Matching the Music - Dax and Sarah

Looks like I've been on a little Dax and Sarah kick lately.  I just discovered this recent post of a social demo they did at GLHC.

First thing, the song, "Lindy Hopper's Delight" is just great.  This is one of those tunes that comes on and makes my feet want to move.

Second thing, I really enjoy social demos from the pros.  They give a sense of what's possible in a social dance where the lead/follow dynamic becomes the primary focus.  Yes, the pros have so much more practice, larger vocabularies, and are much more familiar with the music, but they give us something to aim towards.

Notice how they change in and out of different types of steps?  They throw in some Charleston, some break away Jazz movement, some large sweeping lines, and some close and tight movement.  They dance with how the music speaks to them.  They creatively play with instrumentation in the song. 

You can also tell that there is a conversation happening in their dancing.  He offers up a movement, she accepts and offers something back.  At one point when they break apart she isn't ready to come back in yet, and he catches this and continues with a new movement while separated and then waits to reconnect a few phrases later.

Personally, I've been striving to expand my dancing to match more closely whatever I hear in the music.  I find that my preferred mode tends to be faster and larger, but that isn't always a fit, so over the last few months I've been working more on smaller, tighter, slower, more nuanced and more efficient movement.

What do you think is your preferred dance mode?  Where do you need to find balance in your dancing?

Slow Lindy Hop from Barswingona

One.  We won't do enough slow Lindy Hop.  Let's do more.  

Two.  Here's some inspiration for you.  Enjoy the slow Lindy from Barswingona.  

Three.  Yes, that's a camera on that first guy's head.

Four.  There is a couple that starts out with her leading and him following.  Nice.

Beantown Camp Strictly Finals

Look who's standing in the back left!

Feel free to skip past the first 2 minutes of all-skate at the beginning.  It's just a warm up and not very interesting.

After that comes the individual couples.  The first thing I noticed is, wow, these aren't all flawless rock-stars.  The next thing I notice is the variety of styles.  This is all Lindy Hop, but clearly these people come from different scenes, use different kinds of connections in the same movements, and are influenced by different instructors and professional dancers.

Can you see the differences?  Which couples do you prefer?

Yoyos - Kevin and Jo

Here's a great exercise for both leads and follows.  Turn up the volume to hear the instruction as the recording is fairly quiet.

Pay particular attention to his rock steps and the way he leads the direction of this move first with his body and then uses slight changes in the connection allowing for a wind up in her rotation.  Also pay attention to how connected she stays with his arm and how she commits to the direction changes.

I also noticed how she holds his arm firmly.  This is something Kelly Adams first pointed out to me.  I find that with some follows, especially smaller, lighter follows, this can help add a certain solidness to their connection.  Of course this is not a necessity and I'm sure some people would argue against it, but it's also not "against the rules" so try it and see if it works for you.

Jazz Steps and Swing-Outs Taste So Good Together - Uptown Swing

I like this - a lot.


This is a lesson recap from Uptown Swing by Peter Strom and Stacia Martin.  There's a whole lot here so watch it a few times.


They begin with a small routine with Jazz steps and then expand these steps into swing-outs.  Very very good stuff.


The Uptown Swing Lesson Recaps are similar to the 9:20 Special and Jam Cellar lesson recaps I've posted about before.  There's a wealth of learning available online, so use it to your advantage.


Bonus.  Here's another one I found that I thought you'd like:

Jack & Jill Disconnection?! - Lindy Focus X

So I don't know a whole lot about this video (maybe someone can enlighten me on their names, they look very familiar.)  Here's a clip of a Jack and Jill battle from Lindy Focus X.  


There's a lot about this video that I like - their enjoyment of the dance, the creative use of movement and musicality, the playful nature of their connection, even the noticeable concentration and obvious consideration of movements while on the spot is interesting.  This doesn't appear to be the most spontaneous of dances.  Some dances just look like they flow out while this seems to be carefully considered, even at full speed.


Please don't read this as a judgement for or against.  It's just something I noticed and can identify with.  When it comes down to it whether a dance is better if it's more emotive and subconscious or intentional and rational is a completely subjective point, and, now that I'm rambling, not the main reason I posted this (though you're welcome to discuss your feelings on that topic as well.)


Mostly I wanted to point out what happens at 1:18 in the video.  He lets go and about two beats pass before he seems to commit to his choice and then he begins clapping his knee.  She follow this and each consecutive movement.  The enjoyment is palpable.

Letting go like this, especially in a competition, is a considerable risk.  As a lead you disconnect completely and trust the follow to commit fully with only visual suggestion - but the potential for something amazing to happen also increases. 


This brings a smile to my face and I thought maybe you guys would enjoy this as a suggestion of ways to open up our dancing.  This post follows well from the last post showing an Alphabetical list of Jazz Movements because without those kinds of movements something like this isn't nearly as possible.  Let's brush up.

Kevin and Jo - Connection

I've been having fun lately posing questions to people while out at dances.  


I've found that when asking follows who their favorite professional female Lindy Hoppers are I tend to get a more varied list, with more interesting reasons, than when I ask men the same question about male Lindy Hoppers.  Good job, girls.


When I asked Emma Bramer this question yesterday the conversation moved to Jo Hoffberg.  Her connection, control, and creativity definitely stand out.


Above is a clip I found a while back on her blog, Jazz It Up With Jo.  You'll have to search a few pages back to find the article, but that really shouldn't be a problem if you're into commentary on events, competitions, and even vintage fashion.  


She describes this clip as one of her favorite social demo's with Kevin. Pay special attention to the connection they have through their arms.  This solid connection is the foundation for many of the interesting and fun movements they perform here, and is just as dependent on the follow as the lead.  Hitting the right balance of not too heavy and not too light (the Goldilocks zone) takes practice.  It also takes a lead who gives the follow more time extended and doesn't just bring her back and forth at every opportunity.


Give it a try and let me know what you think.  


Does anything else stand out about this demo to you?