Tuesday, April 24, 2012

"23 Skidoo" - Revival Performance

The amazing results of hard work and persistence. Our first performance of "The Great Unknowns"



We performed this routine on Thursday and Sunday at the Mercury Cafe dances and at the Savoy Ballroom for the Intercollegiate Swing Battle event. Our official group name is still pending.

The song is "Hand Clappin'" By - Red Prysock







Monday, April 23, 2012

Rockin' n Rollin' at Skylark Lounge


Another awesome night at the Skylark Lounge. I made a new friend as well.







Photos by: Laura Loredo

Enchantment Under the Sea Dance


Fun dance put together by Regis's swing dance group "Swinging in the Rain".




A.K.A. Ritchie Valens


Me singing La Bamba with the Atomic Drifters


My newly acquired nickname. Shoot I'm not complaining...

Learning to dance has opened me up to whole new world and opened doors that I thought would always be shut and locked. Life surely proved me wrong again.

A while back during a car show. I was talking to Rusty, the singer for the band "The Atomic Drifters". I told him that I really liked that song he sings "Come On Lets Go" originally sung by Ritchie Valense. I also told him I have been a fan of Ritchie Valens since the movie "La Bamba" Came out back in the 80's. Within that conversation I mention the I can play a few Ritchie Valens tunes on my vintage guitar.  He then got excited and and asked if I knew how to sing La Babma. "Hell Yeah I sing La Bamba" were the first words out of my mouth. He then asked I want to sing the song on stage with them. I obviously said yes.

About a month later Rusty had called me and asked me to come and rehears with them. I agreed and set a date meet up. That following Wednesday I meet them at their studio where they practiced. He asked, "Are you ready to try it?" I said, "Let's do it".  Michael (The bands lead guitarist) started playing the intro riff, the then Joe (the drummer) started the drum riff. They hit it perfect, so I just started singing. I sang through whole song and  Rusty a satisfied look on his face. When the song was over he said, "That was perfect". At that moment he offered me to sing in the next show in Central City, Co. (He usually don't do this, since I hit it perfect he was all for it). I said, "Hell Yeah.

That following weekend at their show he called me up stage with a nice introduction and I ROCKED IT. Now every show I attend he calls me up to sing.

I never would of thought I would have the opportunity to sing in a live band on stage, now here I am.

After I sang, it was pure dancing the rest of the night. Yet another fantastic night.

Wendi and I Dancing to Stray Cat Strut

Some great photos from the night too.









Lindy Hoppin' San Diego

The beginning of march, I went to San Diego to visit my best friend Meghan. She had moved to Brazil for a year then came back and settled in San Diego.

That Saturday, Meghan had to work so I went to hang out in Mission Bay. To my surprise I see a sign that read "Swing a Rama". I talked to the people setting up and they said there is going to be a Lindy Hop dance event called "Lindy by the Bay". Put together by the local Lindy Hop dance scene.

So I stuck around and joined the dance. Everyone was so welcoming and nice. They even gave me a welcome steal dance where I am in the middle and all the ladies steal me for a dance. It was great fun.






1940s WWII Christmas Ball 2011

Just like the summer event. Lots of dancing, great bands, look-alikes, vintage item auction, performances, vintage costume contest, and a great time.




2012 Lindy Hop Student Showcase


Photo by: Mahala Gaylord

Every year the Mercury Cafe puts on this event to give student a chance to experience performing. For two months everyone learns a routine and at the end of the classes Tiffiny puts on a great show with numerous performances in all the vintage dance styles.

Laurie and I Dancing in the Showcase



I asked my friend Laurie to be my partner. She is an excellent dancer that dances very well and learns fast. A week before the final dress rehearsals the students were asked to volunteer for a solo dance in the middle. I of course jumped on that. We had the option to come up with our own solo. Looking on the internet I browsed for reference. I saw a 16 count dance combo done by Max Pitruzzella and Anny Trudeau. I presented it to Tiffiny and she said it was okay but it will be hard. So Tiffinys partner Ceth spent a day and broke down the steps. When our first dress rehearsal came he taught it to me and another couple who volunteered for a solo. The solo became a duet and we all worked on it and timed it until perfect. After the last dress rehearsal the whole routine was perfect and we were read

During the performance we rocked it. The whole show was fun and entertaining for the audience that filled the Mercury Cafe.

After the showcase was over the dance started. It was a fun night of dancing and a really great freestyle jam circle. At the end of the night I went home with smile on my face.


Jam Circle

Laurie and I are the fourth couple to go in.


I cant forget there was a fun bad dancing contest as well that I dominated. For someone who is a good dancer, bad dancing is very difficult, so yes I am proud of my win.

Bad Dancing Contest

The Great Unknowns performance team

About 4 months before my 1 year anniversary of swing dancing I was shocked to and honored at the same time with great news.

