October, 1998 Reviews
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Review of Dance Events During October, 1998

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DANCE REVIEWS






Thursday October 1, 1998

We had the pleasure of joining Eric Celarier, Liz Turner, Dan Dailey,Chris Cowles, Laura Avery, and several others for dancing at the Fourth Annual Senate Majority Celebration of America, an event held by the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the purpose of electing more Republican senators. The Mighty Blue Kings were the band and played a lot of very good stuff. The food and ambiance were out of sight -- the MCI center was completely transformed, and you really wouldn't have believed that they play pro hockey there. Our dressing room was very nice -- just outside the quarters used by the refs in pro basketball and hockey games. We got to roam around backstage and actually got to sit on one of the Zamboni ice machines. Our hosts were very gracious and we met a whole lot of new folks. Our very grateful thanks to Craig Hutchinson for arranging this - -- check out our photoessay on the Celbration of America.

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Friday October 2, 1998

We headed to America for the regular TCO gig. As usual, the band was fantastic, although we missed all the regular Lindy Hoppers. Dave and Jen did a very good job with the lessons, but we were unable to get a jam together. At about eleven, we waited for the potential appearance of Frankie Manning, but alas, he was not able to attend.

From: Elizabeth Engel ewengel@apsanet.org

Well, this morning I am so tired I can hardly see straight, and I'm sitting here at my desk thinking, "Idiot - why didn't you take today off?" The coffee is NOT doing it's job!!!!

Anyway, I'm SOOOOOO glad that Jim took such extensive notes of the workshops we took, because at this point I don't think I remember a damn thing! Just for everyone's edification, he WILL be typing up his notes from the following workshops:

With Eric and Sylvia:

  • Beginning Classic Swing
  • Intermediate Classic Swing
  • Advanced Classic Swing

With Frankie Manning:

  • Intermediate Lindy Hop
  • Advanced Lindy Hop

With Ken and Donna:

  • Intermediate Jitterbug

If you want copies, let Jim know - jengel@madentech.com

OK, so let's do this chronologically...

As you all know, Friday night was the Showcase competitions. There were actually surprisingly few competitors, but all "our" regulars did GREAT! We saw some REALLY fine dancing, and we had fabulous seats right behind some of the judges over near where the competitors came out. It was terrific to see the ladies in vintage this year as well as the gents.

Probably the most fun part for me was the fact that, this year, I actually knew what I was looking at! Well, that and the fact that during the social dancing, I was able to get out there and shake my groove thang instead of sitting on the sidelines like last year thinking, "I wish I knew how to do that!" And an upside (at least for us) to the wide variety of tempos Gator was playing - we got to practice our hand dancing. Tom and Debra did a repeat of their hysterical hustle routine. The entire crowd was laughing, which probably really pissed off the folks who were seriously hustling, but it certainly was enjoyable for the rest of us!

The music picked for the Showcase Championships was sort of strange - it was supposed to get faster throughout the four songs, but none of them really cooked, and I could've sworn that the fourth song was slower than the third song. Anyway, the West Coast couple (Paul Tempera and Tiffany Brown) won the Showcase Championships and, despite my unshakable allegiance to Lindy, I have to say that they really were FINE dancers. Tiffany just sparkled, and they had some extremely smooth moves. With the way she was spinning, it was looking to me like she might've done some ice skating or something at some point. And they did some really amazing drops. I was very impressed.

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Saturday October 3, 1998

We spent the evening hopping between venues. First, we checked out the new swing scene at the Lucky Bar (Conn Ave and M Street, formerly "Planet Fred"). Charlie Wyler and Nici Mahland usually teach there, but tonight they were off, at VSO. We found the floor to be nice and the crowd very interested in Swing. This is a nice place. Next, we made our way to Old Glory (Wisconsin and M, in Georgetown) to see the J Street Jumpers. The cover ($2) was reasonable, but there was hardly any dance space -- and this is terrible when the Jumpers kick into "Nightlife Boogie". This will NOT be the case when the Jumpers play at Forest Glen on October 30.

From: Elizabeth Engel ewengel@apsanet.org

Workshops, workshops, workshops! We started the day with Eric and Sylvia's beginning classic swing, which was a REALLY smart move. Ever since March, we've been trying to figure out the "Hollywood" whip with VERY little luck. Well, Eric changed one thing about the boys' footwork in the way he taught it and all of a sudden - BAM! We had it! Believe you me, it can still use a LOT of work, but we're doing it now and doing it in a close approximation of right.

Then it was on to Lindy with Frankie. I finally learned the other style scissor kicks! I had seen them on the Can't Top the Lindy Hop videos, but I was never quite able to figure them out from the videos. Turns out the key is to keep your weight in a totally different place than in the other style we know. (If none of this is making sense, just ask me and I'll be happy to demonstrate.) Anyway, the best part of that class was clearly Frankie himself. He could teach a triple step-triple step-rock step class and I'd go. He has a wonderful teaching style, and he talks so much about the dance itself and the ideas behind the dance and the romance of it...I could just sit there for 2 hours and listen to him.

