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Swing On In Newsletter – A closer look will reveal a different form  of rebellion….

“A closer look will reveal a different form  of rebellion: one that chooses optimism for building community and a sense of it’s own unique identity”.  V.Vale – Swing, the New Retro Renaissance

Hello and welcome to the latest instalment of Swing On In News.  In this brief newsletter you will find:

  1. Summer Series Workshops – we have added Balboa and Aerials to the list.
  2. Classes Update
  3. Cooly Rocks On Harvest Moon Swing Ball
  4. Take the A Train Swing Ball
  5. A Vintage Styling Workshop for the Ladies!
  6. Brief History of the Charleston

Sundays are now dance fun days for learning 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]

3rd April – Tap Dance for Beginners with Miss Amanda DB ($40pp)

24th April – Rockabilly with Chrissy & Ray ($50pp)

15th May – Belly Dancing with Miss Vena Cava ($60pp)

29th May – Balboa with Scott & Arrienne ($80pp)

5th June – Solo Charleston Routines with Chrissy & Ray ($45pp)

3rd July –  Lindy Hop Aerials with Chrissy & Ray ($60pp)

Classes Update:

Well it was super nice to see some of our beautiful SOI Northern Rivers dancers car pool up to the Gold Coast Class.  Due to the Floods and our Mullum Venue being used as the state Recovery Centre we have our Mullum classes on hold until Thursday 7 April when we will be back.

Classes start at 7pm and are free for any SOI Northern Rivers Dancers affected by floods.

Obviously if you can assist someone you know personally on the ground then thats the way to go but otherwise anyone wanting to assist with the recovery of the Northern Rivers & SE Qld then I suggest you have a look at this site who are doing such a fabulous job and I love that you can virtually store gifts until they are needed:  GIVIT

Gold Coast Class:  WEDNESDAY’S – 7pm – $20pp – Mermaid Beach Bowls Club

Mullum Class – Recommencing 7th April – THURSDAY’S – 7pm – $20pp – Mullum Ex Serviceman’s Club –  FREE for flood Affected

Rhydian Lewis is putting on a swing social dance on Friday 1st April.. here are the details:

“Hi swingers. Coorabell hall is on again first Friday of every month. 1st April is the next one. 7-11pm 563 Coolamon scenic Drive Coorabell nsw. Pay on the door. Big dance floor and live music. Food available. BYO. $20 entrance” 

Cooly Rocks On Swing Ball – Friday 10th June 2022

OK, so you know it’s happening BUT you haven’t seen it on the website yet and you can’t see where to buy tickets yet?  That’s OK, they are saving the best release to last!

I CAN tell you that:

  1. It will be held on Friday 10th June – 7pm
  2. It will be held in same venue as last year with some suggested modification from feedback from last year
  3. There will be OVER 300 tickets on sale (No Covid caps)
  4. It will be a Stella SWING Band
  5. Not sure on ticket price yet but similar to last year I suspect.

Take the A Train Swing Ball – Saturday 17 September 2022

Get your Tickets:   HERE IS YOUR EXCLUSIVE LINK: 
ALL ABOARD.. Take the A Train to the biggest Swing Ball of the Year…
“Take the A Train Swing Ball” is a fabulous and unique event that will take place on the sensational Gold Coast on the night of Saturday 17th September 2022. The sights and sounds of last century’s “Grand Balls” awaits you. Combining lifestyle, music, dance and the allure of the heady days of the Copacabana Club of the 1930’s New York, we will transport you to a high-spirited atmosphere and you will be immersed into the most fashionable highlight of the year.
The entertainment program of the night features the 13 piece Big Band “Sweet Thunder”. Spotlight entertainment to surprise and delight you also will be peppered throughout the evening.
A night for love. A night for dreams. A night to remember for the rest of your life.
Take the A Train Swing Ball will take place at the Gold Coast Croatia Sports Centre on Saturday, September 17th, 2022. Doors open at 6.00 pm. Tickets $99 including a three course meal.
Dress: Evening/Ball

