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Friday November 13, 1998

We went to Poli-Tiki for swing night. We had a very good time --- it seemed like the place was a "Who's Who" of Lindy Hoppers. Matt Dunn did a great job of spinning the CDs. When we got there, we were pleased to see Thea Austen, Brian MacGregor, and Bob Klleinpeter. Later on, Larry MacDonald and Dan Dailey made an appearance. Then, Big Ed Burak dropped in, all the way from Marshall, Va. The college crowd was well represented -- Erik Newton and a whole gang of GMU folks were there, celebrating the birthday of their friend Erica. Then Keith and Glynnis and some of the Corcoran crowd showed up. Then Carolyn Biczel and Tom Koerner arrived. Pretty soon, the place was really jumping. We even managed to get in a Jitterbug Stroll and Shim Sham. This was a very swinging evening, and once again, the staff at Poli-Tiki were very gracious to the dancers.

Jim and Elizabeth went to see the Cherry Poppin' Daddies:

From: Elizabeth Engel ewengel@apsanet.org

The Washington Post blows it again - first they pan Indigo Swing and rave about Brian Setzer, and now they give an undeservedly favorable review to the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. You all know I don't run down bands because, as a musician myself, I know how hard it is to get up there and perform for people. But I have to say that Friday was a major disappointment. I probably wouldn't have chosen to go see CPD in the first place as Jim bought their CD months ago and, after the first time through, I've never listened to it again, but one of my non-dancing buds is a big fan of the PieTasters (opening band), and he knows I swing dance, and we haven't been hanging together much lately, so when he proposed an evening of music and dancing, I was loathe to say no. And, to be fair, I did enjoy getting to spend some time with him.

But CPD is a *lousy* dance band, and not even a very good band on other counts. I am not a big ska fan (I tend to find the music simplistic and uninteresting), but at least the PieTasters were a good band, even though it's not my favorite style. CPD were just really bad, and the lead singer spends most of his time shrieking, jumping around like someone who's had one too many double espressos, or making weird faces. Or all three at the same time. Not good. And the band! At one point, the lead singer wanted to change his shoes. Well, instead of just playing something or extending one of their songs to keep things moving, they just stopped playing entirely and stood around staring at each other until he came back on stage. Um, hello?

And as a dance band, they're pretty much a total loss. At least 40% of their songs are utterly undanceable in ANY style of dance, including ska "dancing." Of the remaining songs, half of them are so fast you can barely dance to them, and on the other half they're constantly changing tempo, so you can't stay with them. There was a lot of the synchronized jumping up and down that passes for dancing at ska concerts, a few people trying a little swing (the only one I recognized was Keith, and I don't think he recognized us), and us, trying desperately to Lindy, jitterbug, or shag with only moderate and intermittent success.

And the crowd was totally not clued at all - we were in the back left room trying to dance while staying out of people's way, and people would wander around aimlessly standing right where we were trying to dance, even though there was plenty of space both on the main floor and in the little back room to stand in that would have been totally out of our way and even though there was plenty of room to pass by without getting in our path.

Actually, the best part of the whole evening was the opening opening band (pre PieTasters), whose name I didn't get. They were sort of a funk/reggae fusion which, although they aren't swingable styles, are two styles of music I enjoy. And they were really, really good. But otherwise it was pretty much a waste of $20 and an evening when I could've been at PoliTiki or Zones. So anyway, consider yourself warned - stay FAR FAR away from any Cherry Poppin' Daddies concerts. And if Jim buys any more of their CD's, I'll kill him. Or smash the CD. Or smash the CD and THEN kill him.

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Saturday November 14, 1998

This was an interesting evening, lots of stuff happening. The Hula Monsters were at Poli-Tiki, so we started the evening there. We were joined by Cameron Sellers and we had a great time with the floor practically to ourselves during the first set. Not for long, however, Steve Cowles and Carla Heiney showed up and set the place on fire.. The Hula Monsters are really great, and it was quite hard to leave, but we have a policy of actually visiting the places on our "Top Ten" list. So, it was off to the Lucky Bar, and Brooks Tegler's Hot Jazz.