In the afternoon, we did Ken and Donna's intermediate jitterbug. Unfortunately, they were hampered by a too-small room for the crowd, and CARPET! Yikes! Much as I love my Bleyers, I was wishing for some leather soled shoes in a big way. But I did get to spend a good long time in the rotation with Magician Frank, which was really fun - he's been dancing at GMU a lot lately, and I haven't seen too much of him, so it was fun to dance for a while in the class with him.

Eric and Sylvia's intermediate classic swing was a great class. They showed some fun swing out breaks for followers, and we finally picked up the Jack Kerry move (again, another move from March we hadn't yet gotten). I think what made the difference is that hand dancing has taught me to spin in a controlled manner, so Jim didn't have to worry that I was going to fly off, which helped us get the timing down finally. And they showed a really great slide that I'll have to work on - I'm good with back leg slides, but I still need some help on the weight distribution on front leg slides - I get stuck sometimes! Yikes!

On another note, I am continually amazed at how much they manage to cover in an hour or two without making you feel like they're rushing through things or like they're moving so fast you aren't getting it.

The classic competition heats were much more full. Again, thanks to the machinations of Gay, we had really good seats. The musical choices for the competitions were much better on Saturday, I thought. I got to watch my hand dance instructor sweep the hand dance categories, which he and his partner TOTALLY deserved. On their first number, I was counting, and I came up with 15 consecutive spins by Lawrence. Can anyone confirm or deny?

I particularly enjoyed watching the Jack and Jill finals, which were FABULOUS! Sometimes choreographed routines lack energy, which is what makes the J/J such fun. And of course, Saturday night was the team competition. Fidgety Feet made their grand debut and did a wonderful job. They showed off some really fine synchronized partner dancing and demonstrated a huge amount of energy. They had, I thought, a real connection with the crowd. I can't wait for their next apperance! But what the guys all need now is Zoot pants (and braces of course) in the same colors as their partners' dresses! ;-)

Again, the Classic Championships were won by a non-Lindy couple but again, I really can't argue with the judges' choice - it was Michael Norris and his partner (whose name I can't recall), with Carolina Shag. That boy's bones must be made of rubber, and he's the only person I've ever seen who could rival Tom for King of the Fast Feet. WOW!

During one of the social dance breaks, we had a jam - first a Lindy jam, then a West Coast jam. It was terrific, with dazzling moves all around and PsycoBoy showing up in time to participate. Eric and Sylvia went out twice, and I would've been happy to see them go out at least that many MORE times. Then during the West Coast jam, we all got to see Grace dance - girlfriend is SLICK! It was a really terrific jam, as one would only expect given the collected dance talent in the room! Jim got tons of pictures of it, so we'll get the film developed ASAP and get the pics to Frank for the site.

From: Cameron Sellers Cameron.Sellers@mail .house.gov

The Virginia State Open. I had so much fun I don't know where to start this entry. But first, I want to thank Naomi, Heather, and Mara for letting me dance with them. They were a lot of fun to dance with and I know I would not have done that well in each of the divisions without them. As the old saying goes, "The man gets to lead but the woman makes the dance look good."

I had the privilege to dance with Naomi in the Junior Lindy Classic Division. While anyone else got to see what a great lindy hopper she was, I got to see the other great qualities that she possessed: Naomi the choreographer and Naomi the teacher. She choreographed the whole routine to the song "Topeka to Santa Fe." Two weeks ago, when she showed me the laundry list of moves that I would have to know, I almost fainted. All I could think was this was too much. I will never be able to remember all of this. But by the time we were finished that day, I had most of the routine memorized. The routine flowed well with the music and every move made logical sense, so it wasn't as I hard as I thought it would be. When I could not get the move right, Naomi the teacher stepped in. She was patient with my slow learning ability and encouraging when I wasn't getting it. She didn't yell at me or nag me to death about it, she was a lot like Auntie Deb, very nurturing.

A minute after Naomi and I finished, Heather and I danced in the Amateur Lindy Classic Division. Heather demonstrated her great following skills and demonstrated great countenance with her "everything is going fine here" smile when I "spaced out" on the rest of the routine half way through the song "How About that Mess!" She followed my erratic leads as I struggled to remember our routine. Heather graciously bowed out after I found out that both she and Naomi advanced to the overall round.

Me, being a space cadet, didn't even think that this situation could happen, so I didn't discuss it. Punishment for me should have been that I sit it out and Naomi and Heather danced together in the finals. Come to think of it, they probably would have won.

Later that evening, Mara and I decided at the last minute to dance in the Lindy Open Classic. We knew we would be competing against Tom and Deb; Mike and Jenny; Steve and Carla; Scott and Lizzie; and, Bob and Sasha so we figured, "Hey, what the h***! No pressure." The only pressure I felt during the dance to Mills Brother's "Opus One" was Mara's hand when she whacked me on the side of my head at the beginning of the dance. She followed beautifully to my dizzy leads throughout the rest of the song. She never missed a cue, a twist or an under arm turn.

The rest of the weekend was filled with great classes taught by Frankie Manning and Erik and Sylvia. Tom and Deb's hustle routine had everyone rolling with laughter except the judges. Steve and Carla almost tied Tom and Deb in the number of divisions that they entered. Tom and Deb were in five, Steve and Carla were in four. Duke and Nina wowed the crowd with their aerials finishing first in Junior Showcase Lindy Division and fourth in Overall Showcase. Tricia R's Fidgety Feet received a standing ovation during the Team Competition. Bernstein kept everyone dancing in the lounge until 5:00 a.m. Finally I received great advice and insight from Kenny Rozell about judging.

