SCAD Swing Club

So, this weekend, we had to cancel our official trip to AVS, but some people did get to go on their own, and they had a great time!

We started our journey on Friday by splitting up into cars to drive the long four hours to Atlanta, and didn’t stop until we arrived for dinner. We all met up again at the dance that evening with a live band, Glenn Crytzer and His Syncopators, and we were just in time to see the instructor jam and group competitions. From then on out, it was all swing dancing, all the time. We ate, drank, and breathed jazz, when we spoke, all of our words just came out as “step, step, triple step,” and by the end of the weekend, our feet were so sore and our bodies so tired that we swore we would never dance again. But come Monday morning, back in our old routines, going to class and living as students, we realized that gosh darn it, we missed swing, and try as we might, we would never be able to resist its call, and Billie Holiday’s words rang in our ears,

“Time and time again, I said I’d leave you.

Time and time again, I went away.

But then would come a time when I would need you,

And once again these words I’d have to say…”

We have no plans to leave swing, and we’re not fools to love it. We may get dizzy from swinging out too much, we may bust up our feet with blisters, and dance until our bones ache and we’re drenched in sweat, but Atlanta Varsity Showdown showed us one of the best weekends ever, and we can’t wait until the next event. We love swing, and we love good friends, and the fabulous Atlanta crowd, so I don’t mind goofing off and writing some sentimental stuff about what a grand time we had at AVS this year.

Check out our teaser video of what Sarah and Miles were up to, and this coming Saturday, we’ll be at the student center early this time, at 8, to show what we learned and teach a lesson before possibly heading over to the Gender Bender Ball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlGjJP_eEEM

We’re so glad for another fabulous turn out! It was lovely to meet everyone, and we look forward to getting to know you all the more you come back. For those who don’t know, we often go to La Berry or Parkers afterwards to hang out, and we enjoyed hanging out with those of you who did stay.

This week, we finished up learning the Shim Sham from our amazing teacher Lauren Duda, and although we didn’t get around to teaching the dip this time, next week we are looking forward to beginning to learn something big, so get ready! It’s not a routine, so if you’re not big on those, don’t worry, but speaking of routines, those interested in performing for a SCAD day are going to brush up on our Shim Sham a little more every Saturday night at 8 before our regularly scheduled club activities. There are links in last week’s post to lots of awesome videos, so check them out!

Also, this week we mentioned an exchange called Atlanta Varsity Showdown. GO TO IT WITH SWING. It’s going to be amazing! Email us, contact us on facebook, comment here, or talk to us in person about signing up, because if we all register together, we can get a great group discount! So, don’t pay until we’re ready, because we could get it for cheaper. We’ll work with SCAD to get housing for free at SCAD Atlanta, and if you’re not a student, you can go on their website and ask for housing, and usually people are nice enough to put you up for free. WE WILL NEED DRIVERS, and everyone will help pay for gas, so please let us know if you can drive to Atlanta that weekend. There are beginner level classes, and they will teach you so much in one weekend, so don’t worry about skill level. If nothing else, it is so much fun, and you can make lots of new friends with the other swing dancers going on the trip!

Today’s links are AVS-related! Check out some of the amazing teachers we’ve had in the past:

This was my first AVS, and our Sunday morning class learned all this stuff! (<—that is the link there)

Our awesome alumn Alex Miller (just graduated!) in a Jack & Jill*, he’s the one with 34 on his back, to the right in the beginning

A performance last year from the Showcase featured some of our teachers showing off their Lindy skills

If you look at some of these dances and don’t know what to make of it, don’t worry. Once you start to learn Lindy Hop, you’ll look at these videos again, you’ll know what you’re seeing, and think, “These people are AMAZING.” Until then, it’s kind of like listening to a foreign language, so you may not know what the heck is going on.

*”Jack & Jill” refers to a competition where you don’t know who you’re going to be paired with, so it’s really competing to show your skills and not some pre-planned routine or dancing with someone you know really well. The reason it’s called a Jack & Jill is because the names “Jack” and “Jill” are basically fill in for the name of any guy and any girl, or any lead and any follow. Usually, there will be more than one round, and you switch partners randomly, so everyone gets a chance to dance with someone different each time.