A parenthetical note: Carole seems to have this almost supernatural ability to find parking spaces where there are none. The Lucky Bar is at about Connecticut and N Streets, one of the most crowded areas in the city. I was flabbergasted when we drove up and there was a parking space right in front of the bar. Amazing. Brooks Tegler was in GREAT form and we even managed to get a clear floor for a demo --- and the place was crowded! Brooks was kind enough to favor us with a lot of hot drum work while we danced. Just as we had the crowd in the palm of our hands, Steve and Carla showed up --- lots of folks were making the circuit that night... For real style, it is hard to beat Steve and Carla!

From the Lucky Bar, we made our way up to Cleveland Park and the Aroma Company, Jamie Glover's new Lounge Venue. It is small and intimate, no real dance space, so it's a great place to end the evening, especially if you're dead tired. The place is directly opposite the Uptown Theater, and is a good place to go and sit with your best vintage on. Of all things, Carole found a parking space two doors down from the place. When we left, a small crowd of people spotted us, apparently recognizing us from our pictures on the website. We sent them on in to the Aroma Company.

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Sunday November 15, 1998

We're glad to hear from Jenny Manlove with a review of Eddie and Eva's sessions at Avalon:

From: Jenny Manlove jmanlove@childtrends.org

Eddie and Eva taught some wonderful styling and lindy moves in their classes this weekend at the Avalon (Thursday - Sunday). Eddie and Eva are members of the Rhythm Hotshots, and they showed different dance styles in their demos on Saturday night. They taught jazz moves, intermediate and advanced lindy with a focus on styling, an aerials class, and a performance class. They focussed a lot on styling and on lead-follow techniques to help improve the look of basic and more advanced moves. Their performance class included a great explanation on how to swing out to very fast music. Thanks to Leslie Coombs and Swing Baltimore for organizing workshops that were reasonably priced and accessible to dancers in the DC - Baltimore area.

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Monday November 16, 1998

I dropped in to Chevy Chase Ballroom and I continue to be amazed at the crowds. There are a whole lot of new Lindy Hoppers being minted here and it looks like there is some real star talent developing. Of course, Bernstein's artistry with the CDs contributes to the atmosphere. Hats off to Bernstein. Jim Kranyak was there and showed some video from the Eddie and Eva sessions. The footage was very impressive, particularly E&E's Black Bottom routine. But, the featured event was Mike Henry's Thirtieth Birthday. We had a cake, and a massive dance-off. Happy Birthday, Mike!

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Tuesday November 17, 1998

We joined Mark and Ellen (and Dan Dailey and Liz Cullison) for a very fun-filled evening at Ozio. The crowd is really picking up and we met a whole lot of very interesting people. The best part of the evening was the Fraternity Party in the downstairs bar --- one by one the folks began to make their way up to the main lounge for the swing dancing. Mark and Ellen had to do the equivalent of a second lesson! This is a great in-town place, and you can start the evening early at 6:30. You can even head out to Vienna Grille, afterward.

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Wednesday November 18, 1998

We joined Ron Meadows and his friend Janie for the Hubcaps bi-annual show at Blob's Park. This year, we had the good sense NOT to dance during the second set. The Hubcaps were in good form and we had a very enjoyable time.

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Thursday November 19, 1998

What a week! We started things out with a visit to Studebaker's on Rockville Pike. Daryl Davis was playing and this gig had a big nostalgic appeal for us when Studebakers was the only game in town. Alas, tonight, the crowd was smallish, although we got to see a whole lot of our old friends, including Andrea Mac Intosh and Peggy Hepburn. (Peggy is a veteran of Tom and Deb's original 1994 Lindy Class...). Daryl, of course, was simply marvelous. He always sounds great, no mater who his sidemen are... actually, tonight, he had a sidelady, a wonderful sax player named Fran, who could also play piano. We always get a kick out of Daryl. During the break, we got the DJ to play "Jump Jive and Shake" off the Dr. Zoot CD. All in all a very nice time.

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Friday November 20, 1998

This was a night for massive club-hopping. Carole and I started at Poli-Tiki for swing night. Thea and Brian seem to be developing a very nice swing scene there. We had a couple of very nice dances and met two nice ladies who were visiting from Chicago.

