Camp Hollywood 2018

If you would've told me at the beginning of this year that I was going to go to Camp Hollywood, I would've thought you were crazy. It's not that I didn't want to go, Camp Hollywood has been at the top of my to-do list since I started dancing two years ago, but that I was still looking for a full time job and couldn't make it work financially. Then I had the opportunity to earn some extra cash doing some photography, so I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the money: make my dreams come true and go to Camp Hollywood.

So this is the story of my adventures in LA last weekend, at not only my first CH, but my first time flying to a dance event. History in the making, folks.

Friday
After much anticipation, the time had finally come. It was time to travel to Los Angeles! My flight at Sea-Tac left at 4:05 and went really smoothly, and despite some delays before takeoff, we still landed within a few minutes of our original estimated arrival time. Once at LAX, I found the hotel shuttle and finally made it to the Marriott.

Now, all morning it didn't feel like it was actually the weekend I'd been looking forward to for so long, but once I stepped inside the hotel lobby I started getting really excited and giddy. All of my roommates (Shalimar, Rebecca, and Lexi) drove from various SoCal areas and most of us arrived at the same time. It was great getting to meet them all in person after chatting with them online about logistics leading up to the event. While checking in we had to upgrade to a pool view, as they didn't have any regular rooms left with double beds.

We made our way to the room and were in love with the balcony view! Definitely something I'd do again next year. I did some unpacking and changed for the evening before heading downstairs to register and start dancing the weekend away. We got a little lost figuring out how to get downstairs, but thankfully we ran into someone who knew exactly where he was going and before we knew it we were at the registration desk.

A daytime shot of our balcony view

The Dance
I was really excited for the band the first night, Mint Julep Jazz Band, as I love listening to their music, but had never heard them in person before. It turned out to be just as wonderful as I imagined! There was a lot of good dancing to be had to the wonderful band. That's something that actually surprised me, how I had so many good dances right out of the gate. It definitely got the weekend of to a smashing start.


All of Friday night was honestly a bit like a dream, as it almost didn't seem real that I was actually there after wanting to be there for so long! I also had no idea how big the main ballroom actually was and that there were three (very full) dance floors.

That night there were two competitions, Open Team and Solo Team. There were a lot of good performances, but those open team performances in particular. Oh my goodness. So crazy good!

At about 2am I decided to call it a night. Since there was no late night band and I was a bit tired from traveling, I thought I'd be the best night to get as much rest as possible to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Saturday
My Saturday morning/afternoon was one of the most chill times of the whole weekend. There's a Trader Joe's just a couple of miles away from the Marriott, so Shalimar drove us there to pick up some essentials for the weekend. Not sure I could survive all that dancing without some fresh fruit, especially some bananas! When we got back it was lunch time, so I grabbed my salad and enjoyed it out at the pool before going for a nice relaxing swim. Most people where still in classes, so there was lots of space to chill.

Afterwards I headed to the vendor rooms to check out some of the awesome items the different companies had. I ended up getting this beautiful red flower clip. Having red accessories has become a thing of mine and I didn't have any flower ones, so this piece was perfect to add to my collection!

That afternoon was some of the lindy and shag prelims. It was so surreal to watch the events and some of my favorite dancers in person for the first time! There's definitely an energy that you can't fully appreciate unless you're there. One of my favorite parts was watching Nils and Bianca. I love their partnership and the goofiness in their style. One of my favorite parts was when Bianca started hopping at the beginning of a song and Nils joined in. So fun!

For dinner Rebecca and I went to Hangar 18, one of the dining options in the hotel. They have gluten-free bread, so I got this delicious grilled chicken sandwich. Really good and super filling. It was really nice to chat with Rebecca and get to know each other better and find out how she was enjoying her first Camp Hollywood experience as well. She was taking classes, so it was great hearing what she thought of them. I was glad we ate a couple hours before the dance started though, because I was stuffed afterwards!

The Dances
The Saturday night dance featured the Jonathan Stout Orchestra and oh. my. goodness. So incredibly amazing! I got in and danced a bit, but all the dance floors were so stinking packed that it was a little claustrophobic. That just gave me a good excuse to go out in the halls, hydrate, socialize, and guzzle some Airborne. Gotta keep healthy somehow.

The theme that night was The Flintstones and there was a dancing t-rex throughout the dance floor! People had a lot of fun watching and filming the dancing dino who could do lindy, bal, and shag. That's one talented t-rex!

Near the end of the main band I had some really great solo jazz moments. I feel like this weekend I really had a breakthrough with it, as I'm feeling a lot more confident and able to make it through whole songs a lot easier. The music was leaving me so inspired and everything just felt sooooo good!

The late night band was The Grand Slam Sextet and they were fantastic. Crazy amazing to watch and listen to! The Saturday late night was probably one of my favorite sets of dancing. The music was so freaking amazing and I was really able to connect with people on the dance floor.


Around 4:15 I decided to call it a night, but that quickly changed on my way to the escalator. Camp Hollywood is known for having late night jazz jams in the hallway and they're definitely a magical experience that pulls you in and makes you never want to leave. It was a great listening and dancing and it got even better when Chester joined the jam and also did a tap solo! Right after the jam started playing Shake that Thing and Chester got everyone up off the floor to join in. Definitely one of my favorite moments! I didn't make it to bed until 5:30am and it was totally worth it.


Sunday
I didn't sleep the best and woke up earlier than I would have liked, but once noon rolled around I finally decided to get up, then Lexi and I went down to the hot tub. That thing was crazy hot! I was never able to go in more than my knees, but there were some brave souls who braved the heat. My hat's off to you folks!

