Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown 2007 – The Middle pt. 3

In the final segment of Saturday at ULHS the Liberation or Fast round brought some of the best competitors from all over the globe to the floor. The competitors were Max Pitruzella with Annie Trudeau, Minn Vo with Ria DeBiase, Sakarias Larsson with Frida Segerdahl, Mattias Lundmark with Hannah Zetterman, Jeremy Otth with Laura Keat, and Henric Stillman with Joanna Eriksson. Last year this competition set the benchmark for fast dancing for the year (and the 2nd highest number of hits on Youtube for Lindy Hop) and I believe it will again for the next year.

Here is a little rundown of my thoughts on each couple. In this section I am critical of each of the couples that were competing, if this bothers you, don’t read on.

Minn Vo and Ria DeBiase did a decent job (they made it to the finals, that is something on its own), however it felt overly choreographed. It did not capture the innovation of the contemporary lindy hop scene, more of a traditional show piece than a competition piece. Their partnering was not always the best, with moments of dissonance.

Sakarias Larsson and Frida Segerdahl were out next. They have excellent partnering having worked together for many years. They had very strong swingouts with long lines which I would have liked to have seen more of. They had a slip up or two with aerials, although they were often just as entertaining if not more so with the slip up than without.

Max Pitruzella and Annie Trudeau had a spectacular performance. They brought a variety of innovative twists to known aerials and my happiest point, lots of solid swingouts (particularly in the all skate). Very tight and solid pairing without any slip ups. The only minor point is that while they are very tight, sometimes it feels a bit too hard and could use some softness.

Mattias Lundmark and Hannah Zetterman exceptional performers, although I felt that I had seen that same sequence before in many different situations. A similar point to the first couple out, it didn’t push the boundaries enough. Otherwise their aerials were exceptional, especially the super pancake in their second spotlight.

Jeremy Otth and Laura Keat brought a very different feel to the fast round. They had clean and consistent aerials and they had creative material that played up a clear stylistic difference. They felt much softer even while dancing to such a swift tempo, although occasionally it felt as if they slipped a little against the tempo. The more I watch the video, the more I appreciate their sections.

Henric Stillman and Joanna Eriksson were the third couple from Sweden who made the fast round finals. During the all skate they look tired, doing a good amount of half time or slow motion movement, however along with Max and Annie there is a section of exceptional ensemble swing outs (around 5:45 in the video) which is really one of my favorite parts of the all skate.

Overall, the performers in the fast round were exceptional but I really hope to see the dancers take it up a notch next year with creative and fantastic material that I haven’t seen before. Showdown sets the bar every year, lets hope it stays that way.

Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown 2007 – The Middle pt. 2

To continue with Saturday, I will begin with a short review of two show performances that took place in the evening.

The first was a tap show in honor of the Nicholas Brothers put on by Sakarias Larsson and Mattias Lundmark, two of the spectacular Harlem Hot Shots from Sweden. It was quite the spectacle where they first traded spotlights and then had an ensemble section. Now that I’ve been working on tap for a short while it amazes me even more to know how hard it actually is.

The second show as a tribute to the Four Congaroos performed by Mike Faltesek with Casey Schnieder and Stefan Durham with Bethany Powell. It was in two parts, the first an ensemble piece and the second included spotlights. The music was so incredibly fast (like the original) that it was almost difficult to have time to appreciate each movement on its own. Exceptional work to the four of them, especially Bethany as I heard she had been relatively sick. Here are the two clips. The second one being my favorite. I believe the original dancers were Frankie Manning, Ann Johnson, Russel Williams and Willimae Ricker.

Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown 2007 – The Beginning

This past weekend a couple hundred dancers descended upon Minneapolis, MN for the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown.

ULHS kicks off Thursday evening with a traditional riverboat cruise that skips down the Mississippi with a live band. Unfortunately, my flight arrived too late to make the riverboat; however, I heard it was one of the best evenings due to the wonderful atmosphere and excellent band (despite a carpet dance floor).

Friday was the Battle of the Small Combos. The TC Seven and the Hot Swing Combo faced off in the Cinema Ballroom from opposite bandstands. The TC Seven were technically very good, they played their arrangements well, but they seemed to lack energy and dynamics. Robert Bell’s Hot Swing Combo was on fire, however. They played much more in a hot jazz style, while the TC Seven played a bit cooler and smoother (a la later Count Basie and Ellington). The Jack & Jill contest (which I had hoped to enter) was full before I even got there and the line of contestants stretched across the long dance floor. No separate heats, just one giant mash up on the floor. Five songs for the prelims; slow to insanely fast, then right into the finals for the six or seven couples that made it.

On a side note of contests: they changed the format for most of the competitions this year. Rather than having the preliminary round followed by a break and then later finals; the contests flowed straight from prelims to finals without any break for contestants (excepting the Slow, Mid and Fast competitions). You were tapped either out or in (depending upon the contest). It worked and I think I actually enjoyed it, but it definitely would have been nice to give the finalists a moment to breathe before launching into their spotlights.

In the late night was the Solo Charleston contest to the Loose Marbles (more on them later), which being the only contest I was able to enter I did my best, but with a tumultuous week already behind me and not having had any time to prep really I didn’t make the finals (although I do believe I was one of the last people tapped out – mostly from exhaustion). Disappointed, but still excited to see the finals, I plopped down with my friends for the finals. There were seven contestants I think. The finalists were mostly very good, some more in for their being known than their dancing, but I was happy to see Jojo in the finals with some of the Swedes. With two spotlights a piece it was then narrowed down by popular decision to three guys: Sakarias Larsson, Stefan Durham, and one more. Stefan was my favorite during the spotlights, but he definitely seemed exhausted during the dance off (since it was I believe the fourth super-fast charleston song). It was obvious that Sakarias was the most used to long performances as he barely seemed winded for the dance off and boy could he dance at that blazing tempo. Reminded me of the skill Frida has demonstrated in years past, for reasons plain to see. Sakarias won hands down in the dance off. I expected as much. I’ll post it up when it hits Youtube.

Here is the video from Lindy Library of the Jack & Jill finals. Exceptional dancing, my notable favorites are Todd Yannacone with Laura Keat and Andy Reid with Frida Segerdahl. My congratulations to everyone who made it to the finals and to anyone who was brave enough to enter the competition.