However, we had been tipped by Debra Sternberg that German TV would be filming at America, so we jumped into the car and made tracks for Tysons. We got there JUST as the jam was starting and "popped up" magically to take our regular place. Koerner seemed to be surprised. We chatted with folks during the break and joined in the Shim Sham. The place was really crowded!

From America, we headed out to Vienna Grille to catch the last set of the Sevilles. The crowd had begun to thin out, so we had plenty of room to dance. We were pleased to run into Diane Carroad --- imagine that, staying out late in a den of iniquity like the Grille! She looked like she was having a whole lot of fun! It was really nice to chat with Cherie Grasso of the Sevilles. They're going to be playing at Centreville on Dec 4, and they are always a favorite of ours.

Here's a more "in depth" look at the situation at America, sent in by Dan LaGrone:

From: Dan LaGrone dwlrr@hotmail.com

Last night at America was yet another exercise in Full-Contact Lindy Hop. The band was jumpin', as per usual, but there was a big people surplus. Everything seemed alright at nine, with a few people around and a decent crowd of spectators. Little did I know... After the band started, people swarmed out of the woodwork. It was probably the most crowded I have ever seen America. People were all over the floor and spilling off the sidelines. I don't know exactly how many people showed up, but the restaurant musta been happy with it. But not happy enough to clear out more tables. There was one part of the evening that was particularly thrilling for me. The band was into a fast number, and I was dancing with a friend behind a bunch of people who were staring at something. Then, Tom Koerner appeared out of nowhere and waved me through the crowd. I proceeded on through, and found my self, along with 7-8 other couples, dancing in front of a huge crowd. This made me incredibly nervous and I blew at least five moves, but it was worth it. The rest of the evening was full of head smacks, shin kicks, and general ruckus. The Jam was wonderful, well populated, and interesting as usual. The only wrinkle was that the circle had shrunk because of the sheer number of people present. There was also a guy-guy couple who went after Nina and Naomi. While not as refined, they were darned funny, and the gentleman who was the follow seemed to have his swivel circle down pat. They just need to be careful with the A-kicks..... Well, that's all I have.

From: Ellen Werther heartsdesire@knight-hub .com

This past Friday a group of us trekked out to Centerville--to put on a vintage clothing fashion show for the folks at Nancy Baird's dance place. We--and that includes Michael Henry, Sue Fedor, Steve Devoney, Sean Sanders, Vanessa Bridgets, Amanda Paisner, Eric Lemmere, Cullen Kowalski, Danae Christodoulo, Yvonne and Ann Amarga--had a great time, strutting around in the vintage clothing. Steve and Sue gave a little history of lindy hop shpeil, and then we did a little demo. I've attached a couple of pictures from my new digital camera Unfortunately, I am just learning to use said camera, and most of the pictures did not come out! PS, Big Joe and his new combo played at this event. Even so, the crowd was very small....and very young. I am hoping the venue will take off. Nancy is certainly putting a hell of a lot of effort into it.

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Saturday November 21, 1998

This was another night for club-hopping.

We started the evening at a benefit for the Tuckahoe School as the guests of Iver and Lee Cooper. The folks had a very nice buffet and a silent auction for the benefit of the school. While people were silently bidding, Iver and Lisa Morgan Brown, Steve Devoney and Sue Fedor and We put on a small dance exhibition. [I bid on the opportunity to be "Principlal for a Day", dreaming of declaring a giant Recess in which we could firmly implant Lindy Hop in tender young minds... I was not successful... but kids are never too young for Zoot Suits if you ask me]

Then, we headed into the city for the Lucky Bar and were fortunate to see Terrence McArdle and Big Trouble. They have a very nice jump blues repertoire and even did a dynamite version of "Caldonia" in which we seized the floor for a demo. The Lucky Bar is attracting a very substantial crowd who seem to be having a great time. This is a very nice place to drop in for a few dances.

Our next stop was the Aroma Company, a lounge scene. We were treated to a very fine performance by the John Liebman band, featuring Rick Serfas on guitar. There isn't a whole lot of room to dance, but the scene is definitely there.