Lexi only stayed for an hour or so, as she had to do a volunteer shift, but little did I know I'd end up spending five hours and meeting a bunch of new friends. Since I was there so long, there were a lot of people that came through that afternoon and I ended up meeting people from all across the world. It was also great getting to hang with Jamee, who I met at Camp Jitterbug earlier this year. There's no shortage of goofiness to be had with him!

The Dances
Saturday night we had the pleasure of dancing to the Jonathan Stout Orchestra once again. Not gonna complain about that! At this point though, details are a blur. I know I danced. I know fun stuff happened. But details? Nah, I don't got those. I do remember having a great shag dance with Mike and getting to chat with Kendall while we ate some snacks, but that's about it.

The funny thing is, before the dances every evening I'd be thinking to myself "I'm know I'm young, but I'm too old for this! I'm not sure if I'll make it through all the band sets tonight...". But somehow, once I start dancing the energy seems to kick in and I stay up way later. Dance adrenaline be real.

The Open Lindy Finals were this night and oh. my. gosh. They were insane on so many levels. The energy in the room when they all started swinging out in the all-skate blew my mind. I literally started tearing up near the end. Experiencing a comp of that level in person will knock your socks off.

Something during the whole weekend that I wasn't expecting was getting a lot of complements on my swing outs, which was really kind of people. Personally I like to have a lot of fun with swing outs, goofing off and doing fun variations. Something I've never thought much about was how I usually stick my free hand up really high, but apparently people notice as when I met one guy he asked if I was the girl doing swing outs with my arm up. These may seem like little things, but I've been thinking a lot about my personal style and if what I'm trying to portray come across the way I intend, so all the feedback made me feel good about how my style is developing.

The late night music that night was Josh Collazo's band, Candy Jacket Jazz Band. The late night was great. The music was awesome and there was more space to you know, actually dance.

Once again I got sucked into that magical jazz jam in the hallway. Nothing new here. It was wonderful though and they kept playing a bunch of my favorite songs, so I was super happy! I ended up in bed around 4:45am.


Monday
At a way to early 8:30am, the fire alarm in the hotel went off. I was pretty much in a dazed state, trying to figure out what was happening, but then they finally turned it off. Unfortunately I had a really bad headache that night and all the noise definitely didn't help. I took some pain killers and went to "sleep" till 11am-ish, but even then my head was in a lot of pain. We all packed up, since my roommates were checking out that afternoon. When you're just moving rooms, packing becomes a game of stuff everything in your backs as quickly as possible! I put on my swimsuit, gave my bags to the hotel until I could check into my new room, and spent some time at the hot tub.

At 12:30pm the pool party officially started with music from Dave Stuckey and the Three Castaways. This was one of my favorite parts of the weekend, just soaking in the sun, dancing by the pool, and chatting with friends. And speaking of sun, I will also take this time to advice you, my dear friends, to not underestimate the power of the sun. Always remember to REAPPLY YOUR SUNSCREEN so you don't end up bright pink like myself. I put some on when I first went out, but obviously that's not good enough. I've learned my lesson for next time.

Because why not floss to a swing band!

After the band ended, I checked in to my new room, took a quick shower, and headed downstairs. There were a lot of finals going on that afternoon, plus the awards ceremony afterwards. All of the finals were really fun to watch, especially when people would goof off as they were coming out of their spotlights.


The Dance
Our final band for the weekend was Michael Gamble and the Rhythm Serenades, one one of my favorites! Since a lot of people had already left, the dance floor wasn't nearly as packed as the previous nights. Watching the shag prelims and finals was super fun and inspiring and Kendall got 2nd Place! So proud of her. I'm still very much a beginner when it comes to collegiate shag, but I aspire to be as awesome as all those dancers someday!

Per tradition, my evening ended in the hallway at the jazz jam. Definitely the best way to end the wonderful weekend. After enjoying the music and dancing for a bit, I hit the hay at about 3am. So early, I know.

Tuesday
The sad part of the trip: When we pack our bags, check out of the Marriott, and head to the airport. When I was at the airport going through security I look up and see James, then realize Mike's there too. I was anticipating spending the afternoon by myself since my flight wasn't until 5:30pm, so getting to hang with Mike, Haily, and James was so much more fun!

Nah, we're not weird at all... ;)

And a few other random things that didn't fit anywhere else:
- The whole energy and atmosphere throughout the whole weekend was just insane. It's hard to really describe it, you just have to experience it to fully understand.
- It's totally possible to only bring a carry-on suitcase and backpack.
- I learned adding suzie q's to a partner dance is an easy way to have a lot of fun and impress your partner
- The combination of sleeping in a hotel + dance event = very low quality sleep
- Rebecca, Shalimar, and Lexi are awesome roommates
- Apparently I can go five days without washing my hair and it will still look fine
- I'm capable of staying up till 5:30am. Who knew.
- Getting a room with a pool view is totally worth it
- Remember to take more photos with people next year. I won't regret it.
- There's a bunch more videos from the weekend in this playlist

To say my first Camp Hollywood experience was magical would be an understatement. I danced my heart out till the wee hours of the morning to the most amazing bands (seriously, they were incredible), enjoyed lots of pool time, and saw some incredible competitions. But the best part? All of the people. Getting to have fun and goof off with friends new and old made for one wonderful weekend. You guys are the best. <3

Till next time!

Much love,
A very happy Seattle lindy hopper

Camp Jitterbug 2018

Or "The super epic weekend filled with so many magical moments I don't know what to do with myself". But ya know, that title was a little too long. ;)

Camp Jitterbug was amazing.

