Swing Dancing, Lobdell, lesson 7:30

[Ken T Takusagawa]

Megan Damon and Alex Abdoulaev will teach "Authentic Jazz 
and Solo Charleston".

* MIT Lindy Hop Society Wednesday night dance
* Wednesday, March 4, Lesson 7:30 Dancing 9-11:30 p.m.
* Lobdell Cafeteria (MIT Student Center 2nd floor)
* Free, Beginners welcome, No partner necessary
* DJs Alex Abdoulaev and Megan Stokes

At 7:30 before the dance, Megan Damon and Alex Abdoulaev 
will teach "Authentic Jazz and Solo Charleston". Here is the 
class description:

As an outgrowth of such vernacular dances as the soft shoe and the
cake walk, vernacular jazz rose to popularity during the early 1900s,
quickly developing into an intricate form of solo dance. The
charleston, a direct extension of solo jazz, continued the tradition
during the 1920s following the success of the broadway show "Runnin'
Wild." Despite their vernacular origins, elements of both of these
dance forms are prominently featured in contemporary dance and the
Lindy Hop.

This series of three workshops will focus primarily on the individual
jazz steps and charleston variations. We will begin each workshop by
breaking down a few steps, discussing the technique and theory behind
them, and examine certain unifying technical features of both
charleston and authentic jazz. The steps will ultimately be combined
into pre-choreographed routines in order to build on the technical
and improvisatory features of both of these dance forms.

Routines we will study:
"Bojangles" by Mike Faltesek
"Shim Sham" by Leonard Reed
"Tranky Doo" by Al Minns & Leon James (the "Spirit Moves" version)

For further reference, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston_(dance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaPmyta9y_I



Would anyone like to teach in the coming months?  Our lesson 
schedule is open from March 25 onward.  For March 25 itself 
(MIT's Spring Break), it would be nice to have a completely 
beginner swing lesson for the MIT students who finally have 
a Wednesday night free.

--ken

P.S.:

Thursday, March 5, 9 - 11:00pm. Cat's Corner at the Stomp 
FREE Grand Opening ...up-tempo dancing for the balboa and 
lindy hopper in you. 21 Marathon Street Arlington, MA 
http://fiveguysnamedmike.org/mikes/stomp.html 
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=54450643615

Friday, March 6.  Boston Swing Central is at the YMCA, 820 
Massachusetts Avenue, Central Square, Cambridge, MA (NOT the 
usual location).  Gordon Webster Quintet with Brianna 
Thomas. http://bostonswingcentral.org/

Saturday, March 7. Triple Theme at eXtreme. Lindy hop Blues 
West Coast, 288 Norfolk St, Cambridge. 
http://web.mac.com/mhmiller87/DanceWithLiz/Triple_Theme.html

Boston-area swing dance calendar
 http://www.havetodance.com/calendar.html