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Sunday November 22, 1998

We dropped in to America. Showtime was airing a "docu-drama" about Walter Winchell, so we decided to take a leaf from that book. Thanks to our friend Stacy at WJFK, we did a live interview about the DC swing scene right from the restaurant. Well, it wasn't the Stork Club, but it was a whole lot of fun. Thanks to Kirk, the Sunday manager for setting up the telephone connection. Tom and Debra's classes are packed and we got a chance to meet a lot of folks that we don't normally see like Frank the Magician. It turns out that he has been taking break dancing classes. Look for that in a jam some day...

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Monday November 23, 1998

We headed out to Chevy Chase Ballroom which was absolutely packed to the gills. We're looking forward to next Monday when Bernstein gets to try out his brand new sound system.

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Tuesday November 24, 1998

We didn't go out. Maxie Dorf, the king of Balboa sent us fifty pictures from the 1930s to the present. They were so fantastic that we spent the whole day and far into the night editing them and getting them on the site. Since then, Maxie has sent us a whole lot more material which we are busy scanning and preparing for the site. This is a real historical treasure and you should check it out on the website.

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Wednesday November 25, 1998

From Sue Fedor deevoo@cwix.com

Being the night before Thanksgiving and all...and wanting to have a nice romantic evening of dancing (as opposed to a loud, raucous one) we trekked up to Westminster, MD to see Bill Elliot and the Boys (and Girl). The drive is LONG....about an HOUR from our house in Silver Spring, which is why we don't do this more often.

The place was PACKED, mostly with onlookers. The only other dancers were folks from John (Psychoboy) McCalla's group and an occaisional couple or two on the slow numbers. Steve and I and John and one of his students took turns "dancing" (more like showing off...) which is hard for us to do because, unlike John, we don't have pat routines complete with aerials to pull out at the drop of a hat. Perhaps we should work on this. Steve isn't quite at the stage where he can improvise continuously....I can...but that's called "backleading" and my partner does not appreciate the micromanagement.

We had a lovely dinner of crab dip and salad. This may come as a surprise to some of you who visited Johannson's earlier, but the food has improved, apparently. We found it quite good. And a huge appetizer (an order for one feeds two) and salads, with bottomless glasses of soda, came to about $26, which is what we'd pay for cover and food somewhere else.

The band was wonderful...but I was longing for our sound guy, Matthew and his equipment. Matt had them mixed perfectly at the Ballroom so that you could hear Kay singing and all the instruments clearly. At Johannson's everything is run through the same amp...not the most ideal setup for clarity. But the band is playing more and more gigs, which is good. They're thinking of investing in better equipment. If you wish to book them, drop us a line and we'll give you the info!

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Thursday November 26, 1998

Thanksgiving Day began (for us, anyway) with the ritual of Stuffing the Bird. Every year, We play host to all the Lindy Hoppers and musicians that are unable to get home for Thanksgiving with their families. This year, we only had 22 people, down from 35 last year. Comparing last year's guest list with this year's, we find that a large number of our former guests have entered into relationships that provided other alternatives for the day (like vacations, the U.S. Open, and "new" family...).

Given our reduced guest list, we only cooked a 30 pound turkey, down from last year's 40 pound wonder. Once again, things were so hectic around "Zero Hour" that we forgot to take the "Norman Rockwell" picture. This year's surprise was Charlie Hubel of the J Street Jumpers -- he turns out to be quite the pastry chef, contributing several pies (pumpkin, mince and deep-dish apple) as well as two really spectacular cheesecakes.

Once again, we had a replay of "Crossfire" with Bob Kleinpeter and Cameron Sellers on the Right and Gay and Dave Shepardson on the left. The conversation went on until 9:30 when the gang decided to head out for the only Thanksgiving action available --- the Red Hot Swinging Johnsons at LuLus.

This was a truly unusual event --- the place was swarming with Euro-Techno people who actually complained to management about the presence of a live band. (Question: these people are constantly getting calls on their teeny-weeny cell phones... Who calls someone at a bar? Is it part of this culture to answer the phone when you are dancing?) We left shortly after the first break when the maddening pounding of the mega bass combined with the smoke machine proved to be too much.