I could end it there, but that would be boring. So let's get down to the real nitty gritty.

Sorry friends, I can't seem to help myself.

Friday Night
The night it all began. Check-in at Knights of Columbus started at 6pm and being the typical Sereina that I am, I was there a little bit before that. I checked in, got my wristband, and most importantly bought a Camp Jitterbug t-shirt. I feel super legit now, friends.

While I was putting on my shoes (or after? I really have no idea.) I met Jamee. He's an awesome guy, great dancer, and can become friends with anyone pretty much instantly. We danced a few songs to warm up, then it was time for an our long collegiate shag class. Heck yeah! If you know me, you know that collegiate shag is something I'm really interested in and have practiced a bit on my own, but had never actually had a real class. Until now. Dun, dun, duuuunnnn (If you don't make that sound dramatic in your head, I might be disappointed).

Photo by Marc Dodobara

The instructors where Nick and Laura. I'd never had a class with them before, but now I'm a fan. They're both great dancers and really fun in class. We learned the basic shag footwork and how to do a turn. A lot of people came out to the class too, which was really great to see!

** I'm going to take a moment here and pause, because I just remembered that told Kendall I would send her photos and I sent her nothing. #fail I'm sorry, Kendall. You're still my favorite! **

The Balboa Social prelims were immediately after, which were fun to watch, then it was off to Century for the first dance of the weekend. You can't go wrong with Michael Gamble and the Rhythm Serenades and it was an amazing band to start the event off with! I've listed to his alubums many a time, so it was dreamy to dance to him live. I danced, and danced, and danced some more, then there was the Balboa Social finals, followed by more dancing. I think headed home about 12:30am? Some things are just a blur.

Photo by Marc Dodobara

Saturday Morning
At a too-early 11am, we had our first class of the weekend. I was in the advanced track (I originally registered for intermediate plus, but Ben told me I should be in the advanced track, so I switched 'cause Ben knows what's up). We started with two hours with Christian and Jenny, both new-to-me instructors that I've watched on YouTube many a time. We worked on a comination that included swingouts, a texas tommy, and some four count moves and really refined and fine tuned them. Definitely a good start off to classes!

After that it was time for lunch. I got some Chipotle, before the lunchtime lecture with Chester, which was super educational and entertaining. I don't remember specifically what he talked about (I seriously need to take notes next time), expect that it was really good. He has so many incredible stories and there's never enough time to hear them all!

Once our lunch was over, we had an hour with Ann and Ryan. I'd taken classes with them before and I really like there emphasis on breaking free from doing the same patterns again and again and being goofy. Literally the whole class was spent doing rhythm stuff which was a great exercise in getting out of the rut of doing the same patterns all the time. Then we had our last class of the day with Nick and Laura. We focused on doing an arm slide turn and really broke it down and did some fun stuff with it.

Photo by Marc Dodobara

That afternoon was the prelims for the Beginner Social and Open Social competitions. Watching the Beginner Social was great, as everyone had so much energy and was having such a great time. Then right after I got to compete in the Open Social. It was my first big competition and I had a lot of fun, even though it definitely wasn't my best dancing. The last song was, unsurprisingly, a fast one and I nearly lost my glasses! They slipped most of the way off my face (from all of that sweat, no doubt), but I was able to by some miracle push them back on while dancing like crazy. Then since the contest was short on followers, I got to do it again, without being judged, in the third heat. Gotta love some extra competition practice!

(I'm in heat one with the blue top and black twirly skirt. Oh, and the bright red hair bow and shoes.)

Also, something that kinda surprised myself was that I wasn't nervous leading up to or during the prelims. Like, at all. When I first started dancing the thought of doing something like that seemed exciting, but made me really nervous. Now it apparently doesn't even phase me. There was such a great energy from the crowd that it just made me more excited and made me smile more. Love how enthusiastic the lindy hop community is about everyone and everything!

After the prelims, there was a few hours until the evening dance. After I let the sweat simmer down a bit (seriously, KofC gets so stinkin' hot and muggy) I ended up meeting and grabbing dinner with Cale, who I met while leaving the venue. We chatted about all sorts of dance stuff (always a good time) and got some food before heading back to KofC for the dance.

Saturday Night
On Saturday night we had the pleasure of dancing to The Greg Ruby Six. Being a local, I'm spoiled by getting to dance to Grey Ruby on a regular basis, but the lineup that night was perfection. It didn't take long for the room to become incredibly muggy from all us dancers having a fun time. Before long it was time for the Beginner Social and Open Social finals, which were both so much fun to watch! I was really impressed with how many different styles there were in the Open Social. They were all so dang amazing. That night we also did the Shim Sham and had an amazing performance from Chester's Advanced Plus class. Uhhhhh, amazing much?!?!?!?

That night I was sweating so much (is telling you I felt like a slimy fish TMI?) that I couldn't keep hydrated fast enough. The only water fountain was upstairs in the men's bathroom, so hooray for guys who don't mind filling up water bottles for dehydrated dancers such as myself. (You dah best, Jamee!)

The dance ended at 11:30pm and the late night started at midnight at Century, but I was feeling pretty wiped and decided to go home and catch some z's. Plus I needed drive the half hour home safely.

Sunday Morning
After a stop at Emerald City Smoothie for a gigantic protein powder filled smoothie (if I could live on those, I would), it was off to KofC for morning classes. I woke up a bit swungover and with a headache, but was hoping some liquid gel Aleve would help (spoiler: it didn't). Us advanced track peeps got to spend two hours with Michael and Evita morning. Couldn't ask for a better way to start of the start the day. We worked on a lot of good stuff, but there was a lot of focus on turns (all different types) that was really, really good. Oh, and many pro tips (if you where there, you know what I mean).

