ULHS Around the Bend

ULHS starts tomorrow night with the Riverboat and will most likely run until the wee hours of Monday morning before people ship off to the airport.

Last year I wrote a quite extensive review of ULHS 07 in a series of posts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) which gathered quite a bit of traffic.  This year I hope to bring that traffic to Lindybloggers.com with a more pointed review, but also stay tuned for key footage from the event and perhaps an interview with one of the organizers.

I think this will be an interesting event for me since last year I approached it as just a dancer and competitor and this year I have the angle of a journalist/blogger in addition to those roles. To come back to an event the following year after having reviewed it once, I look forward to seeing what changes are in store (there are definitely some large ones relating to some of the competitions) and how they’ll affect the event.

If you’re going to ULHS this year and see me walking around with a camera, a notepad and a ridiculous hat (okay maybe not the hat) say “Hi”, introduce yourself, get a snapshot, give me a comment, and let me know what you think about Lindybloggers, this blog, and/or ULHS.

Stay tuned for the ULHS review and if you’ve got something to add, post it up in our comments on Lindybloggers.

Camp Jitterbug Video Round-Up

Here’s the final video round-up of this years Camp Jitterbug out in Seattle.  Thank to Sean and Tonya for putting on such a great event and providing us with these high quality videos of the competitions.

Jump Session Show 2008 Trailer – As I mentioned in my post for Camp Jitterbug; the Jump Session Show is one of the few shows entirely dedicated to traditional jazz dances.  Here is this years composite trailer.

Jack and Jill Finals – I had the opportunity to participate in this years Jack & Jill and it was a really great competition.  High energy with a very responsive crowd.  Here is the video, although I would have liked to have it filmed from the front.

Solo Charleston Finals – I couldn’t wait for this video to come out and I’m thrilled that it is out.  I had such a great time with all of the other dancers in this competition, especially in the dance off between myself and Sharon.  Check it out.

And if you missed the Lindy Hop Couples Final video, check it out in this post.

What’d you think of the videos from this years Camp Jitterbug?  Leave a comment and let me know.

Tournament Video Round Up

Grenoble’s Lindy Exchange hosted the Tournament with a range of competitions.  They have posted some high quality footage on Youtube with some exceptional dancers.

This solo charleston contest is really exceptional with two of my favorite dancers that I got the privilege to compete with at Camp Jitterbug, Juan and Sharon.

Here they are winning the showcase division at GLX.

Here are the winners of the Team Competition.  I particularly enjoyed the jazz steps at 1:30.

If you haven’t checked out the former video round-ups take a spin through them: Blues Video Round-Up, Raw Video Round-Up, and the Solo Jazz Video Round-Up.

Stompology 2008

Stompology is one event that I’ve mentioned time and again as a great workshop.  Put on by Groove Juice Swing in Rochester, NY, it is in it’s third year.  Unlike many events focusing on the partnered aspect of jazz dance, whether that is Balboa, Lindy Hop, Charleston or so on, Stompology focuses exclusively on the solo dances of the jazz family.  Tap and soft shoe, charleston, black bottom and much more.

The line up this year included Andy Reid, Naomi Uyama, Jojo Jackson and Mike Faltesek with each of the teachers brings a unique array of style, skills and knowledge.

Friday I arrived off of the train in time for the late night.  Held at The Keg, a sports bar, it was a relatively nice change of pace for a late night.  There was a front room with the bar area and a second room which held the dance floor and impromptu stage for the musicians.  The floor was a faux wood with decent give and slip.  The feel of the venue was cozy yet not cramped.

Gordon Websters band started off with some easy swinging tunes until the “secret special guest” arrived, Wycliffe Gordon.  I have heard many exceptional musicians and bands but when Wycliffe started to blow on his trombone the energy in the room vaulted.  He laid out licks that made the hair on my neck stand up and gave me goose bumps.  It was truly a great start to the weekend.

Solo Charleston: All The Rage

These days almost any competition worth its salt hosts a solo charleston competition; we have them at renowned events like ULHS and RAF, older events such as ALHC, and all sorts of other competitions. Camps and workshops often feature a couple of solo classes to compliment their array of partnered ones; additionally there are a few special events like Stompology which focus exclusively on solo dance.

The charleston was supposedly developed or at least got its name from Charleston, South Carolina in the first few years of the 1900′s. Although the rhythm was popularized through various shows, particularly Runnin’ Wild with music by James P. Johnson entitled “The Charleston” in 1923, it could be found in black communities for twenty years prior. It can be found in all sorts of old films dating from this period; it was generally danced either solo or in a walking (face-to-face) position. Dancers, particularly white females, were labeled flappers for the semi-birdlike resemblance that their motions had.

The lindy hop adopted many of the charleston variations into the dance and later versions of solo charleston can be seen in footage from the Spirit Moves collection and in this piece by Al Minns and Leon James.

Solo charleston today has sprung back into popularity due perhaps in part to the competition footage from ULHS for 2004 which has reached so many dancers. It features spectacular dancing with a final dance-off between Frida Segerdahl and Jojo Jackson. They have distinctly different styles but remain firmly rooted with the jazz vernacular. Many solo charleston competitions to come would see the emulation of these world-class dancers.

With its growing popularity there has been a growing selection of dancers to watch and acquire different styles and feelings within solo charleston. Take the dance-off from ULHS 2006 between Max Pitruzella and Sharon Davis; it has a vastly different look from the almost gawky dance that we see in the 1920′s flappers; sharper, more athletic. Max is rhythmic and sharp with a definite urban edge while Sharon is softer and keeps to a more recognizable jazz repertoire.

Finally we have a whole new generation of dancers coming up where solo charleston is an integral part of their early dance education. This years Rhythmics Arts Festival solo charleston competition winner is a young girl named Brieaunna or Brianna from San Diego. Check her out here.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Swift from ULHS 2007.