Like I mentioned before my swing dance teacher Tiffiny Wine is a world class Lindy Hop dancer and the symbol Denver's swing dance seen. She also was part of Denver's 23Skidoo dance team who won many competitions and put Denver on the map.

During one of the dances I was chatting with Tiffiny. She was talking about 23Skidoo and how much fun it was. She also said that the dance scene hasn't been the same since that era ended. She then mention that she is going to start up another team of the best dancer that she is going to build up to become great again. I thought that was great to hear her plans and the sounded so much fun. To my surprise she ended with "I want you to be on the team and I'm going to partner you up with Lindsey". That was most biggest compliment for me, since I have only been dancing shy of a year. Of course I agree.

She chose Lindsey as my partner. Lindsay also only has about a year of experience but her foundation is solid and her style is amazing.

A few months later it was real when I got an email about this team. Keep in mind this only an exclusive team of dancers hand picked by Tiffiny herself. In other words you cannot try out for this team you have to be chosen.




In January we started our practices. In the first day, with no hesitation we jumped right into fast lindy hop drills. After trying to dance to songs with 280 to 300 beats per minute. I thought, "What the Hell did I get myself into". My motivation was still high so I worked my hardest to keep up with the everyone else. My classmates have been dance 5-10 years, so it was and still is intimidating.



The first 2 months were the most difficult but one day I had a breakthrough.

I just did a fast swing out with Tiffiny, and with frustration from repeatedly telling me to work a out a bad habit, She said "Emily... Show Michael how to swing out!!" I practiced swing outs with Emily while Christopher nitpicked and corrected every part. After about a half an hour of struggle, Emily and I were swinging out very smoothly over and over. At that moment I didn't hear any sound in the room. I stopped to see that everyone was watching. I looked at Tiffiny and with her hand gesture of approval she congratulated, "YES!!" That was the moment all my hard work and persistence paid off.

Rehearsal for our first performance

DIA Flash Mob

YES WE DID!!! Flash Mobbed DIA. 

November 2011 Denver International Airport contacted CM Dance in Denver and ask them to gather a mob and do a Lindy Hop routine in the middle of DIA to entertain the Thanksgiving holiday rush. About a month prior it was announced and that same evening I was asked by my good friend Marlea to be her partner. We practiced for a month then had final rehearsals. I was shocked to see that there were more than 100 dancers participating. When the day came we were asked to perform twice throughout the day.

Video Edit by Denver International Airport


When it was all done we made so many spectators happy that day!!! I was a nice way to ease the tension of holiday travels.


The Rockabilly Crew


Hotel Boulderado: Guys in Ties, Girls in Pearls Ball

This was a fun event in at the Boulderado Hotel in Boulder, Co. Lots of dancing and even a contest. It was a great night. I went with my good aussie friend Madi and my good friend Melissa was there as well.

Madi and I

Melissa and I rockin'

Becky and I stealing the dance floor

Lindy on the Rocks 2011

Lindy on the Rocks by Mahala Gaylord

Lindy on the Rocks is a yearly event where Lindy Hoppers from all over the U.S. Learn, Dance, Compete, or simply have a great show. The workshops are full of lesson that are taught by world class dancers. The competition bring this best dancers in the use to with their bragging rights. There was a really great dinner with a show playing about lindy hop and performances with excellent dance teams. 

Let me mention the super fun dances that started around 8pm and didn't stop until 4am.

In this event I tried out for my first competition. I didn't make past the preliminaries but it was still fun just to simply get out there and compete against my peers and even my teachers.

It was amazing last year and going to be even better this year!

We had a great dance!

Wendi

After going to many rockabilly shows. I started to meet some really great people. One in particular, my good friend Wendy.



I went to the Skylark Lounge one night and as I usually do I ask gals to dance. I was about to leave for the evening and I see two pretty rockabilly girls sitting in a booth. They were in vintage dresses and had their hair done. They looked great. I asked one of them to dance with me. She had such a great time we dance the last few songs of the night. After the band was done we exchanged contact info. About 3 weeks later I get a facebook message from her asking if I wanted to do a beginner swing dance class with her. I said yes.

The next month we started the class. After every class we would go to the Skylark Lounge and practice. Not even 3 weeks she already picked up the dance and we still had about 3 weeks left of the class. When the classes were done, she was swing dancer. Now every week we are out dancing with Tyler and Amanda and creating a Great show for everyone.

Wend also runs a Rockabilly fashion blog. Check it out!

A really cool video of us dancing.

Melissa


Like I mention Melissa was my first dance friend in the dance scene and is still my really good friend. Ever since  we met we hit up all the dance scenes we can. Rockabilly, Blues, Salsa, and even Country. She always loves to dance,always has a smile on her face, and always joking and laughing. She is to nicest person in the world spreads her good energy to everyone around her.



