Boilermaker Jazz Band
• Sunday: Sac Au Lait

Whether you’re a beginner or very experienced, there will be something for everyone. Hope to see you there!

Link to original article

Lindy Hop formally began in 1927 using elements from jazz, tap, breakaway, and Charleston; and evolved with jazz music to become what we see in early videos like the infamous Hellzapoppin:

Today’s Lindy Hop is the embodiment of a man named Frankie Manning, who passed away this morning just shy of his 95th birthday and a huge event celebrating his contributions to the community.

Frankie Manning was a member of the troupe featured in Hellzapoppin and instrumental in the revival of swing in 1986. There were, of course, countless others to thank for this revival, however to many Frankie was truly the “Ambassador of Lindy Hop.”

He will be missed.

But his legend lives on with Lindy Hop. Lindy Hop is a swing dance (and can use moves from all kinds of dances) but is primarily characterized by a moved called the swingout:

There are thousands of ways to do it, quite a few theories on how to do it properly, and thousands of variations you can tack on to the beginning, middle, or end of the swingout. It just isn’t Lindy Hop without the swingout.

I like to think of Lindy Hop as a hip, fun way to let loose and dance. I’d never dress in a goofy outfit. On the right night you might see me dress up in vintage clothing (shirt, tie, slacks, dress shoes, belt, vest, etc). I dance to meet people. I dance to smile.

And tonight, I’ll be dancing for Frankie.

I can’t leave just yet. Lindy Hop today is better than ever thanks to those who have continued its memory. It is amazingly widespread and each year yields new innovation and material. This first video is a jam-style video from UHLS 2006, similar to the Hellzapoppin video above only done 65 years later. It captures the raw energy and pureness of the dance:

Second, one of my favorite choreographed performances ever, by Skye and Frida. This is most similar to what you saw the people on DWTS trying to emulate yet worlds better:

I hope this gives you, my friends and family, a much better sense of what Lindy Hop is about and why I love it so much. Thanks for reading.

I think it’s great that a term can be used so widely and encompass such a large group with love for dancing. But sometimes it really screws things up, like when corporate moguls get the idea to cover a specific form of dancing and get it completely wrong.

Dancing with the Stars just recently aired an episode where the dancers performed the “Lindy Hop.” Except that nothing anyone did even remotely resembled the Lindy Hop. The best metaphor I can give is that this episode was like eating yogurt and calling it ice cream. Yea it’s food but it ain’t even frozen!

The worst part about how wrong Dancing with the Stars portrayed the Lindy Hop is that everyone I meet who learns or knows I’m a dancer always asks me, “Oh! Do you watch Dancing with the Stars?”

Think about it. What do they think now? What do you think now?

Emily’s and my witty little line has always been, “No, we actually dance.” But from now on, I don’t think I’ll be able to restrain myself from going on a tirade about how much this show absolutely sucks. I imagine they’ve bastardized other forms of dance but until now it has never affected me. It’s downright embarrassing.

Go ahead, watch if you dare… and if you’re a “swing dancer” please know I warned you!

The dances never actually stopped. Lots of people sent emails and as of right now there will be no changes with Austin Grill. Meaning, if you want to dance and want to show your support, come out with us sometime this or next week. Up to date information can be found weekly on Charm City Swing’s mailing list, located here.

If you’ve ever been there dancing or ever wanted to, or have been dragged along by me and enjoyed your time there, now is the time to act. Send an email to Bill Duffy. Tell him how much you loved Austin Grill. Tell him how great it was. Tell him how you see the ads for dancing at Austin Grill in the papers ALL the time. Here’s what I said:

Hi Bill,
I just wanted to tell you how disappointed I was to hear Austin Grill decided to stop hosting swing dancing on Monday nights. I’ve been at Austin Grill nearly every Monday since March 14, 2005 when it first started and honestly can’t imagine what my life would be like without it. Honestly! I met my girlfriend there the week it started. I’ve made countless friends, including much of the bar staff. It is literally THE BEST reason to live in Baltimore. It was a wonderful and unique venue, the staff there has been incredibly supportive and friendly, and your food is awesome. I speak for many of my family and friends — Austin Grill will not be the same without it and we will all terribly miss this event.

Unfortunately, the decision has been made. Unless someones mind is changed, there is no more dancing at Austin Grill. We’re looking for other venues. We want one with a big floor, a parking lot, and a safe neighborhood.

And most unfortunately, this isn’t a good time for Dorry, Sommer, Emily, or me, or anyone who might actually be able to help rescue it.