This is a new event for me that I attended and got more out
of than I anticipated. About two months ago I was contacted by the Regis
University’s “Swingin’ in the Rain” swing dance club. They had asked me to choreograph
their routine to perform at the local schools dance contest. I was flattered
and glad to do so since this would be my first teaching gig in my Lindy Hop
career.... Continued Below Videos
My Students Performing Their Routine I Choreographed at the Swing Battle.
Me in the Lindy Hop Jack and Jill Finals.
I Placed 3rd!
More Photos Below
...It was a big compliment as well. So I sat in a coffee shop for about
three hours listening to the song they provided me over and over. After about
three cups of coffee I had choreographed a whole lindy hop routing. The
following week I went to Regis and taught the first part to a group of
performers who were so excited and eager to learn. After the class the team had
memorized the first part. After seeing the perform that much, I got a rush of
excitement and happiness by seeing my choreography come to life. We all met up
weekly I taught them the routine piece by piece. In no time, their show was a
few days away. I met up with them to see their run through and give them some
final coaching. I about jumped for joy when I seen them perform the full
routine. The run through looked great. Unfortunately I missed this performance
because of my own rehearsals for the Student Showcase. They were excited to
tell me they did well in their dance off and placed third.
I then convinced them
to perform at the intercollegiate swing battle in the contest. At first they
didn’t want to but after all their hard work I had to talk them into it. So
sure enough the signed up for the team contest. The Intercollegiate swing
battle event was the following week. They rehearsed two more times with me and
several times amongst themselves to prepare. I could not miss this performance
for the world because it was at its best and I wanted see the artwork I had
created. So… I moved all of my plans around to make this event the upcoming
Saturday. Friday rolls up quick and fortunately my plans for that day fell
through. I decided to go the Swing battle event and just do that evenings
dancing dancing. I walk up to the registration booth and asked how much. It was
quite pricey for just one evening of dancing on top of that I would have to pay
again to watch my students performance on Saturday. I just decided to get the
weekend pass since it would me more worth it than paying two different nights
at high prices. I got my wrist band and
noticed the signup sheet for the Lindy Hop Jack and Jill Competition. They said
it’s free to sign up, so I figured, “What the hell” I walk in the ballroom and
my favorite jump blues band “The Lucky Few” was on stage. I danced for while
and it was a good time. At about 10:45 the announcer called all the competitors
downstairs for the jack and jill preliminaries. We all danced off to four
different songs with four different partners. I felt like I did really well.
After it was over the dance continued upstairs as the judges tallied up scores.
An announcement came on the intercom shortly after saying, “Competition results
are up”. I walked to the booth and seen that myself and nineteen others made
the finals. Finals were scheduled for the next day of the event. I was so
excited and glad I purchased the weekend pass to the event.
Saturday came and I was so excited to see my students in
their team competition and also the jack and jill finals I was selected to
participate in. About hour later I meet my team down stairs and answered any
final questions about their routing then had a pep talk and took some great
photos. After the photo session my students surprised me with a really sweet
thank you card containing a really sincere message in side. They thanked me for
my time and I thanked and hugged them all.
It was a good moment for me. After a great team chant we all went up
stairs and my team was on deck to perform. I found a great spot in the audience
as my team went up on stage. As the music started to play and the dancers
started dancing, I nearly cried seeing how great they were doing and seeing my
artwork come to life on stage. The feeling was so over whelming and
exhilarating hearing the cheers from the crowd. They were amazing. I was so
proud of them for getting out there and doing what they love to do and
executing all the moves and aerials of the dance. After seeing the final bow I
clapped and whistled as loud as I can. Then were amazing.
Shortly after came the Lindy Hop Jack and Jill Finals
Intercollegiate Swing
Battle Lindy Hop Finals
This was a great surprise for me since I was only there for
my students and at the last minute signed up for the contest and making finals.
I anticipated the finals for three hours at the dance and finally 11:00pm came
around and they started calling all the finalists on stage. I was first to be
called and the rest followed. They lined us all up and rotated the follows. My
partner for the contest was a girl from Utah. The music came on and we all did
some free dancing for a warm up. She and I danced so well together and we
connected on all the moves and stylings. The song ended and it was time for our
spotlights. During the spotlights, each couple gets eight eight-counts of music
to show our best moves. Each couple then gets two spotlights. She and I had a
really great first dance so I was confident we would do great during our
spotlights. The song started and we started dancing. Right off the bat we
busted out some great moves, stylings and stops. We went to the end of the line
to wait for our next spotlight. We discussed a few special moves to do while
waiting. Our next spotlight came and once again we were awesome. At the end all
the competitors went out and danced for a final all-skate. It ended and we all
were applauded and cheered for. About a half hour later the results were in. To
my surprise my partner and I was called up on stage for the 3rd place winner. I was so
excited to win 3rd since this is the first Lindy Hop competition I
had ever placed in. It was so worth it to purchase the weekend pass. What a great
weekend full of excitement and joy.
Great Photos Taken from Various Photographers
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