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Friday November 27, 1998

We had a really great time at Nick's in Alexandria. This was the opening preview of Tom and Deb's new series of dances that will be providing a Lindy-friendly environment on Saturdays at an all-ages venue. The J Street Jumpers supplied the music and added several numbers to their repertoire, including a stand-up version of "Sifonia B" with Arthur Gerstner shining on vocals. Marianna looked spectacular in a 40s dress that Carole found for her in a thrift store in Frederick.

However, the very best part of the evening was the return of all the College students -- including Mara Levy, Lian Eoyang, Sara and Alex Fajkowski, Julie Sargeant, and Jon Mills. Both Debra and I felt like parents who were glad to see the kids after their first time away from home.

The other good part of the evening was chatting with Gail Mooney, a photographer for Smithsonian Magazine, who was in town shooting pictures for an upcoming (April, 1999) issue. She must have shot ten rolls of film. I was greatly relieved when she said that it is extremely difficult to get good pictures of swing dancing. I thought that I was just the klutz...

Here is a review of activities at the U.S. Open from Thomas Iveson:

From: Thomas Iveson tiveson@hotmail.com

The Fidgety Feet team made it out to Anaheim for the US Open at the Disneyland Hotel. For Gretta it was difficult what with it being Thanksgiving and her Birthday! She turned 18 just in time to meet the age requirement for the competition. For Jeff it was a white Knuckle trip as he hates flying. We reassured him by telling lots of disaster stories which also helped to vacate all the seats around us in an almost empty flight.

Once we arrived and found our way to our accomodations we trouped over to the Disneyland Hotel to check out the scene. Matt was horror struck to see a room devoid of anything resembling LindyHop. For Carolina Shaggers, Wessies (LA slang for west coasters), and Hustlers it was a thrilling sight...glittering belts, split skirts, tight T-shirts. We, however, were all dressed in bowling shirts with the Fidgety Feet logo and did not blend in. When we asked for a Lindy tune the floor emptied and there was no second guessing who had asked for this bomb of a tune.

So we dutifully danced, and then Matt went and hung his head when the music returned to its former tempo. Friday was vintage clothes shopping day. I was broke so I will defer to the others to talk about this part. Friday night we eventually found our way to a club called Memories which was the highlight of the weekend. There was a great crowd, some doing Savoy style and to Jeff's delight a whole clutch of people dancing Dean Collins Style. Jeff is now thinking of spending every vacation at Memories so that he can learn all the cool moves these folk were doing.

From: Elizabeth Weaver Engel ewengel@apsanet.org

On Friday, my brother, who lives outside Harrisburg, had off while his fiancee had to work. So, being the nice sister I am, I told him Jim and I would head out and spend the day with him and then go dancing that evening. We arrived around lunch time and spent the afternoon shopping. First we went to Eddie's in downtown Harrisburg (313 Market Street). It's a very cool place, with (I thought) reasonably priced new zoot-style clothes. Jim tried on a few suits, but he's not going to be happy until he has one just like Chris Cowles' so he didn't get anything. My brother picked up a very fun and flashy tie to wear while dancing, and we had a good time looking around.

After that, we headed into downtown Mechanicsburg to a very cool vintage store called Fairey Godmother's (13 West Main Street, right across from the Gingerbread Man --- 717-795-8100, open from 12 - 6 Tues - Sat). It's crammed with stuff from the 40's through the 70's - men's and women's clothes, shoes, hats, gloves, jewelry, handbags, housewares, games, old appliances (Frank, you would've plotzed!). It's a great place, and many of the articles of clothing are marked with the decade. Stuff is reasonably priced and generally in good condition, and the staff are very knowledgeable. [Editor's Note: Although both Frank and Donnie Brasco have the same opinion of the word "plotz.", we made a beeline for Mechanicsburg on December 3. The store is, indeed, as the Engels describe it!]

After dinner, we headed back into Harrisburg to the Appalachian Brewing Company (50 North Cameron Street, 717-221-1080) for an evening of dancing to Big Tubba Mista. ABC is a huge multi-story place, with a good sized room with a good floor for dancing in the back on the second floor. We got there in time to see part of the lesson taught by Ari and Lizzie on a VERY crowded floor and to practice some steps from the Marcus and Barbl tapes we picked up at ALHC in the corner of the room.