1940s WWII Ball 2011


This was a great event. Every year the Boulder Airport brings out their vintage fighter planes, WWII collectibles, great vintage jazz bands with celebrity look-alikes, and of course a big dance floor. They had one of my favorite big bands called, The Hot Tomatoes. They also had a young Frank Sinatra look-alike as well as The Andrew Sisters look-alike. They all sang and acted like the real celebrities it was great. Everyone there dressed vintage including myself. It was like I walked through a time portal and was in the 1940's
1940s WWII Summer Ball

I didn't have anyone to go with because I still didn't know many people in the swing dance scene. I decide to go alone and just meet new people. Not long after I arrived I saw an girl that I have danced with a few times at the Mercury Cafe, Amie. Amie is an awesome person who always has a bright smile on her face. I was excited to see her. She came alone as well so we decided to hang out during the rest of dance. Her and I danced together pretty much the whole night.

Amie and I



About an hour in I met up with Patrick in Beth and took some photos by the vintage fighter planes.

Beth and Patrick



This was the coolest dance and great way to end the month of June.

Tyler and Amanda

So early summer, I've been consistently dancing at as many venues I can fit in my weeks. One weekend my friend Gabrielle and I went to see the Rockabilly band "The Lucky Few" at Rockabillies, (my second favorite Rockabilly Bar). The band already started when we arrived. We took a seat and this couple went on the dance  floor and started dancing the Jive. Jive is another popular rockabilly dance style. Any way they were the coolest dancers I've ever seen. His dance style was full of jumps and turns and twirls. I can't explain how cool the look you just have to see for yourself.



After they were done I went to go talk to them. They introduced themselves as Tyler and Amanda. We talked and he told me he used to dance at the Mercury Cafe and was on Tiffiny's old dance team 23Skidoo. 23Skidoo a profession team that won numerous dance competitions and put Denver on the map for one the best place for swing dancing. Anyway, along with the Rockabilly dancing, this was the bonding moment of our friendship.

Tyler and Amanda are now teaching a monthly jive lesson at Denver Turnverein.


Billy Frank & Kat

Don't you dare call them old. The gray hair is an illusion. These two are scratching up the dance floor at every show they can. They have been dancing since the 1950's when it all was hot.



Every Rockabilly show I notice they were always there and always dancing. I went and introduced myself and they were the nicest people in the world. The welcomed me to sit at their table and even bought me a drink. We all danced and chatted all night about dancing, cars, and Rockabilly. They had the coolest stories about growing up with dancing.

This was the start of a great friendship and the start of our Rockabilly dance crew.

Friday, April 20, 2012

The Last Year of my 20s

Well age 28 came and went. It was June 8, 2011 and was one of the coolest birthdays ever. Coincidentally my favorite band The Atomic Drifters were playing at Caldonias Restaurant in Aurora, Co the same day. So I gathered my dance friends and some of my older friends and had a birthday dinner.  I invited my friend Gabriella, who I did some swing dance aerials classes with, Patrick and Beth, who are just really great people and they were dance partners at that time.



I also invited my older friends Brian, Dani, and Adri. Who I've known before I started dancing.  We all had dinner before the band started and had a great time. It was funny what Adri pointed out. She noticed I had 3 generations of friends there. It was my high school friends, friend from when I did Capoeira, and my new dance friends. We all were sharing stories until the band started.



When the band started, it was on. We all showed of all our moves and aerials and just cut the rug to the awesome band the rest of the night.

Lots of dancing, good friends, great food, and great music...

Rockabilly

The beginning of last summer and about 5 months into my swing dancing, I met my very good friend Melissa. I met her at one of the dances at the  Mercury Cafe . We danced well together the whole night and had lots of fun. After the dance exchanged contact info and I went home. The next Sunday at the Mercury Cafe she was there and again we had lots of fun.  At the end of the night we were talking about dancing at other venues. I don't know how we got on the topic of Rockabilly but that lead into seeing what kind of Rockabilly bands are out there and the idea of scratching up the dance floor at one of the shows. Later that week I look up some Rockabilly bands and I found a show at the Skylark Lounge featuring the Atomic Drifters  (My now favorite Rockabilly band and good friends.) 

The Atomic Drifters @ Skylark Lounge


The Skylark Lounge is a fun dive bar in Denver at about 1st and Broadway. It is 50's themed and is the place for the best local Rockabilly bands.

Melissa ended up cancelling that night but I decided to go anyway and check it out. The band started and the music was exactly what I expected. They played my favorite old time songs from Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent, Ritchie Valens, Jonny Cash, and definitely their own awesome originals. I looked around and there was surly a Rockabilly scene. The ladies were in their vintage dresses and their hair like Marilyn Monroe. The guys were in there rolled up jeans, hot rod t-shirts, and their pompadours. It was cool to see although I noticed nobody in the room knew how to dance to this music. I did!

