Tag Archives: jitterbug

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Spin and twirl

Swinging by the Sound started yesterday afternoon. A dance weekend, with dancers traveling from all over, teachers and students. This is collegiate shag. I am not very familiar with it, I’ve done much more 6 count swing. I wish I were doing the weekend, but my shoulder is not up to it yet. Maybe next year!

The weekend started with Johnathan Doyle and friends playing at Vintage. They were fabulous. And some of the dancers were already there and warming up. I want permission to put some of the dance photographs up, but did not talk to anyone last night!

I love to spin and twirl and so does my daughter. She has been learning collegiate shag in another state.

Here is a shag routine sample. Shag can range from really bouncy to smooth, smooth, smooth. This one is choreographed, not the spontaneous partner dancing happening last night!

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: spin.

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Playlist: Bands I have danced to

I have done two grief playlists. I will do more, but it got me thinking about other playlists. And we need distraction from grief too.

I am a swing dancer and jitterbug dancer. I lived in the Washington, DC area from 1985 to 1989 and then left for medical school. I spent a year being depressed about a breakup. The only time the depression lifted was when I went dancing. I started with contra dancing and then took a swing dance class. In the 1980s, we would have 400-600 people show up at the Spanish Ballroom in Glen Echo Park in Cabin John, MD, for a live band and a lesson, in a no alcohol venue. We would dance our socks off for three hours. We barely clapped for the bands, but they didn’t seem to care, because they liked watching us throw each other up in the air!

Marcia Ball

Daryl Davis

(You could watch his ted talk, too.)

Maria Muldaur

Maria Muldaur’s joyful album for the beginning of the end of the pandemic

Uppity Blues Women

Little Red and the Renagades

Doc Scantlin and his Imperial Palms Orchestra – at the Kennedy Warren Ballroom in Washington, DC.

I took the photograph of the poster this morning. It is from the 1980s.

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jump, jive, joy

Blogging from A to Z, my theme is happy things. The letter J for jump, jive, joy!

And jitterbug! I am a jitterbug dancer, east coast swing or 6 count swing, and lindyhop, and west coast swing. Salsa, merengue, cajun dance, two step, oh and a few clogging steps, about 6 total. I love to dance and I love the Jump Blues!

I took the photograph this morning: of an old t-shirt. We went to as many dance camps of The Savoy Swings Again as we could. There were two bands and lessons all day and I would have to increase my salt intake to keep my muscles from cramping. Deanna Bogart is still playing. And the Washington Swing Dance Committee still has a page devoted to dance!

On my last trip to the Washington DC area, my daughter said, “Let’s go dancing.” We found the DCdancenet site. We found a contra dance at the Spanish Ballroom, at Glen Echo Park. My son, his girlfriend, my daughter and I all went to the dance. The Spanish Ballroom is where I met their father and living on the west coast, I had not been back for years!

Jump, jive, joy and jitterbug! I am glad that dance is still going on, teaching, live bands and all the joy it brings!

J

And check this out: the same t-shirt shows up in this video of the Jiving Lindy Hoppers!