When the band first started it was rough going for dancing. The room is long and narrow, with the bandstand at the one end. So we had to deal with two problems: one, the crowd that wanted to stand around and drink and watch the band; and two, beginning dancers who'd just been taught a Charleston routine. We were right up by the band, but after being kicked bad twice during the first two numbers (Ouch! Hard soled shoes! Get some Bleyers people!), we decided it was time for a water break.

ABC, following the lead of other places that are trying to deal with dancers logically, set out big Igloo coolers of water and plastic cups all over the place so the dancers don't have to bother the bartenders. So we picked up a few cups of water and headed out to the large wooden deck that's right off the main 2nd floor bar area. Eureka! It was cool, the surface wasn't bad (well, OK, no slides, but other than that it was OK), and we could hear the band just fine. We danced and practiced out there through the rest of the first set.

After that, we went inside to chat with Lizzie and Clarrisa, who'd come over from Millersville for the evening with some friends, and during the second set, the back part of the room cleared out nicely, so Jon and Megan, Jim and I, Clarissa, Ari and Lizzie, and some other dancers from Ari's classes up there had plenty of room to dance.

Now, as far as the band is concerned, they do suffer from the current nouveau-swing band problems (music tends to be too fast for comfort and the music doens't really swing), but not nearly as seriously as some more popular bands who shall remain nameless. There were very few tunes that were actually too fast for dancing, and the band has a good sound. With a little more time and experience (and maybe some dance lessons for the band), I think they could really be a decent dance band.

According to Ari, ABC has swing every Friday night from 9 - midnight. Even with the band, the cover was only $5, and I think it's normally $2. It was 21 and up only Friday. If you're ever in the Harrisburg area on a Friday night, check it out. It's a good time. But do be aware that if you don't bring a partner, you will have to do all the asking. Most of the people are scared to ask anyone they don't know to dance, I suspect probably because so many of them are still so new to Lindy.

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Saturday November 28, 1998

Saturday found us at the monthly Cunningham dance at Glen Echo. The event brought out a huge crowd of excellent dancers who stayed until the bitter end, even stomping and shouting for one more song. This is always a really fun event and this week was no exception. All of our extended "college" family showed up, and we were graced by the presence of Tena Morales who set the ALHC on fire a few weeks ago. We had a fantastic jam that seemed to go on and on and on --- there were just a whole lot of jammers with interesting material rather than any one couple staying out too long. Once again, Cameron Sellers and Lisa Morgan Brown won the dance contest.

Smithsonian Magazine was also on hand. Gail Mooney continued to shoot roll after roll of film, and we met up with Doug Stewart who will be writing the article. Doug even came out to the Amphora with us to catch up on the post-dance chatter.

Here is more coverage of the US Open from Thomas:

From: Thomas Iveson tiveson@hotmail.com

Saturday was competion day. It started off on a stressful note as Huey wasn't able to get to our 8am run through until 9:30. So I was freaking out thinking something dreadful had happened and we would have to quickly coach some happless victim from the street. Anyway huy showed up and we made a few last minute adjustments and then we were set. There was a whole bunch of teams some of which were really good ( the ones that came in 1st 2nd and 3rd ). We came in 5th and in retrospect that was a great result. Of course I wish we had done better...next time. Tricia and Jeff were a tour de force with their leader of the band routine. Not only did they win 4th place but were also on the front page of the Orange County Register doing a Fly. They also won a large plexi-glass trophy. [Click here to see Tricia and Jeff's Picture ]

There was a great jam which took up three Lindy songs, the total played on Saturday, and then we had to leave for our red-eye over night flight back to DC. I was a human pillow for Tricia, Jeff had to hold the hands of some strangers who told him that there were worse things than plane crashes. Carolyn was squished between two huge people in what was the middle seat and Christy got first class by some ticket error. I think she had my ticket.

From: Jon Mills jonmills@juno.com

Frank-

I had fun hanging out with you, Carole, and the rest of the DC crowd.