For me, VSO will be remembered for the infusion of teenagers in the lindy divisions. This was the first year that VSO had to create a Junior Division because of the interest in Lindy by the young kids.
---Cameron Sellers

From: Rodney Payne RodneyP873@aol.com

The Va State Open was another great event this year.

I was especially impressed with the new Junior class this year (as was most of the crowd). The kids really smoked the floor. This was especially true friday night with the showcase division. In case anyone bothered to check, the junior lindy couple got two first place votes in the overall competion ( from judges that are west coast swing dancers ).

And it was good to see Bob Kleinpeter back on the floor in the Classic Open division. Just like old times....! ( so Bob..how old are you? )

I was impressed to see more couples competing this year in all the catagories. I also liked the fact that a floor was added downstairs to give even more room for open dancing......and some practice area for the couples competing before the competition. This has always been an event that brings all the styles of swing together, thanks to Craig, and we hope will do so in the future as well.
---Rodney Payne

From: Debra Sternberg debster@clark.net

Sorry to be so long in submitting this, but my perm frizzed badly and I had to spend a week in the house, alone huddled underneath my bed, with a paper bag firmly over my head to reduce moisture on my hair.

Just kidding. I've been busy. But if I might take a chance to offer some belated comments on the VSO, I would like to respectfully submit an open love letter to the Lindy community at large and Craig Hutchinson in specific:

As almost everyone knows, Koerner and I have been competing for 8 million years (doing badly, I might add, 7 million out of those 8!). Everyone used to put us down for being so competitive and egotistical (and some still do!), but we always said SOMEONE has to do Lindy. But this year's VSO illustrated why we've always done it.

For years, we were the only couple doing Lindy; this year, as well as last, that was anything BUT the situation. The Lindy community is growing by leaps and bounds. Every day new people, bunches of them teenagers and young adults, come pouring in for lessons and dances. The energy and enthusiasm and the spirit of fun and adventure that we have locally is pretty much without equal anywhere in the country. This is a community where young mix with old, where everyone dances with everyone else, and happily one of the few places where new people are actively welcomed. I get email messages, as I know Frank does, from people all over the country saying they've heard of our scene here and wish they could visit, or live here and be part of it. This morning I got a message from a guy stationed on Okinawa!!! We have a great scene here and I am proud to be part of it, and I thank you all for helping to make this thing that it is. Yes, Lindy rules, and that goal of world-domination by the Year 2000 is within reach!

Now, the Craig Hutchinson part. Craig has had this vision which he has kept at doggedly, ever since the days when he actually WANTED Koerner and me to compete because the pickings were so slim! He was the first guy in the DC-area to start doing Lindy lessons and the first guy to offer a Lindy dance night (used to be Thursdays at Teddy's Lounge in Tysons!). Craig's dream has always been to create a big ole' dance party where EVERYONE got together, showed off their stuff, and had a great time. I think he's achieved that goal.

So in summation, thanks to everyone and especially thanks to Craig for the hard work he puts into the dance community. I want to see EVERYONE out there next year. And I mean it, I really do adore each and every one of you (okay, except Koerner).
---Auntie Deb

From: Peggy Frantz peggy@lansdaleassoc.com

Now that real life has taken over once again, I have to say, VSO - what a phenomenal weekend. Great dancers, interesting new classes, and an amazing number of familiar faces from Tom and Debra's classes who kicked butt in competition, and of course, Tom and Debra who did major kicking themselves!!! The other happy discovery I made about VSO this year was that many of these classes that they try to cram into a few tiny, tiny hours and my few, over-saturated brain cells labeled "new dance moves" still exist after the dust settles and the bruises fade. Example - right before VSO my partner and I realized that we knew nothing about West Coast and most of the classes listed started at Intermediate. We tracked Charlie Wyler down who we'd seen dazzling crowds, and got the basics in a very short time. It was a great lesson and well worth it, highly recommended. SO - my point? A big thank you to Tom, to Debra, to Charlie, to Craig, to Frank, to Carole, I know there are so many many many many people I have no idea who they are or exactly what they do, but the end result of their hard work is an awesome dance community like we have in DC. You are appreciated!
---Peg

From: Ellen Werther heartsdesire@knight-hub .com

Michael Henry, A Premium? Or A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Open.

On Saturday night at about 9:15, as I was driving to the VSO--late because my precious son locked himself out of his father's house, which is a whole other story!--I was listening to Rob Bamberger. WAMU is running its fall telethon. At some point the woman in charge of the phone volunteers told Rob that she had heard cheers and thought it must be because they had surpassed some milestone. She found out instead that the cheers were for [Rob's] wife and Michael Henry who were dancing in the volunteer room. As soon as I got to the hotel, I called in a pledge, telling the volunteer who I was and that I would fork over my money if Michael Henry would dance with me! A couple of hours later, Steve Devoney and I were in the front lobby, practicing the Hollywood whip, when Michael and Chris walk in, Michael grinning from ear to ear. He is now not only our darling, but also the darling of WAMU! He promised me as many dances as I wanted. Later, I went to "claim" my dance(s) He said, no matter what, the next ones are yours. The next one, folks, was Sing Sing Sing. Michael danced the whole thing with me. And then the next one. (We stopped after that to watch Silvia and Eric in the jam). So, I got my dances, Michael is a premium....and now I have to fork over my $35.!!!