Once lunchtime rolled around I grabbed some pad thai from Ting Tong Thai, the restaurant they have cater at KofC, before Chester's lecture, this time on the history of jazz music (which was phenomenal and once again, highly entertaining). For several of the styles he got volunteers to dance, who were all really awesome. Shelby and Lily did the cakewalk and looked wonderful, Shane and Nika did lindy with breakaways (their energy is amazing), and Ryan and Jenny did some blues stuff which was great. Definitely the best lunch break of the weekend.

Photo via Tonya Morris

Right after lunch we had class with Chester. Now, going into this we knew we were going to perform. And being Chester, I knew it would probably be something fast. But let's be real, I wasn't expecting White Heat fast. Though I have to say, the more the routine started coming together, the more I fell in love with it. The choreography was just so fun. Plus we were so go, go, go that I couldn't feel my achy feet and that headache I had was finally gone. Now I know Chester's classes work better than painkillers.

Our last class was with Andy and Ann. We worked on a couple "moves" to practice allowing the follows to be creative and influence the dance with our partners. It was really good practice for me to do something and really follow through with it (ha, pun not intended). When Ann asked if any follows wanted to try what we were doing with Andy, I couldn't get my hand up fast enough. I was tempted to ask to try it with him just a few minutes before, so that ended up working out well!

After classes there were more competition prelims, this time the Lindy Hop Couples and Short Showcases. Dang, those dancers in the couples comp were so amazing! And the showcases were really good, with a lot of great choreography. For a little bit afterwards, before we had to be out of the venue, I practiced some of the White Heat routine with a couple of awesome ladies I met. One of them was Darcie (Hi, Darcie! Excited to see you in Portland in a few weeks.) and another lady who's name I unfortunately don't remember (you're awesome!).

Sunday Night
Between the classes and evening dance Roberto invited a bunch of people to a rooftop BBQ and jam at his place. The weather was perfect for it too: the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in sight. It was great to just relax and socialize with other people, especially with the ones who were visiting from out of town. There was lots music and laughter that evening, which made it pretty much perfect. This was also the point the the weekend when Jamee realized he'd been missing out on lime tortilla chips his whole life and couldn't stop talking about them. I'm legit going to give him a bag of lime chips the next time I see him, because how can I not.

Photo via Jason Warner

Before we knew it, it was time to make our way back to Century to dance on our incredibly sore feet. 'Cause that's what dancers do. We dance till we die. And that reminds me: someone, I don't remember who, commented that pain makes you know you're alive, to which I replied, I must be very, very alive then, 'cause my feet were sore as heck!

Before the band started, Chester did a short class where we did a 10 minute song dancing through the decades. Tons of fun and a great way to kick off the night. Then the band started, The Casey MacGill Orchestra. They were on fire! As per usual I danced, danced, and danced some more. Some of us locals performed some choreography to Swing Nation. I only kinda knew what I was doing, but we all seemed to have a blast. Then we watched in awe as the finalists from the Lindy Hop Couples contest threw down their best stuff. Always super inspiring.

Photo by Marc Dodobara

After the finals, Casey decided to do the Shim Sham, literally right after they played a super long song for the finals. Definitely can't complain about that! During the second half when you're partnered I got to dance with Ann and she was just as fun and goofy to dance with as you think she would be! Then it was out to the hallway to go over choreography with Chester. He got the instructors involved and they were practicing their stuff while we practiced ours. Going over choreography with Chester in the hallway is pretty much a tradition at this point: All of us dancers crowded together, blocking traffic, trying to clean up the routine. Then it was time to perform. Oh. my. goodness. I never had so much fun performing in my life. Yeah, I totally messed up a couple parts, but I was having the time of my life out there and it was awesome.

The last competition of the event was the Slow Strictly, at 12:30am. It was really fun to watch (I know, I sound like a broken record by now), and those finalists were crazy good. I danced a bit more before heading home at 1:30am, on a dancy cloud of happiness.

Monday
The last day. Super sad because the event is practically over, but happy because my feet can stop complaining. This was also the best night of sleep I got all weekend and didn't really feel swungover, which surprised me.

Monday was electives day, which I spent with Michael and Evita because A) they're awesome, and B) I'm lazy and don't want to change venues. Keepin' it real folks.

The first class was called Games of Rhythm, where we learned three different swing out styling. The next elective I didn't do, but watched, was an aerials class. I've obviously seen aerials before, but I'd never seen how they were broken down and taught, so just watching was definitely educational. And the very last class of the weekend was Seamless Conversations. In this one we didn't learn any moves, but did some exercises on feeling connected to your partner, both as a lead and as a follow, and how both roles can be involved in influencing how the dance proceeded. This was such a good class and made me aware of things I can to do improve my connection and communicate with my partner better.

Thankfully for those of us who didn't have to head out of town right away (perks of being a local), there was the final dance with the Jonathan Doyle Quintet, another local favorite, and with a crazy sweet lineup. I had some really good dances, which surprised me, given how exhausted I was at that point. There was one dance it particular with Ben where I felt like a million bucks. He's always so much fun to dance with and is always pushing me with more and more advanced stuff, which I really awesome. Not long after there was jam circle (which I was happy about, because I missed the one on Sunday night when we were practicing choreography with Chester in the hallway. That was a sad moment. I love jam circles.) and Lily and I got to start it. That was a first for me, and super awesome, especially since it was with Lily.

And that's pretty much the end of my Camp Jitterbug weekend.

To sum it up: IT WAS AMAZING.

