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.
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.
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.