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Sunday October 4, 1998

From: Elizabeth Engel ewengel@apsanet.org

We started the morning with advanced classic swing with Eric and Sylvia. Fortunately, they allow you to opt out of rotating if you prefer, which I really appreciated, as I had been a little unsure about signing up for an advanced class. I didn't want to be ticking off any leaders by picking things up too slowly, so it was good that Jim and I could stay together I think. They showed some really nice swing out breaks for the boys, including a great spin break. Boys, if you're having trouble spinning, take a beginning Hand Dance class. Trust me - you'll learn to spin or die trying! They also showed Savoy kicks, which Steve is alwaypulling and I (heretofore) never got. Now, I'm READY, baby! And Sylvia explained her very sexy switches to all of us, so from now on Glen Echo's going to be hot-hot-hot just from all the follwers' come-hither moves!

Final workshop of the weekend was advanced Lindy with Frankie. I just cannot say enough good things about workshops with him. If you've never taken a workshop with Frankie...WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Do NOT miss your next chance. He showed a sweep around out of the swing out that is different from the one I usually do - so now I can do both a counter-clockwise sweep AND a clockwise sweep (useful skill to have). And then we did a promenade into a cool little four beat back to back turn into skates (1-2-3-4, 5-6-7, 8, 1 - must've taken me 6 months to get that pattern down!). Again, it is just a joy to be in any class he's teaching. Frankie, if you're reading this, you are a national treasure, honey!

(PS to Chris - I *did* make soup when I got home - minnestrone - but I was just too tired to deal with making bread!)

From: Cameron Sellers Cameron.Sellers@mail .house.gov

Lindy night at America on Sunday was crowded as usual but lots of space to dance. Tom brought in Eric and Sylvia to teach the intermediate class. Also Tom pushed back more tables to create a larger dance floor. The weekend had taken a toll on me so I ended up leaving early to go to bed.
--Cameron Sellers

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Monday October 5, 1998

We spent Monday downtown at the Library of Congress getting the Script registered. The paperwork is incredible --- and was magnified by the fact that there are ten authors. But, it is done! Anyone who wants to buy a script about Lindy Hopping is welcome to contact us! While we were there, we checked out the newly renovated Jefferson Building and went to an exhibit called "American Treasures of the Library of Congress". Among the exhibits are the Manuscript copy of John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever", and Irving Berlin's "God Bless America". There is also a clip of Maxine Sullivan doing a scat version of "Sunny Side of the Street" accompanied by a great band and a pair of Lindy Hoppers. If you can't get to the exhibit, check out the website at: www.loc.gov/exhibits/

After our day downtown, we went to the Chevy Chase Ballroom to see Dan Electro and the Silvertones --- they were very good. Here's what others had to say:

From: Elizabeth Engel ewengel@apsanet.org

When I got home last night I was still so bushed from the weekend that I plunked down on the sofa with the mail and thought to myself, "I don't think I'm going tonight - I don't know anything about the band, Jim's in California and I don't know who else will be there, so I don't know how much dancing I'll actually do, and I'm exhausted - the last thing I need is another late night." But then I started thinking, "I already bought the ticket, and I promised Jim I'd ask Eric to dance over the weekend (which I hadn't yet done). I should just go, and if the band's not very good I'll leave early."

WELL - am I ever glad I went! The band was GREAT - very tight, very good, played a lot of more unusual tunes and some originals - I liked them so much I bought their CD on the spot. While dancing with Tom, I discovered that he booked them without ever hearing them. Needless to say, that turned out to be a good decision.

There were TWO jams - one with CDs during the first break, and one with the band at the end of the second set. Eric and Sylvia went out several times in both to the delight of the crowd, and we got to see lots of good stuff from everyone. Jim is going to kill me when he finds out I was too busy watching and clapping and cheering to take any pictures. It's not my fault - my dad always took care of the picture taking while I was growing up. I wasn't trained to remember the camera at critical moments!

In the aftermath of VSO, lots of people were there and dancing with energy and style (and moves from the weekend workshops). I'm not sure if everyone had gotten their second (or third or fourth) wind or if everyone was just delirious from lack of sleep and too much caffeine/sugar. But there was a good crowd, and lots of folks who probably should've been home resting their tired tootsies came to dance the night away.

Thanks to the MANY fellas who danced with me. As I'm used to having a regular partner with me at dances, I worry about going alone - I'm always afraid I'll end up sitting out most of the night. Fortunately, you all stepped up and I was able to dance pretty much every dance - and you all know I love that. It's not a good night of dancing unless I'm a sweaty, exhausted mess at the end! So again, thanks to all of you for asking and/or not saying no when I asked. This represents one of the things I love most about the dance community around here - everybody dances with everybody, no matter how beginner or experienced, or how stylish or basic, or how well you dance - that's one of the things that makes the DC-Metro swing community so special.

And yes, I did ask Eric to dance...and he said yes..and it was great fun! For all you ladies out there who are as shy as I am about asking fellas - particularly the really great dancers - to dance, try to overcome your reticence if possible and ask. They usually say yes, and if they do, you'll have a grand time - trust me!