The classes and instructors were so good. The bands blew me away every night. The competitions were super inspiring. I got to spend time with lots of my favorite people + make a ton of new friends from near and far. Really though, this event wouldn't be the same without all the wonderful people. I love you all and can't wait to do it again next year for the 20th anniversary.

Lots of love,
A very happy Seattle lindy hopper

Emerald City Solo Jam 2018

Emerald City Solo Jam.

It. Was. Awesome.

I ended up having a last minute opportunity to attend the event, which made me super excited. When I went last year, it was my first dance event ever, so it definitely holds a special place in my heart because of that. Plus is hosted by Eastside Stomp, now part of the Syncopation Foundation, and is a weekend filled with solo dancing, something I've been working more on lately.

Because I didn't know I was going until last minute (like a couple days before the event) I had to work both Saturday and Sunday mornings which meant not only was I dancing all weekend, but on my feet at work as well. Even with all the work and dancing I held up pretty well, thanks to lots of cal/mag tablets, arnica gel, and tacos.

The instructors where the same as last year: Nathan Bugh and Gaby Cook. I'm not sure how it's possible, but they were even better than last year.

Friday night was the kickoff dance at Eastside Stomp. The Jen Hodge All-Stars were playing and the lineup was fabulous:
Jen Hodge - bass and vocals
Jonathan Doyle - reeds
Sky Lambourne - trombone and vocals 
Josh Roberts - guitar 
Julian MacDonough - drums

I did a little solo stuff, but mostly lindy hop that night and really enjoyed myself. During the first band break we had a performance from the Syncopators, who rocked it like they always do. Then Nathan and Gaby did an instructors demo and oh. my. goodness. Watching those two do their thing is so incredibly amazing and inspiring. Seeing that kind of skill and talent in person is something you can't really describe, you just have to be there to fully get it. Ahhhh, it's was all just soooooo good!

Since I had to work early the next morning, I headed out the door about 10:45pm, so I missed the prelims for the competition. The next morning after work I dashed off to Crescendo for classes. Classes started at 1pm, though I wasn't able to get there until 2pm each day. I was in the beginner track which I worked out well as there were only 10 of us compared to the advanced track that had around 40 students.

Our first half of classes were with Gaby where we learned a routine. This was probably my favorite routine of the weekend, as I really liked the choreography and was actually able to remember most of it. It had some fun kicks, fall of the log, and charleston.

After a break, we got to start our classes with Nathan. The first half he taught us a combination that he had just taught to the advanced class. It was slower and bluesy and he really broke down the complected turn. That's something I love about how Nathan teaches: he breaks everything down into tiny pieces that you completely understand what's happening, even if you're having trouble getting your body to cooperate.

The second half we did different jazz moves and put them into a combination. We worked on Susie Q's, jump charleston, Charleston with a drag, and eagle slides. My Susie Q's to the left are pretty decent, but even after all this time doing them to the right is still so challenging! The charleston moves we did were good as I "knew" them, but breaking them down and knowing the timing makes a big difference. The jump charleston he taught us was a bit tricking on the timing for me and definitely something to work on. The eagle slides were my favorite that day. I never knew the prep for them and now having that with the timing it all makes a lot more sense.

I got to the dance venue a bit early so I could change into my outfit for the evening. The Syncopators were practicing for their performance later that evening which was fun to watch, especially since I had to leave before seeing them perform it for real. I also went over some of the content we'd learned in classes. Before I knew it, the band was starting! We got to dance to Jonathan Doyle's Swingtet all night. Doesn't get much better than that! The thing about that venue, though, is that the floors are super slippery. It's the same ballroom where the advanced track was and I'm not sure how they took classes for two days in that room; it was super slick!

The band line up:
Jonathan Doyle - reeds Chris Davis - trumpet Dave Loomis - trombone Jen Hodge - bass Josh Roberts: - guitar Julian MacDonough - drums



After the first band break was the contest finals. The finalists were Samantha Nguyen, Nika Jin, Damian Cade, Christina Nourmiev, Elaine Buchignani, and Bailey McCully. So much crazy skill on the floor that night! Watching everyone giving it their all was so exciting and inspiring. Plus the energy in the room was crazy high with lots of cheering and excitement from everyone watching. That's probably the best part about watching competitions in person.

Since I had to be up at work the next morning, I headed home right after the finals. I was sad to leave early, but I definitely needed the sleep.

Sunday's classes started with Nathan. Since I was late I missed the first hour which apparently they went over basic music theory for dancers which I was sad to miss out on. But the second half we broke down more jazz moves and created a new combination. This time we worked on Shorty George, apple jacks, and fall off the log. I really enjoyed the breakdown for apple jacks and it definitely helped me improve them. Once again we put them into a little combo.

Our last couple hours with Gaby were super fun. All of the classes during the weekend were fun, but the this was on the next level. We went over boogie forwards and all did 8 counts of boogie forwards then 8 counts of shortie George as a group, or gang of dancers as Gaby said. She was in the front the first time and was pretty much begging others to come and "lead" the pack, saying how powerful she felt. lol! It was great! We also did knee slaps and spank the baby. While going over the boogie forwards we ended up with some James Bond inside jokes that you just had to be there for.

After we did a thing that I can't remember what it's called, but where everyone stands in two lines and one person from each side at the top go down the middle and show off their best stuff. I'm gonna be honest and say that I was really nervous at first, but I ended up having so much fun and letting the nervousness just melt away. Besides, who wouldn't be happy dancing to Boogie Shoes?

The last hour was spent doing another routine. By this point my brain was melted and the choreography definitely wasn't sticking, but I stuck with it. I ended up learning some good tips on my turns, which I really appreciated as that's a place where my technique is really bad.