A Vintage Styling Workshop for the Ladies! – How to do your hair for Swing Dancing…  Saturday 30th April 2022

GOLD COAST – $120 pp
Saturday 30th April 2022
– Limited to 10 places
must book direct by emailing me: [email protected]
Vintage/Old Hollywood Hair & Makeup Skills, Tips and Tricks
Using tools and also learning without tools.
Pin Up/Retro and Kustom Kulture Looks also covered.
I will also be running you through the art of Do Rags, Scarves and Turbans for days when you just don’t have it in you to do a fancy do!
If you have ever dreamed of having that classic, vintage look but never knew how? Do you long for a bit of 1940s glamour, 50’s cheesecake or retro style? Miss Chrissy and her Team can help you.
Yes we do Victory Rolls, Barrel Curls, Betty Bangs, Hollywood Rolls and Gibson Rolls too. We just start with Pin Curls!!
This class is open to all ages and if you are wanting to achieve some of these looks? Then this is the class for you…
Bring:
Your scarves, hats and accessories if you need some help styling them.
Hairspray, Brushes, Combs and hot rollers or hot sticks (if you have),
Hair Ties and Slide Combs, head bands etc. whatever you have.
Makeup
I will have stocks of setting lotion, grips, pin curl clips, wave clips and grooming cream etc on hand to buy on the day.
If you don’t have much, I will have all my kits for use.

A brief History of The Charleston…. WHY?

“because I am teaching Year 8’s and 9’s at Elanora State High and I had to gather some quick easy intel for them…Always Learning we are”.. I did not know some of this:

1800’s – Juba dance as the early origin of the Charleston

Enslaved Africans brought it (The Charleston dance) from Kongo to Charleston, South Carolina, as the Juba dance, which then slowly evolved into what is now known as Charleston. (…) In African, however, the dance is called Juba or the Djouba. The name Charleston was given to the Juba dance by Europeans much later when they came to America.

Even in the 18th century the Juba dance (today known as Charleston) was so popular that a premium was placed on black domestics who would be good Juba dancers to teach the lady of the house some steps.

1900’s – The Geechie or Gullah Dance now known as the Charleston.

The Charleston dance belongs to the family of African-American vernacular dances. More specifically it is an authentic jazz dance as it was done to jazz music (“hot jazz” and originally the ragtime)  combining elements derived from improvised African dance moves with syncopated jazz rhythms.

1920’s and beyond – the Charleston as we know it.  There are many and varied stories of how it got it’s name and it’s hard to qualify but however it arrived at this new name it stuck and is one of the most iconic and well known and celebrated dances of all time.

In the early 20s the Charleston dance turned into a popular American craze, a distinctive, maybe stereotyped, feature of the Jazz Age, the flappers and the era of Prohibition. The  dance would have been performed in many nightclubs and streets of New York. Still it was said to have been “officially” presented in the all-Black Broadway show Runnin’ Wild (1923). The show was one of the earlier African – American Broadway successes. There it was danced to the hit song “The Charleston” by the Black American composer James P. Johnson.

In 1925 an African American performer Josephine Baker introduced the Charleston dance in Europe during her Parisian tour “Le revue negre”. Shortly after, the Charleston dance soon became international craze.

1930’s & 1940’s & Lindy Hop:

A slightly different form of Charleston became popular in the 1930s and 1940s, and is associated with Lindy Hop. In this later Charleston form, the hot jazz timing of the 20s Charleston was adapted to suit the swing jazz music of the 1930s and 1940s. This style of Charleston has many common names, though the most common are Lindy Charleston, Savoy Charleston, 30s or 40s Charleston and Swinging Charleston. In both the 20s Charleston and Swinging Charleston, the basic step takes eight counts and is danced either alone or with a partner.

Frankie Manning and other Savoy dancers saw themselves as doing Charleston steps within the Lindy rather than to be dancing Charleston

Further Reading HERE
As always, Swinging Regards,
Love Chrissy & Ray

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