From: Cameron Sellers Cameron.Sellers@mail .house.gov

Dan Electro and the Silvertones made their way to Chevy Chase Ballroom Monday night. The band sounded pretty good and the songs weren't too long for the dancers. Eric and Syliva were there teaching Tom and Deb's Intermediate Class. After the first break, a jam broke out in the corner of the room to Berstein's music. Eric and Sylvia started the jam followed by other Steve and Carla, Nina and Naomi, Nina and Duke, etc..... Monday night turned out be agreat night to go dancing.
---Cameron Sellers

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Tuesday October 6, 1998

We made a trip to the Gettysburg area to make our annual fall purchase of apples. We also managed to find a whole bunch of vintage goodies at the various thrift stores in the area. We have several of those very nice "Lady Baltimore" suitcases that are very useful for carrying dance shoes. We got home in time to join Mark and Ellen at Ozio. --- a very good time, and the scene here is growing. If you work in the city, it would be a very good idea to drop in on them at 6:00, dance for a while and then head out to Vinenna Grille.

From: Ellen Werther

Only a few folks showed up on Tuesday night. Tired from the VSO, I guess. But luckily, the number of men (pretty much) equalled the number of women, which made for a very enjoyable evening. Gator played Drum Boogie for me, and I can't feel bad when I hear that song. He played the cut from the TCO's cd. I was especially disappointed that Carole wasn't there. First, because Iver will not show me that Polish folk dance move unless he can demonstrate on Ms. Carole. And second, I brought UGLY vintage, which I knew she would appreciate. Gads, was it ever ugly.

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Wednesday October 7, 1998

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Thursday October 8, 1998

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Friday October 9, 1998

We checked out the swing scene at Poli-Tiki. The joint jumps! Brian McGill and Thea Austen are teaching and we were joined by Eric Celarier, Angela Billingsley, Dr. Daniel Fierer and Julia Stewart. Right now, there is a big drinking crowd, so there is plenty of room to dance --- and the dancers are very welcome!. Our friend Matt Dunn of Flying Saucer Discs (in Adams Morgan) is spinning the CDs and he keeps the Lindy sounds coming. This is a nice place --- good crowd supportive management and a very nice retro 1940s atmosphere. We like the "Rita Hayworth is Everywhere" photo display. Sad to say, it's 21 +.

From: Jason Woodmansee jason@thethirdrail.com

Hey, you have a great site!
I just finished up the Politiki web site (www.politiki.com), and I was looking for places that mention Politiki, and I found your pages. Do you think you could put a link to our web site.
Thanks!
Jason Woodmansee

From: Ellen Werther heartsdesire@knight-hub.com

Geeze, am I tired. Just got back from Virginia Beach **(shopping for vintage... well SOMEONE has to do it!) And decided to check out the Psychoboy (aka John McCalla) gig in Gaithersburg. I AM beat, but glad I went. The place brings back memories of Dancer's. Each of the two rooms there has a solid dance floor (a bit slick maybe --John had warned me to wear sneakers when we talked on the phone earlier in the week.) And practising is the order of the day. For example, John and I worked on A - Lifts and Throw- Outs (Let's face it: those are probably the closest I will ever come to an aerial, at least in this life time!). Instead of Chris Cowles, Bill Lehman played dj; and he did a fine job! The crowd was small, but I am sure that will change as people get the word that this is a good place to be on a Friday night.

**Just a footnote on my Virginia Beach trip. I noticed, in passing, that a number of clubs are now promoting swing dancing! I did not have a chance to check out anything on this trip....shop, shop, shop--poor me! But I certainly will the next time I am down there.

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Saturday October 10, 1998

We Journeyed to Towson, Maryland to see the Fabulous Hubcaps at the Towson Center as part of the Towson University Homecoming celebration. Carole's daughter is a student at this august institution. Once again, the Hubcaps put on a spectacular show with lots of 1950s retro numbers. This evening, something unusual happened: the second set is usually the "Show Set" marked with lots of costume changes, etc. It is sort of a tradition among longtime Hubcaps fans to sit during this set. In this case, the dance was held in the University's sports arena and we had the entire basketball court. The "sitees" only constituted about one fourth of the floor --- and there was plenty of room to dance. During the break we spent some time with the band and they assured us that they would MUCH RATHER have dancing than sitting. So, we danced on our 3/4 of the basketball court. Eventually, almost EVERYONE got up and danced. We had a very good time showing folks how to do the "Stroll" and the "Hand Jive" --- by the end of the Johnny Otis medley, we had a circle of 20 people going. Also, we were joined by a number of Lindy Hoppers, both alumni and locals such as Susan and Demme from Leslie Coombs' classes.

After the dance, we headed out for the Double T diner and caught up with the gang that had attended Leslie's dance at the Catonsville armory.

