Wednesday August 26, 1998

Carole and I travelled to G-MU to see the Rockin Bones play a special gig for the swing club run by Frank the Magician and Duke. As usual, the band was awesome, but the floor left a little bit to be desired. It was just a little bit sticky, having been re-varnished over the summer.

Here are Gretta Thorn and Matt Smiley. They have gone off to UVA and we got this report from them:

From: Matt Smiley mws8n@ser ver2.mail.virginia.edu

When Thomas Jefferson (hereafter to be referred to by The University's euphemism: Mr. Jefferson, or TJ as I like to call him) designed the University of Virginia, he was trying to provide a place where the youth of the country could become enlightened in the areas philosophy, mathematics, literature, etc. Sadly, there was no room in TJ's vision for swing dancing (as it was yet to be introduced for another some 110 years). A similar limited vision can still be found around the campus (hereafter to be referred to by The University's euphemism: "The Grounds") as Swing is just getting started down here. I did a little digging and after a while I met some people that claimed to be proficient "Swingers" (<- A term that I have learned to be a bit leery of). They then proceeded to show me their best Johnny Swing. So by the time I went to the first dance that I heard about, I was a bit inquisitive about whether there was really any dancing in this area.

Well, fortunately Gretta, Julie, and Catherine also go here so, of course, we all met up at this event and scoped "the scene." The band was decent and adapted their style of music to suit our dancing. They were a quartet I believe, and started by playing some salsa music, but we put in some requests and they were more than happy to oblige once they saw the dancing we were doing. More people started watching us and Gretta and I were actually offered teaching positions with the University Union. Of course, we gladly accepted and will begin a cheap knockoff "Tom and Deb" course in two weeks.

Well, we hope to get all of The University Lindy Hopping within 8 weeks and to annihilate the flailing menace- Johnny Swing. There will probably be some dances down here sometime so we'll be sure to keep you all informed if you fancy coming down and visiting. If anybody is considering coming down, I assure you that you would be welcomed by Southern Hospitality and plenty of inquiries as to whether or not you are a professional dancer (these do wonders for your ego).

The DC crowd of Lindy Hopping kids here all seem to be having a great time and I'm certainly learning a whole lot. Namely, that having an obscure talent that impresses hallmates, frat boys, and every member of the opposite sex is the best asset one can have upon matriculating to school. A lot of us are coming back for VSO so we'll see you all around.
---Matt Smiley

It's always great to see John McCalla out dancing -- and he does some amazing things with the very versatile Nina.

We had a great time talking with Duke about his week in San Francisco when he got to hang out with Indigo Swing for a week.

We met these folks (help us out with their names... They seem to be having a good time starting out in Lindy. We wish them all the best!

From: Kihun Shin

Hi Frank and Carole!
It's been 3 months since I finished my internship in the DC area and one thing that still sticks to my mind is the lindy hop that I picked up over the summer. I took the beginner and intermediate lindy lessons (concurrently) from Tom and Deb at GMU and had tons of fun. I ran into you two several times in the GMU events.

Anyway, I like to identify myself and my friend who appears in the last photo in the Photo Gallery/Rockin' Bones at GMU section. Yes, the "Fun Couple" is Su Das and myself, Ki Shin. We met over the summer b/c both of us were interning in the DC area and lived in the GMU dorms. Su goes to UVA and I go to Georgia Tech.

I've been swinging in Atlanta for a year now but people down here really do not lindy hop at all, a major disappointment. Here, we do the East Coast swing (or is it West Coast?) where the steps are rather simple and goes, side side rock, side side rock... repeatedly. The draw to this swing is in the spin moves which focuses on arm movements, rather than the technical footwork that's required by lindy. When I first saw lindy in VA, I did not like it much, until I got bold and took the lessons. Down in Atlanta, it's pretty frustrating b/c I can't exercise the things I learned from Tom and Debra. I did however teach several beginner's moves to my friends including the Charleston and the triple step. Still, I'm having a major lindy withdrawal symptom:) Maybe someone can contact the people in Atlanta to spread lindy here. The major swing clubs are Masquerade and Swingers (located in Buckhead).

Well maybe I can become the Georgia Tech swing contact for your website. Keep up the great work!
Ki Shin