Do a loony-goony dance
‘Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain’t been there before.”
― A Light in the Attic
In this Newsletter:
- Classes
- Summer Workshops in the Studio
- Gigs & Festivals around town – Random Choices, there’s so much on!
- Lindy Hop in Popular Culture a great article by ILindy.com
Gold Coast Classes – Recommencing WEDNESDAY 23RD FEBRUARY 2022 – 7pm – Mermaid Beach Bowls Club
After a couple of false starts we hope that this start date will see Swing On In Gold Coast grow and create more of the laughter, fun, learning and community spirit it is so well known for. See you on the dance floor.
Mullum Classes: THURSDAYS – 7PM – Mullum Ex Servicemans Club – 58 Dalley St
This Biggest Little Town in Australia. This little town has a huge Swing Dance Community at Swing On In and are a bunch of crazy fun larrikins that love to dance. Pop along anytime, no masks no green tick required, roll on to the dance floor with us. CLUB LINK HERE
SUMMER WORKSHOPS IN THE SWING ON IN STUDIO: Such Variety Here…
Sundays are now dance fun days for learn with some extraordinary instructors from different genres of dance that will enhance our Lindy Hop.
SUNDAYS – 10.00am start – 2 workshops in each session. Address given at the time of booking. Email to book: [email protected]
6th March – Put some Sass into your Stylings – Burlesque with Summer Dragonfly and Mara Maraschino
13 March – Solo Charleston (2 routines) with Chrissy & Ray)
20th March – Bob Fosse’s The FRUG with Miss Amanda DB
3rd April – Tap Dance for Beginners with Miss Amanda DB
24th April – Rockabilly with Chrissy & Ray
15th May – Belly Dancing with Miss Vena Cava
Random choice of Gigs Around Town:
Saturday 19 February – Rockabilly Festival – 1 Night Only at Nightquarter Featuring Lindy Charm School and Swing On In
Nightquarter Address: The Avenue, Birtinya QLD 4575
Times: 4pm to 9pm
4pm – Band – The Argonauts
5pm – Pop Up Pin Up Styling Booth with Lindy Charm School
6pm – Dancing – Swing A Billy Ray tunes – everyone encouraged to dance everywhere..
7pm – Band The Bowry Boys
Dance the night away
Eats, Drinks, Fun and Great Music
Tickets: CHEAP:
Triple Treat Markets – Vintage, Records and Plants… An Event put on by Lori Lee
Swing Shack – 2nd Friday of every Month
Brisbane’s longest running continuous Swing Dance social event since at least 2005. At Swing Shack you’ll see people of all ages practising their Swing Dancing including styles like Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Charleston, Blues, Balboa and from time to time you will also see solo routines like the Shim Sham, Big Apple or even the Trankee Doo. The music will cover a variety of tempos so you can swing out with Lindy Hop, breeze with Balboa, go crazy with Charleston and even Blues the night away.
This Swing Shack event kicks off with a “Taster Class” that will get anybody dancing even if you have two left feet. Our goal is to have you smiling and having a good time while you learn this fun thing called “Swing Dancing!”
- Doors open at 7 pm
- When: Second Friday of each month
- 7:30 – 8:30pm : – Absolute Beginners Lindy Hop Taster Class
- 8:30 – 11:00pm the lights will be turned down for social dancing to Brisbane’s awesome Swing DJ’s.
- Venue : – Newmarket Hall – 212 Ashgrove Ave – Ashgrove
- Cost :- $15 (Non-band nights) or $20 all (Live band nights)
- Parking :- Lots of parking available underneath the venue. On-street parking also available.
- Please feel free to invite your friends along as this is an open event – we can’t personally invite everyone, so please share the love of Swing Dancing!!!
SUNDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2022 – Summertime Swing with Sweet Thunder – Redlands PAC
Wednesday 2 March 2022 – Gold Coast Cotton Club Presents – The Jazz Kings at Devito’s Waterfront Restaurant
Info:
Sunday 6 March – SOUL’D – Big Band – Big Sound, Funky Fun to dance to..
16/17 April 2022 – Put on By Rock Swingz: FB Event:
Trombone Kellie Gang
(5 piece lineup – Kellie (Vox/Trombone), Peter (Vox/Guitar), Vonnie (Sax), Justin (Bass), Drums)
Entry – $28.50PP
Reserved Table for 6 – $171
Doors Open 6:00PM – DJ’s, dancing & dance lessons
Band 7:30PM til late
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SUNDAY NIGHT – April 17th
Dezzie D and the Stingrayz
(5 piece lineup – Desley Done (Vox), Tyler Cooney (Guitar), Matt Luff (Tenor Sax), Jason Chandler (Bass), Greg Baikaloff (Drums)
Entry – $35PP
Reserved Table for 6 – $210
Doors Open 6:00PM – DJ’s, dancing & dance lessons
Band 7:30PM til late
19-22 MAY 2022 – BLUES ON BROADBEACH
A Great Dance Event and the line up is awesome. So glad we live on the Gold Coast and have the trams at our door. Let the parties begin!
A Great Article by ILindy.com
Have you wondered “what is Lindy Hop?” or about swing dancing in general? Maybe you’ve heard the name “Lindy Hop” before but unsure what it’s all about? Well, pull up a chair and grab a hot beverage! We’re here to tell you all about Lindy Hop: the dance, the history, and its cultural legacy!
Lindy Hop is a Black American dance that originated in Harlem, New York City in the late 1920s and hit the height of its popularity in the 1930s and ‘40s as part of mainstream American culture. The social dance developed from a combination of earlier dances like Tap, Charleston, and Breakaway, and evolved alongside the popular music of the time, jazz.
Perhaps Ken Burns said it most elegantly,
“Jazz. It is America’s music born out of a million American negotiations between having and not having; between happy and sad; country and city; between black and white; men and women; between the old Africa and the old Europe. That could only have happened in an entirely new world.
It is an improvisational art, making itself up as it goes along, just like the country that gave it birth. It awards individual expression, but demands selfless collaboration. It is forever changing but nearly always rooted in the blues. It has a rich tradition and its own rules, but it is brand new every night.”
This not only describes the music, but the dance and its intricacies as well. Lindy Hop was never just one thing. It embodied the joy on the other side of struggle, freedom on the other side of repression, and representation when there was erasure. For some people it was a means to have fun to music, connect to others, and be a member of a community; for others it was an outlet, a way to express their emotions, and share their contribution to the world.
Lindy Hop is not only a social dance, but also a spectacular and memorable artform for performances and competitions. If the idea of “swing dancing” makes you think of crazy fast jitterbug that includes impressive air steps (throw your partner!), then you already know a little bit about the exciting performance aspect of the dance. Here’s the most famous example of performance Lindy Hop ever to be recorded. From the film Hellzapoppin’ – READ ON AND SEE CLIPS HERE
Til Next Time,
Keep Scratching Circles on that Old Dance Floor!
Chrissy & Ray xx