From: Elizabeth Weaver Engel ewengel@apsanet.org

The Lucky Bar Swing Night

So I'm sitting at work on Friday afternoon, and who should call me but Cameron asking to see if we needed a lift to America that evening. Sadly, I had to tell him that we wouldn't be there as Jim was in the process of flying back from California and would arrive home late, hungry, and jet lagged. The conversation turned to Saturday dancing, and the dilemma we all face on non-Glen Echo weekends. Since we were going to be running 18 miles Saturday afternoon, I wanted to plan something low-key. After chatting, Cameron and I arrived on the plan of going to either the Lucky Bar or Poli-Tiki - he was going to check with the several Lindy collegians who would be home for the weekend and get back to me. When Jim and I returned from our run on Saturday, sure enough there was a message from Cameron that we would all meet at the Lucky Bar at about 8:30 pm, and informing us that Nici was going to be on her own for the lesson.

After stretching, showers, a few hours' rest, and quite a bit of food, Jim and I put on our best dance duds and walked down to Lucky Bar, arriving around 8:30 pm. Nici was in the midst of the lesson, so we changed our shoes and sat on the side to keep an eye out for Cameron and the gang (which turned out to include Duke, Bill, Alex, Sarah, and Greta). At 9 o'clock, Nici took a break, and we got to chat with her for a few minutes. Turns out there are two hours of lessons with a brief dance break in the middle (make mental note, arrive at 10 pm from now on). During the break, Nici had the DJ play "In the Mood" so Jim and I could do a little Lindy, and we cleared the floor in about 5 seconds. Despite some rather rude young men sitting in a booth and shouting at us to quit showing off and let other people dance (I think they were just jealous because they couldn't Lindy and they weren't with a cute red-head in a vintage dress!), MOST of the people there really seemed to enjoy the brief show. After that, we danced through the break, and then headed outside to cool off and wait for Cameron and co., who had not yet arrived. People gathered two or three at a time, with all of us assembling by the time the second lesson was done.

It took the DJ about one song to figure out that he had some real dancers in the house (was it the moves-in a sea of 6 count-or the clothes-in a sea of jeans-that gave us away?), and so he started in with the fast tunes right away, resulting in an improptu, multiple song jam. Finally, after about 3-4 songs, we were all about ready to drop, and we motioned for everyone to start dancing.

All in all, it was a rather interesting evening. The floor is nice and smooth and slick - so much so that Duke had to change into his Bleyers and out of his smooth-soled patents (BTW, if you haven't seen Duke lately, ask him to show you his ankles!). But it wasn't hard on my feet which were already sore from the run, so it must be pretty good! It was an enthusiastic if unskilled crowd (to quote Cameron: "What song is that guy dancing to?"). It was pretty crowded for the mid-tempo songs, but every time the DJ put on a kller-diller, the floor cleared out nicely. There were only a handful of really dangerous Johnny Swingers, with most people sticking largely to the restrained 6 count Nici had taught. And, with a few exceptions (invariably guys with drinks in hand who couldn't even manage to clap in time to the music), most people seemed to enjoy the real swing we demonstrated. No beverages were spilled on the floor until around 11 pm, and then it was only in the one corner. There was only one Lindy related spilled drink accident, and Duke promptly replaced the young lady's martini. All in all, a fairly successful dance evening.

Jim and I split around 11:30 pm, as we were both about ready to drop, so I don't know how the evening ended for the others (there was some talk of a trip up to Bethesda DanceSport center). But there was no cover, the bartenders were friendly, and the dance space was not bad - small but not tiny, decent floor, crowded but (with a few obvious exceptions we all kept an eye on) not dangerous. I would definitely go back, particularly on the 2nd Saturdays. And for those who don't feel like arriving at Glen Echo 2 hours prior to the actual dance in order to get your bracelet, this would be a fun alternative. Sometimes, it's fun to be the star(s) of the show!

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Sunday October 11, 1998

We have no reviews for this date

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Monday October 12, 1998

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Tuesday October 13, 1998

We joined Mark and Ellen for another fun evening at Ozio --- the crowds and enthusiasm seem to be picking up and even We got drafted into teaching some beginning six count (sorry about that, all of you ladies who got stuck with me...) We even managed to teach a rather large group how to do the "Hand Jive" (deja vu all over again).

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Wednesday October 14, 1998

We went back to Lu Lus and were pleasantly surprised to see that the swing scene seems to be growing. Tom and Carolyn are doing a good job building a cadre of real dancers and we were very impressed with the level of Lindy Hop --- things have sure changed from the first night! We were joined by Ron Haron, Larry MacDonald, Rob, and Annie. We were very pleased to renew our acquaintance with Jayna Morgan who is hosting a swing dance at G-MU on Thursday October 22.

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Thursday October 15, 1998

We travelled to Pittsburgh, with stops in Bedford and Somerset for some vintage shopping. We found several nice ties and some dresses which I am certain that Carole will be offering soon. However, the main attraction of the trip was a CD release party for "Dr. Zoot", one of our favorite bands. The party was held at Heaven, a downtown nightclub and it was well attended. The CD, "The Ghost of Swing" is excellent and very danceable. It has a number of really good Lindy numbers and a very funny novelty tune called "Guido the Mosquito". All but two of the songs are new material. They have one of the best covers of "Bei Mir Bist Du Shoen" that we have ever heard. You really ought to own a copy. Here's how to get hold of the guys:

Dr. Zoot and the Suits:

  • e-mail: albassguy@aol.com (Al Peden)
  • phone: Sal Ventura 412-351-6503 or Dave Klysz 412-963-7567
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Friday October 16, 1998

After breakfast at DeLucas and a haircut at Cercones, we spent the whole day driving along the "scenic" Pennsylvania Turnpike. I really don't believe that I paid $11 for this "experience". We stopped in Philadelphia, and saw the "Camaros" at the Five Spot. They have greatly expanded the dance floor in a "Swing Club" on the first floor. Lots of dance space now, and a big crowd. I like the Camaros as well. The best thing was that they remembered us from their gig in Baltimore. We met a bunch of new folks and took a lot of pictures for a new Photoessay on the Five Spot.