And that was the end of Emerald City Solo Jam 2018! It was such an incredible weekend filed with lots of solo awesome-ness, the best live music, amazing classes, getting to know people better, and making new friends. Couldn't have asked for a better weekend.

Social Dancing: 10/6 Edition - Balhalla Kickoff

Ah, it's been a while. Here on the blog that is. I've still been dancing every Friday I've been in town, though I haven't taken any photos or video in ages, thus feeling like I have no content to share. But even with my lack of clips of the awesome bands I've had the pleasure of dancing to recently, how could I not share about this past Friday, the kickoff for Balhalla?!

Now the sad part is I wasn't actually able to attend Balhalla Weekend (boo!), as much as I would have liked to. Being that I'm only employed part time right now the budget is super tight. The good news was that the Friday night dance for the event was hosted at Eastside Stomp which meant that I at least got to enjoy a part of it, which made me happy.

The week prior I had taken a Balboa Mini-Workshop with Jim and Emily. It was aimed at those that have taken Balboa 1 and still felt under confident in their abilities and wanted to refine what they know (AKA me when it comes to bal). I really enjoyed it as it was great going over moves that I was familiar with, but was able to fine tune and polish what I already knew. Plus it made me feel more confident about wanting to dance it socially.

Anyways, back to the Balhalla kickoff. Slipped Disc was playing and they were awesome. I'd heard great things about them and they totally lived up to my expectations. This was also the first time I was at a dance focused on bal and dancing it so much in one night really left me encouraged and inspired to keep learning more. Yup, I definitely need more balboa in my life.

One of my favorite dances of the night was near the end when the band was playing a slow song. I got asked to dance slow bal and though I don't always enjoy slower dances as much (mostly because I have no idea what I'm doing) this one was an absolute dream. Sometimes you just have such a great connection with your partner that even when you don't do anything fancy it's perfect anyways. It all just felt so good. Days later and I'm still thinking about how lovely that dance was.

Another great thing is that Samantha came down from Canada and we went to the dance together and she crashed at my place afterwards. It's great having someone to gush about dancing and bal and events and all that fun stuff. 

Camp Jitterbug 2017

This past weekend I got to attend my first Camp Jitterbug. Talk about exciting! Even though I only went to a few of the dances, I had such a fun time, and can't wait till next year when I can go for the whole weekend.

The event kicked off Friday night at Century Ballroom with Close Shave, which were awesome. One of the songs they played was Blue Skies, which is one of my all time favorites, so I was just standing at the edge of the room, watching everyone dance, and a huge grin on my face. 

That day was also the birthday of Frankie Manning, so during the first band break everyone did the shim-sham and later The Big Apple happened; that's a routine I wanna learn some time! The balboa finals happened that night, which were fun to watch.

I ended up staying till about 1am; I would had loved to stay till 2am, when the band ended, but I had been up since six that morning, so my body definitely wanted to go to bed at that point. 

Saturday afternoon they were filming some scenes with dancers for the upcoming Greg Ruby & the Rhythm Runners music video, which I got to be a part of. They filmed at Washington Hall, where they would be performing later that evening, and after getting shots of the band they had us do some social dancing and filmed us. I also ended up with a cool little part with Gordon, the trumpet player, which I'm not going to say more about so I don't spoil it! It was really warm out that day, in the low 80's, so between that, the lights for filming, and the dancing it was way to warm in that building! Totally worth it though.

Photo via Stefan Huynh

Photo via Jason Warner

A few hours later was the main dance with Greg Ruby & the Rhythm Runners. It. Was Awesome! So much great dancing, some amazing competition finals, the band killin' it, and just an all around awesome time. The Lindy Hop Social Finals were also on Saturday and oh. my. gosh. Everyone was killing it out on that floor! Especially Ariel. So dang good. And highly inspirational!

One of the coolest parts though was that the music the band was playing was originally written by Frank Waldron. Back in the 20's and 30's he wrote a music book, Syncopated Classics, which Greg Ruby arranged into the songs on the album of the same name and Washington Hall Stomp. And Frank Waldron wrote those songs just blocks away from Washington hall, so being able to dance to those songs in that venue was such a unique experience!

Seriously though. I didn't want the night to end. 

B'ham Swing Jam 2017

Photo via Natalie Lang

Last weekend was the first ever B'ham Swing Jam in Bellingham and it was a blast! Great classes, lots of dancing, fun competitions, new friends, fabulous bands; it was all really awesome.

Friday afternoon I was heading home to pick up my stuff before leaving town when I accidentally ran a red light and got ran into. Thankfully I was perfectly fine, though the side of my car definitely wasn't. I was able to get a ride with another dancer that was staying at the same host as I, for which I am really grateful for! We arrived in Bellingham around 8:00pm and headed straight to The Majestic Ballroom. I'd never been there before, but I quickly fell in love with the venue; it's the most adorable place! The event kicked off with Bellingham's own band, Hot House and everyone danced, danced, danced until midnight.


The next morning Chelsea and I got up and ready and stopped at the food co-op for breakfast; they had a lot of good gluten-free options there, which made me really happy! I grabbed a oat brownie bar (so healthy, I know) and a smoothie, then we headed to The Majestic for classes. I was in the intermediate/advanced class which started with Ann and Ryan. We spent most of the time working on our tension and compression and learned a couple moves that really focused on that. Our time with Ariel and Leo where we kept adding more and more breaks and once we were at the bare basics built it up from there. This was something I really appreciated as this is something I've struggled with and I now have a lot of inspiration and encouragement for stuff to practice on the social floor.