I wanted to dance so I went to the nearest rockabilly gal. She was in a blue vintage dress and her hair was done in a classic 1950s hairstyle. She didn't know the steps so I quickly showed her and we danced the rest of the song. That just made my night. With the good music, everyone dressed Rockabilly, and now the swing dancing. I was in heaven. The rest of the night I pulled random girls from the crowd and danced with them. It was my spotlight in that room even the band was complimenting me while on stage. When the night was over I came home to high heaven. The word Rockabilly ran through my head all night. Ever since that night I've been dancing at the many Rockabilly shows every single week with my vintage tie and pompadour. 

"You don't find swing dancing, it finds you."

During a conversation over drinks with my dance performance team mates, I just heard a line that made it all come together . "You don't find swing dancing, it finds you."


About a year ago I was invited by one of my good friends to try Lindy Hop Swing Dancing, a vintage partner dance that was popular between the late 1920's into the early 1950's. The venue was at the Turnverein Ballroom in Denver. It started with an hour long lesson then a dance after. My friends and I did the lesson and I learned how to do the basic step as well as few tricks. After the lesson I had enough skill to get out and start dancing.


When the dance started my friends roommate, that came with us, had a bad night and hid in the bathroom. My friends being girls and close friends they all went with her and left me by myself. I sat for about a half an hour waiting for them so I can dance and they still didn't come out. Me being as shy as I was, I was starting get bummed because I only wanted to dance with them. I then got up and decided to get over myself and ask gals to dance. I went out there and asked the first girl I saw to dance. In a welcoming tone she said, "yes."


We started dancing and I quickly noticed that she probably had been dancing for years. It was intimidating at first but I didn't let it bother me. I used the five move I just learned and owned the dance. She was impressed how fast I caught on, on my first day. During this dance she showed me some new moves to add to my dance vocabulary. At the end of the song I dipped her the best way I knew then thanked her. I sat back at the table as the next vintage jazz song started playing. As I was watching, this feeling of euphoria came over me and I realized this is exactly where I wanted to be.


I got back up and danced to every song and with almost every gal in that ballroom. I learned more moves and had the best time of my life. After it was over my friends finally came out of the bathroom and apologized to me. All I had was a big smile on my face.


Before I know it I was taking classes and dancing every week. I haven't stopped since.

Every week I was taking lessons at the Turnverein and dancing my ass off. I quickly met lots of great people and made some new friends and just been having a great time. About 2 months in I discovered another dance venue called the Mercury Cafe.


The Mercury cafe is an eclectic restaurant that has great food with stage were they have many great performances. They have a second floor that is a large ballroom with another stage. It's a really great place for food and entertainment.


I quickly shuffled my busy schedule to accommodate for the many dance nights between the two venues. I danced at the Turnverein every Friday and at the Mercury cafe every Sunday.


I quickly discovered that the Mercury Cafe offers dance lessons before the dance on Sunday nights. I quickly signed up to learn the style that was taught that evening, Jitterbug AKA East Coast swing.
Jitterbug A.K.A East Coast Swing




Jitterbug was a slimmed down version of the Lindy Hop. I took the six step basic from Lindy Hop (which has an 6, 8 , and 10 step basic) and was renamed. This dance became popular through the 50's rock and roll era. This dance included many more flips and move that were eye candy for onlookers.


Much easier to learn, I quickly excelled in this dance and got good very quickly. Meanwhile I was still taking the Lindy Hop lessons at the Turnverein. It wasn't soon after I got really good at both.


During one of the dances, I was having a conversation with my teachers, Tiffiny Wine and Ceth Stifel. They are nationally known swing dancers and the symbol of Denver's Swing dance scene. During this conversation Tiffiny asked me if i do Lindy Hop. I told her I was doing lessons at the Turnverein. She told me to check out her DenverSwingDance.com and then invited me to take her Lindy Hop Lessons and dance on Thursday nights. 


Lindy Hop



That Thursday I came the dance only. As I do always I started dancing with people and having a great time. I sat down and all the swing dance gods, I call them, started coming in. When I saw them dance to these impossibly fast songs, I was in amazement. While I was watching them swing out and flip each other, I know this is the place I want to take lessons. I quickly signed up for Tiffiny and Ceths lessons.


Throughout the year I consistently started taking Lindy Hop and Jitterbug lessons with Tiffiny and Ceth. I quickly moved through the beginner classes into the intermediate classes and now on an exclusive and advanced dance team. 


I cannot wait to see how far I go and how good I get. I want to world to shine its light on me and entertain people with my new artistic ability.