From: Ellen Werthers heartsdesire@knight-hub .com

I have always wondered folks spend time in health clubs riding stationary bikes when they could be dancing. Apparently folks at the Regency Health and Raquet Club in McLean are asking themselves the same question 'cuz they are introducing swing lessons. Actually, it is Dave Townsend, a west-coast swing dancer who has fallen in love with the Dean Collins (Hollywood) style of Lindy, who is doing the introducing. He and an aerobics instructor at the club named Kimberly. The classes actually start on the 22nd. On Friday the 16th, Kim and Dave put together an introduction, and they asked me to help with a brief vintage clothing fashion show. All this was at the last minute and I thought I would never get models in time. But I did get models--some of the best in the business: Chris Bamberger, Mercedes Clemmens, Steve Devoney and Michael Henry! I wore a skirt and mesh top from the early 30s, Mercedes a suit from the late 30s, early 40s (pre War) and Chris a skirt and sweater set from the fabulous 50s. Michael wore a suit from the 1940s, with the requisite silk tie (of course hand-painted!), fedora and two-tones shoes. Steve modeled a jacket and a pair of Bass oxfords from the 50s. I wanted to leave these folks with the impression that good vintage clothing was all they needed to develop great dance skills, but my conscience took over and I discussed the importance of good footwear--either saddle shoes (my personal favorite) or good dance shoes like Bleyers. Now, not only are Chris, Mercedes, Michael and Steve, great models, they dance as well! Dave and I were going to do a brief Lindy demo (after he did WCS with his regular partners) but when I told him four dancers were joining me, we decided to do a brief jam--if you want to call it that. Between the fashion show dancing, Steve gave a short intro to Lindy. I couldn't have done it without these four great people, and I want everyone to know just how marvelous they are! Mercedes brought her digital camera (we took some website fotos at the shop) to get shots for the photo gallery, but in all the confusion (WCS dancers are no more organized then Lindy Hoppers!) we forgot. Sorry! Afterwards, Steve and I went to Silver Spring to get Sue, the plan being to go to Pyschoboy's gig in Gaithersburg....but when we got to Chez Devoney-Fedor, Sue was cooking delicious risotto. By the time we got done eating, it was late and we decided to stay "in" and practice. Sorry John!

From: Mercedes Clemens pandora-publishing@ero ls.com

Friday night I, along with Chris Bamberger, Steve Devoney, and Mike Henry, were on model/dance duty for Ellen Werther. She'd been invited to Regency Sport and Health Club (Tysons Corner), where they are now putting on swing lessons, to do a little vintage fashion show and Lindy demo. I got to the shop mid afternoon to help Ellen load up and we proceeded to the health club, set up, changed, and grabbed a bite to eat (they've got a nice restaurant at the Club -- I was treated by Ellen to some great shrimp chowder) while we waited for the rest of the gang to show up. Steve had been having trouble with his car, and since he was giving Mike a ride, we were a little worried we'd be sans Lindy men. But it all worked out -- Steve and Mike made it in the nick of time and we got everyone outfitted. The demo was in the Club's aerobics room -- quite a space! BIG square room, nice suspended wood floor, and mirrors along two sides. We did our little fashion show (which included a little talk by Ellen) and the dance students seemed to be quite interested -- I think Ellen will be seeing some of them at the shop soon. After that Steve gave the crowd a little mini-history of Lindy and we proceeded with the dance demo. It was definitely a hit -- Steve took out Ellen first, then Mike and I headed out, followed by Steve and Chris (who wowed the crowd with a nice throwout jump -- we'd been instructed not to do any aerials, so that was probably the most exciting move of the demo). Steve and I finished up the last 4 beats of the song . We all tried to throw in a lot of nice turns and Charleston and it apparently did the trick. We were asked quite a few questions, and told everyone about jitterbuzz.com.

On the way out the door, management complimented us and asked us to come back. So we'll see!
---Mercedes

From: Nancy Baird baird1@erols.com

Dear Frank and Carole,
Thanks for mentioning Big Joe playing for our dance in Centreville. Getting these dances started was a little more work than I expected (worthwhile things always are, aren't they?), and I was getting a bit harried.

Our first dance went splendidly - everyone seemed to have a good time, and the dancing was impressive. We had a good mix of ages and talents - just what John and I were hoping for. Many people complained about being restricted to using a single stall, unisex bathroom when plenty of bathrooms were available in the fitness club's locker rooms. I will take up that issue with the WSC management Monday morning, and expect to have permission for the dancers to use the locker room bathrooms by this coming Friday (the 23rd). I will also keep trying to get permission to use the aerobics room with the great mirrors along every wall. We also plan to move the money collecting table closer to the dance floor. It was boring being stuck out in front! We welcome any suggestions and comments. We want you to like these dances enough to come back, so let us know what you want!
---Nancy Baird

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Saturday October 17, 1998

The big 1600 dealer show in Atlantic City, was one of our stops on the trip. The show in AC was a bust as far as Art Deco or Vintage Clothing was concerned. Apparently the rents were so high that folks only brought really high end stuff, mostly jewelry, rugs and paintings. This was each dealer's "big time" and they weren't very interested in talking. It was like going antique shopping at K-Mart. We can dance all night, but after walking around that gigantic convention floor for six hours, I was really tired!