There was also an elective solo jazz class which I went to that day. It was Ariel's day to teach and we learned the second half of the routine that would be performed Sunday night; a lot of the moves I hadn't done before, so I was really happy to learn some new ones! But by the end of the class everyone was so exhausted. There were several of us just sitting on the floor chillin' afterwards 'cause we didn't want to move. Ha!

Photo via Natalie Lang

After grabbing dinner with some other dancers and relaxing for a little bit the best night of dancing began. We danced to the fabulous Jen Hodge All-Stars for hours; there were a lot of Seattle and Canada dancers that night, so the floor was filled for a fun night. After the band ended at midnight, the late night dance and competitions began. The first was an ambidextrous Jack 'n Jill where dancers had to both lead and follow. Throughout the wee hours of the night Lily, who was DJing, kept playing fast songs and kept saying she wasn't trying to kill us. Not sure I believed her. ;) The second comp was another Jack 'n Jill, but instead of being scored by judges we judged the person we just danced with; I thought that was a fun twist! I competed in this one and had a blast, specially on the last song, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, which was so. much. fun. And then the finals were just as fun to watch. There were two couples and about half way through the song Nika (one of the finalists) cut in and grabbed the other follow and danced a good portion of the song with each others partners! It was so much fun. Some people somehow had energy to do the Big Apple at 2am, then at some point we did the Cha Cha Slide. I know I've used this word so many times already, but it was all so much fun! The night ended with the final competition, which was left a surprise until we did it. Follows got three paper flags to stick on the back of themselves then once the music started we were only allowed to swing out and follows tried to grab flags from other followers and the couple with the most flags at the end win. That was a blast and super creative! And that my friends is how the day of awesome-ness ended.

Bailey, who made this event possible, and the instructors! Photo credit: Seafoam Photography

Sunday ended up being a pretty chill day for me. Classes were shorter, for which I was incredibly grateful for as I was so incredibly sore. Between the classes, dance, and late night there was 12 hours of dancing the day prior! I got breakfast/lunch (classes didn't start till 1pm) at the food co-op again before heading to class. During class with Ann and Ryan we used there lindy hop step cards and would make different patterns to dance to; some of them were really challenging! There was one where we did rock step, triple step, step, rock step, step. That one was really challenging for me. The whole class was really good as it gets one using brain muscles that often get forgotten when dancing in autopilot mode. And then we had class with Leo and Ariel, in which we spent most of the time doing charleston variations. It was so exhausting as I was already super tried and sore from the day prior and then we did it for nearly the whole class. It was good though as I got some good feedback form the leads to help hone my technique.

After class there was a small break before the second solo jazz class with Kevin Buster, so I ended up sitting on one of the couches and chilling. Samantha and I started talking and decided to skip class. To many sore muscles! I'm so glad we both skipped it though as we got to hang out and get to know each other better, well, when we weren't laughing over random nonsense because we were both sleep deprived and exhausted. Ha! We also discovered that we both love Fred Meyer, have similar food allergies, and both listen to Greg Ruby in the car. We're practically twins. Once we decided we were hungry enough that it was worth walking, we went and got dinner at the co-op again (told you I went there a lot) and grabbed some must needed nourishment. Then we pretty much chilled, ate, and watched dance videos before heading to the final dance.

The final danced featured the always fabulous Greg Ruby. This night I was only able to stay till 10:30pm as that's when my ride home left. But even so I was still able to fit in a lot of dances. The solo jazz class also performed and totally rocked it!

Here's a playlist of all the videos I took:

Jitterbug Weekend with Chester and Evita

17+ hours of dancing, in less than three days. Two amazing instructors. Many new friends. Lots of live music. One gorgeous ballroom. Several performances. 
That was my first Jitterbug Weekend and it was amazing!

The 2017 lineup included Chester Whitmore and Evita Arce, two incredibly skilled and knowledgeable dancers. I did the weekend pass for the intermediate level which included four hours of class on Satruday and Sunday, plus dances with live music on Saturday and Sunday. They had a performance and live band at Century on Friday night, but I just went to Eastside Stomp like I normally do (which had Jacob Zimmerman playing, which was awesome).

Right photo by Jason Warner

My Jitterbug Weekend began Saturday morning when I arrived for check in, a bit early; I'd never been to Century Ballroom before so I wasn't sure exactly how long it would take me to get there, find parking, etc. I got to chat and meet a few fellow dancers before we started our first class with Chester and Evita. We started in closed position going over ways to spice up our basics and make them snazzy. Then we worked on several turns: a follow turn, leader turn, lead and follow turning at the same time. Then before lunch we learned a scissor kick variation.

We had an hour for lunch, which was a perfect amount of time to go and find something to eat. I ended up going with a couple other guys to a Sizzle Pie a few blocks away and had a vegan ceasar salad that was pretty good. We chatted about dancing pretty much the whole time: how long we've been dancing, where we've taken lessons, etc. All the typical dancer stuff. Once we got back to the ballroom a lot of us were practicing the scissor kick variation we went over.

Once we started the second half classes we worked getting that scissor kick pattern down and then we added it to a swing out, which is still really challenging for me! I still need to keep practicing the footwork on my own, as I still have to think about it a lot when I'm doing it. Once I have that down it should be much easier to add in. From there we learned how to do kicks on our swing outs, sugar pushes, and several more turn variations, non of which I can remember the name right now. I learned a ton that day and definitely refined some stuff I was already familiar with.