I didn’t even realize there was a pun in that title… I’m still not changing it, though.

Fall is the perfect time to pull out your favorite hats, and who wouldn’t want to bring some of that hip 1920s style into your look with something as simple as that? Today’s style finds are from Etsy, with a look at some cloches for the gals, and fedoras for the fellows!

Sweet

Fancy

Super Fancy

Divine

Fedoras———-

Hip

Dapper

Sharp

Fine

Note: The link names here don’t so much refer to the style of the item as much as the price. They are listed in order of price.

I hope everyone enjoyed Fall Fest and the first meeting of the year! This weekend, we started the beginner lesson with the East Coast basic, an inside turn, and an outside turn, and although we never got the sound system working, Lauren Duda taught us the beginning of the Shim Sham Shimmy. If you’re interested in learning the rest of it (there’s only a little still left to go, and it’s the most fun part!), there are tons of helpful videos on youtube, some with Frankie Manning himself! If you don’t know Frankie Manning, keep coming to swing club, and you will. He was one of the original swing dancers, and one of the best, for sure.

Shim Sham with Frankie Manning

Shim Sham Demonstration (with links to tutorials) (After the end, they “swing out,” something that we’ll learn coming up soon in the quarter! The shim-sham typically just breaks into social dancing after the main choreographed part.)

Here are two versions of the song used, too. The first version is the one we typically use at swing club, but the second one with Ella Fitzgerald is the one that I have on my playlist, so be prepared for both! The only real difference is the intro and the vocals, so they’re otherwise exactly the same.

‘Tain’t What You Do by Jimmy Lunceford

‘Tain’t What You Do by Ella Fitzgerald

Lastly, don’t forget that we have a youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/SavannahSwingDance You can see some lesson recaps from last year, and our amazing teachers from last year performing.

Have a great time shim-shamming and working on that East Coast basic, and we’ll see you on Saturday!

Hey Everyone,

We are wrapping up our year of swing club and would like to have you join us for one of our last meetings for spring.

BACK TO THE STUDENT CENTER!!
We will meet from 9-12, with lessons from 9-10pm introducing THE BIG APPLE!! This is one of the craziest group dances you will ever learn. It is a lot of fun so check it out!!

10-12 we will have some dance contests and games with some amazing prizes!!! We will have another raffle for the dance DVD’s so bring a few dollars with you to have a chance to win a terrific prize!

Check out the BIG APPLE!!

See ya Saturday!

Deanna

Hey Everyone

We will be meeting in Weston lobby again this Saturday for a swing and sketch collaboration event! Lessons will be from 9-10pm for beginner and intermediate and from 10-12 we will have dancing, sketching, sketch contests, food, and candy!!!

Come join us!!!

Deanna

For your viewing pleasure

Hey All!!

This weekend we will be dancing at Ellis Square from 9pm to midnight! It has fountains that shoot out water from the ground and there will be popsicles…you don’t want to miss this night!!

Ellis square is on Barnard St, between Congress St and Bryan St. This is the new square at the end of City Market, near Wild Wings. There is parking garage directly below Ellis Square…

Check it out!:

http://www.savannahga.gov/cityweb/p&tweb.nsf/02e67f6f5dc1d3e585256c2f0071940a/5ec6a1cca9ba14e6852571f7002c8d62?OpenDocument

Also, don’t wear your nice indoor shoes this weekend. Comfortable, low grip sneakers will work. You don’t want to ruin your Aris Allens!!!

AND, we will have a raffle for an awesome swing DVD!! Bring some cash if you want the chance to win!

For information on Charleston Lindy Exchange visit:
www.charlestonlindyexchange.com/

See you on Saturday!!

Deanna

Hey All,

Get ready for a really awesome night at Swing Club!!! We will be having a fancy dance with live music from the Sidewalk Stompers, our very own swing band! It’s going to be a night to remember!!

So dress in your best and come dance the night away!!

We will still be having lessons 9-10 at Weston Lobby for Beginners and Intermediate. All are welcome. 10 to Midnight is DANCE TIME!!!

—Next weekend excitement we will be meeting at City Market—

It’s going to be a great couple of weeks!

See you Saturday

Deanna