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:

Social Dancing: 4/4 Edition - The Tiny Jam Circle

This past Friday was one of my favorite nights for dancing, which is kinda funny considering Eastside Stomp was much emptier than usual. Like a good third to half as many people per usual. It was weird, but there were still plenty of people to dance with and the band Washboard Cutups, who I don't think I've heard play before, were really awesome so I ended up having a really fun night.

I've decided I want to be able to dance comfortably in heels so I started bringing them and wearing them at the beginning of the night. Since I'm so not used to dancing in them, I can only last about 2-3 songs before my feet start getting sore and I slip back into my canvas flats, but I figure slowing building up my dancing-in-heels stamina I'll eventually be able to dance longer in them. Then one day I'll get a pretty pair to wear on the dance floor, preferably the silver Balboa heel from Re-Mix Vintage; those are so much prettier than my plain tan Capezio heels I'm currently using.

Something that I've been feeling like I've improved a lot on is being able to show my goofy side and just show my happiness when dancing. Being the quiet introvert type (well, at least with new people) I've always been a bit self-conscious about that kinda stuff, but I've been learning to just let it go and let your personality shine! I have so much more fun when I do and I feel like I'm being more real with my partner as I'm showing off who I really am. 

Something cool about this past week was that there was a lot of solo jazz going on, which is always inspiring as my solo jazz skills are nearly non-existent. There a lot of people individually dancing, a solo jazz circle going on for a song or two, plus a half a dozen people or so having fun dancing together by the mirrors for the last hour. And despite the lack of attendance last week, there were a lot more people that stayed after the band left. That eventually lead to about a dozen of us having a little mini jam circle where everyone had fun goofing off, lindy hopper style obviously. Everyone was having such a fun time and that was technically my first time going in a jam circle. It was such a fun night!

Social Dancing: 3/17 Edition - Jen Hodge

It's always a good night when Jen Hodge is playing and Friday night was no exception! 

Alive and Dancing

So I just spend all this time writing this post, but for some reason it didn't save and now I have to write it all over again... *sigh*  

So you probably won't be seeing many posts here for the next several months. That's because I'm in week 3 of a 14 week coding bootcamp. It's been going really well so far, but it doesn't leave a bunch of free time, so my dancing is limited to social dancing once a week. No classes, events, etc for months, which is really sad, though I'm definitely thankful that I'm able to social dance still. Once I land a job my first dance priority will be to take lindy and balboa classes for sure, no doubt about that!

The last couple Friday's have been pretty great. The 24th included a first for me: competing in my first Jack 'n Jill! When they announced the week prior that they were going to have one I was super stoked as I'd been wondering if Eastside Stomp was going to have another one soon as I really wanted to enter. I knew I wouldn't make it to finals, but have been wanting to compete for the experience and because it's fun. I definitely enjoyed it, even if my dancing felt rougher than normal. It was really fun watching all the finalist; they were all really great!

Photo via Eastside Stomp

That night, since there was no one with a birthday, we did the snowball. I didn't even know that was a thing, but switching partners every couple minutes is pretty fun. Solomon Douglas was playing that night, which always makes it a good night.

Then there was this past Friday, which was just overall a really lovely night. Since my birthday is tomorrow I got to join my first birthday jam, which really fun. Then we did the shim sham, but in a circle instead of facing the mirror; I wasn't sure at first, but I think it was a fun change. Casey McGill and his Pals were playing; they're pretty much an Eastside Stomp staple.

The last few weeks I've danced with Ben White (who runs Eastside Stomp) who is always a pleasure to dance with he always has some really fun and different moves and is crazy good. I always walk away thinking "Woah, I have no idea what we were doing almost the whole time, but I'm able to follow it!" and super inspired to keep on lindy hopping.

Keep on dancing, friends!

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.