Photo by Jason Warner

There was an additional elective that day, Performance and Show with Chester, which I stayed for. It was an hour class and was much smaller -- about 20 people or so. We started with some basic performance tips and learned some solo jazz combinations in which Chester surprised us by telling us we were going to perform the routine at the dance later that night. Wasn't expecting that! We kept working on choreography till they pretty much kicked us out of the ballroom.

There was almost four hours until the dance started, so I went and had dinner at Oddfellows Cafe which is a really nice place with good food and a nice atmosphere. After that I browsed Elliot Bay Books next door for a while before heading to the dance. Saturday it was at West Hall featuring Greg Ruby (the album Washington Hall Stomp is amazing, btw).



After dancing a few songs Holly and I wanted to practice the routine for our performance, so we gathered a few people and went to the hallway/stair landing and before we knew it we had a bunch of us practicing and blocking traffic in the building. Ha! Not long after Chester found us all out there and guided us through our mini rehearsal and went through the whole routine several times. It was one of those moments that you know you'll always remember: practicing choreography by Chester Whitmore, with Chester Whitmore in the hallway of a historic Seattle building before performing. It makes me feel really thankful and blessed to be able to do stuff like this. It's like a dream!

Our performance was during the first band break. We made it to our starting points and danced like there was no tomorrow. And it went pretty well! I totally blanked on a couple parts, but considering we only learned it in an hour (!!!!) I'm really happy with how well it all went. Everyone was awesome.

(I'm in the white floral dress coming in from the right)


After the performance I danced a bit, chatted with new friends and had a good time, though my this point my feet and legs were barely able to keep me up. I ended up leaving about a quarter after 11:00PM, went home, and slept. I woke up the next morning with my feet and legs still sore, so I knew it was going to be tough to make it through the whole day. The good thing was I got 7+ hours of sleep, which was better than the night prior, though considering how much energy I burned the previous day I sure could have used more. The time before class started was spent talking with people about how sore we were and practicing some of the moves we learned the day prior.

We started off our morning with two hours of solo jazz with Chester. We started learning all these different combos (I can fall of the log now, but suzie q's are still a struggle) and then he told us we would be performing at that evenings dance. De ja vu much?! Ha! Seriously though, there was a lot of choreography we learned in a very short amount of time. Then it was time for lunch.

Photos by Jason Warner

A half a dozen of us went to the Mexican place across the street where I got chicken tacos. They were good, though nothing amazing. It was nice to get out in the fresh air, as the ballroom was warm and stuffy, and talk dance with everyone.

The last two hours of class were Chester and Evita's choice, so none of us had any idea even what style of dance we would be doing. Once we got started Evita told us we were going to learn some dances that lead up to lindy hop. We started with the early 1900's and learned stuff like the strut and castle walk (think Hello, Dolly! and you'll be on the right track) which used so. many. leg muscles. There was this part when we were all strut jump walking in a circle and there was a total train wreck moment that had us all busting with laughter. That was amusing for sure! It was fun to learn though. Then we went on to the 1920's and did Charleston, which for me is really challenging to do in closed position. Besides the footwork, we also did a move that I can't remember the name of where we jumped back, went on to our heels, and when we came back to closed we kicked our leg twice.

Photo by Jason Warner

Next we learned of some different styles of lindy hop. We practiced swing outs with leads lowering their arm by 5 so the follows can travel facing the direction they're traveling. This style of swing out is my favorite as it allows for lots of follow styling and when we we were all swinging out together, arms waving and just having a really fun time. After we learned how to swing out where the follows back is facing the direction of travel, more like a sling shot. I feel like this style is cool to watch, but not as fun as there isn't much room for us follows to ad as much flair. Then we did a move where the follow leans back on the leads hip and kicks, which is pretty cool. There was another elective that day, beginner/intermediate tap which I would have loved to do and was planning on it, but my feet were just so sore I decided to skip it, which I'm sad about. But my feet needed it.

There was a more time between end of class and the dance so took a book to read at a cafe for a few hours, ate dinner, then practiced some of the solo jazz choreography before the dance started. That night featured Jacob Zimmerman and Pals and featured Meredith Axelrod from San Francisco, who I happened to heard a few weeks prior at Eastside Stomp. This happened to be my first time dancing in Century Ballroom; it's so gorgeous at night with all the lights on, the band planing, and everyone dancing on the floor. But I have to say, it was PACKED! Pretty much like sardines most of the night. But hey, a good space to really practice your floorcraft.




Our solo jazz performance was during the first band break again. I felt a bit rough with the choreography, plus the music was really, really hard to know when to start as there were both 12 and 8 count bars in there. When we performed we all actually missed the first combination, but hey, since we all missed it nobody will ever know, right?! Personally I really spaced on a few parts, but since there were so many of us it didn't really bother me; everyone was really awesome though and the applause afterwards was insane! That's something I've really come to love about the swing community; it doesn't matter if you've been dancing for years or months, if you messed a part up, everyone is so supportive and encouraging and you can't help but want to keep dancing for the rest of your life. It's truly magical. You can watch that performance here.

Photo by Tonya Morris

Right after that we had another performance, this time by the Sister Kate Bootcamp. They were wonderful! Then the rest of the night was dancing, trying not to run into people (it was like sardines in there!), cooling off in front of the giant fan, dancing some more. By some miracle I made it all the way to 12:30am when the band ended; we even got an encore.

Recap: Chester is totally goofy and isn't afraid to throw tons of choreography at you. Lot's of dancing until my feet felt like they were going to fall off. Sweet and spicy Evita showing us lots of awesome content and helping us keep up with Chester. Dancing in Century Ballroom for the first time. Meeting and making new dance friends. Performing for the first (and second!) time. It all was amazing.