The Lindy Hoppers Fund

I was recently tipped off, thanks to ILHC‘s website, to the development of a wonderful project called the Lindy Hoppers Fund.  Born out of a conversation between Tena Morales, Peter Strom and Skye Humphries over what to do with any potential profit of a documentary that is in the works (perhaps more on this in a future post) as a way to give back to the community, the Lindy Hoppers Fund is a non-profit human services organization to provide benefits to the elder generation of Lindy Hoppers.

The program will help aging Lindy Hoppers, who danced at the Savoy, performed in film and theatre, and have provided services to the dance community, with “crisis intervention, individual and family needs assessment, and development of long-term plans including ongoing support, education, information and referrals” and financial assistance for the costs of living (rent, utilities, health services).

I had a chance to catch up with Tena on the project and she provided me with a whole list of information as to who was helping with the development of the website, editorial content, and so much more.  The list includes but is not limited to: Naomi Uyama, Andy Reid, Gina Helfrich, Laura Glaess, Peter Strom, Terry Monaghan.

The organization is set to kick off at the friday night of this year’s Great Southwest Lindyfest in Houston on March 13th.   There is a matching program which instructors and event organizers can enter where the instructors donate 25$ of their fees to fund and ask that the event organizers match their donation.  Currently, Lindyfest and ILHC are the two events involved in the matching program but I’m sure we can expect more to join in with spectacular instructors (The Silver Shadows) showing their support.

We can expect to see the website up by the 13th of March where you will be able to make tax-deductible donations online.

Please show your support for the elder generation of Lindy Hoppers and this wonderful initiative and visit the Lindy Hoppers Fund, provide donations and if you teach or organize events get involved with the matching program.

Swing & Soul

Buzz: one of the biggest ways to get your event attended and almost impossible to buy. Swing & Soul had a phenomenal buzz about it; I’ve been hearing about it since last fall. For every person that told me about it, I told six others and I was not alone.

All that buzz paid off with dancers from across the U.S., Westies and Lindy Hoppers, converging on Atlanta, GA for three packed nights of performances, classes and parties. Friday night started off with a dance at Georgia Tech DJed by Tom Hamrick and Peter and a performance by Bryan Gaynor (who also performed at the finale of this past seasons So You Think You Can Dance). The late night kicked off with DJ Gary Tate from Atlanta. Although I didn’t really dig the music that he played most of the night (I wanted more classic motown tunes) and the constant voice-over of upcoming songs was a bit unexpected, people were up and dancing.