I'm back in San Francisco now. Please keep my e-mail address handy and give it to anyone have plans to visit here. The books beckon!
--JM

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Sunday November 29, 1998

Here is the story of Steve and Carla's fantastic Thanksgiving weekend with Aretha Franklin:

From: Steve Cowles scowl@wam.umd.edu

This past weekend Carla and I were lucky enought to have been flown out to Detroit to dance with Aretha Franklin and the Detroit symphony orchestra. We did three shows with her and they were great. Our bit was about 90 seconds to "why do fools fall in love" and let me just tell you...there should have been a disclaimer to all watching: DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME! Aretha wanted massive aerials to a medium tempo song. She is of course the "queen of soul", so we could not let her down.

Anyway, we did about seven aerials in the 90 seconds. Needless, the sold out orchestra hall was on their feet every night for our bit and Aretha even called us out for a bow each time. So, that was cool..

But here is the cooler part. We went to downtown Detroit on Saturday (NEVER AGAIN!!!). It was about noon and it was not in our best interests to be down there. Anyway, we went down there in serch of a hat place (Henry the Hatter), and I got a cool argyle hat. After that we realized that we should get out of the downtown area.

We had made friends with the guys that were driving us from the show to our hotel and after the Saturday show we asked one of them (Mark) to go dancing with us. We really wanted him to go, but there was an ulterior motive here...the dancing spot was 30 min away and he had the car. So, he came with us to the Velvet Lounge in Pontiac (a suburb of Detroit). We got to the lounge at about 1:00 am really ready to dance. They were only open until 2:00 am so we knew that we would have to hurry.

When we go there, we started dancing and slowley drew a croud. But after we were done with the first song, a medium tall blonde haired Asian and her partner took the floor and started tearing up the floor with some mean Savoy Lindy. The guys name was Deor (Day-or) and I am totally impressed.

After they danced I took his chick and he tool Carla and we just danced like crazy. After that, he walked over and asked me to lead him. I did (he is an excellent follow)...and he started to do some swiveling. Let me just tell you that at that point I was forced to make him lead me in my swivelage (yes...In my world it IS a word). So, he was great. But let me just tell you, this guy is all about playing with the music. During our dance, we hit all of the same breaks doing to same moves....???!?! Maybe we were separated at birth and I am actually Asian..well maybe not, but it was cool anyway. After about two dances the bar bought Carla and I juice and we began to shag to BBVD (Big Bad Zoot Suit Zippers as Bernstein would so proudly proclaim..) and we got a circle. So, we were forced to pull out all of the air steps. They are not as big of a group as we are here and they are not experieced as the DC crowd, but they were a lot of fun.

After the dancing we...of course...went to the local coffee shop the chat about clothes and styles ect. But get this, the coffee place would not allow dancing in the shop. We tried to show just hollywood whip to prove a point to Deor and these non dancing people through ice at us....GRRRRRR Not the night for a brawl, but I am suprised regardless...

So, I told all of them to come down here and dance. They were just as excited as we were. After the chatting we got back and finally slipped into bed about five am.

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Monday November 30, 1998

From: Elizabeth Weaver Engel ewengel@apsanet.org

Monday evening was like a long, cool drink of water. It's been weeks since I've gotten to CCB, and I really missed everyone - Tom and Debra, the dancers, even Bernstein, bless his surly little heart. Lots of folks I hadn't seen in a long while were there: Sue and Steve, Larry McD, Charlie (who unbenknownst to me has been down with pnemonia since ALHC!), Steve (just returned from his gig with Aretha in Detroit), Jeff (just returned from the US Open), as well as lots of the other regulars, and even more of the "new" regulars (I gotta start asking names!). It was terrific to be with the Lindy family again.

From: Jeff Booth booth_jeff@bah.com

Hey Frank,
I was just looking at the Maxie Dorf photos and thought you'd appreciate this bit of info. Just to let you know, the couple [with the umbrella] in the Powers Girl is none other than Dean and Jewel. I've also heard that he led her entirely with the umbrella handle. I actually was given a copy of a Benny Goodman documentary called "Adventures in the Kingdom of Swing" that was on PBS years ago, that has this clip in it. I'll show it to you guys sometime.
---Jeff

[Editor's Note: If you haven't tuned in, check out our collection of photos from Maxie Dorf, the King of Balboa, and a contemporary of Frankie Manning and Dean Collins at: www.jitterbuzz.com/ma xie.html]

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