From: Mercedes Clemens pandora-publishing@ero ls.com

The two-dance thing actually worked out really well. I have to say I was skeptical -- Mike and I showed up a little after 9PM for the late show (hey, old habits die hard). There was a shortish line, but they started letting people in to get their wristbands and sent them back out again (and inside they had an "exact change" cashier, which also helped speed things up). They let us into the ballroom a bit early through the back door after they'd cleared the floor of the first crowd.

I talked to quite a few people who went to the early show and they said that lines were not an issue. And I had some friends who showed up around 10PM and walked right in -- no waiting. The general consensus seems to be favorable.

Inside, the crowd was considerably lighter, although it by no means felt empty . The band was great -- played lots of danceable stuff, and quite a bit of fast stuff. I made note of that especially, since my knee has been acting up and I had to sit those out! But it gave me a chance to take pics, which was nice.

On a sad note, George, purveyor of fine pretzels and drinks, informed us that that was his last night. We will miss him.

From: Carolyn Biczel biczel@grant.jhuapl.edu

Frank and Carole,
I found out from Jennifer Comar that the Vintage Clothing show in NYC was this past weekend, so I went up there. It was pretty much all vintage clothing, and mainly women's. A bit pricey, but I found a very cute bowling shirt and a dress. Not real bargains, but very nice. I also hit a couple good flea markets and found a couple 1940's blazers at prices much lower than at the show.

I also went to a dance at the 92nd St. Y while I was there and ran into Marie Tommasi (Quidas)'s sister. The 92nd St. Y is about 1/3 the size of Glen Echo, with a pretty good wood floor. There was a decent band there, and it was crowded but not so much so that you couldn't dance.

I thoroughly enjoyed my entired weekend up there.
---Carolyn

From: Elizabeth Engel ewengel@apsanet.org

We were just a bit leery of heading out to Glen Echo the first week of the new two sets system. Since it's kind of a pain for us to get there, and since once we're there we pretty much have to stay, we thought it might be wise to wait for the first reports about how it went, the lines, how much before people have to show up, whether it's possible to get in easily for both sets or whether it's smarter to just pick one, etc., before venturing out ourselves. So, to make an already too long story a bit shorter, we were looking for a good alternative on Saturday night. We hit on the plan of going up to Bethesda Dance Sport to check out the swing dance there and to see how things were going for PsychoBoy, as he is going to be teaching the lesson up there.

Bethesda Dance Sport is a hidden gem. It's a beautiful studio with a lovely, if slightly sticky, wood floor (not tear-your-knees up bad, just not quite as slick as Chevy Chase or Glen Echo). It's very conveniently located a short walk from the Metro right in the center of Bethesda. When we arrived, there were probably 15-20 people in the lesson in a ballroom that's probably the size of Chevy Chase with both sections open. Jim and I helped out John and Cherri by hopping into the rotation for the last part of the lesson.

After the lesson was over, probably a total of 10 other people showed up all evening, among which were Sean and his cute little blonde dance partner whose name I always forget, a West Coast couple, and David and Suzanne, who have been MIA for awhile (they were in Florida having a great time - ask them to tell you about the trip the next time you see them). The DJ played a mix of slow, medium, and fast tempo songs, playing more fast songs as the evening went on and the beginners left.

By the end of the evening, it was down to the studio folks (Lamar and two women whose names I never got), PyschoBoy and Cherri, Sean and partner, Jim and I, and David and Suzanne. Talk about having plenty of room to dance! I didn't try asking for requests, but I suspect that they would be open to playing them, as the studio folks were quite friendly and helpful.

We had a really pleasant evening of dancing, and were able to get some coaching from John - a few swing out break moves and a little air step help. Anyway, I would highly recommend it as an alternative to Glen Echo - it's a nice ballroom, it's not crowded at all, it's conveniently located, and you can get all the coaching from John you can stand, which is particularly nice for air step impaired dancers like us!

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Sunday October 18, 1998

We were still in Atlantic City and we saw "Swingadelic Baby" at the Wave in the Trump Marina --- they were off the scale good. Lots of short high energy songs and excellent arrangements. We met a great couple, Jerry and Lee, who used to dance in Montreal during the 1940s. They do a very early version of Ceroc and they are very good. "Swingadelic Baby" has a CD as well that is worth listening to. Check out our photos from the The Wave.

To contact Swingadelic Baby, phone Dave Post 201-798-9150

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Monday October 19, 1998

From: Cameron Sellers Cameron.Sellers@mail .house.gov

Nina turned 14, and we celebrated with a birthday dance Monday night at Chevy Chase Ballroom. Duke tried to be first only to be dumped off by Naomi. The place was crowded with new people dancing with Bernstein spinning the cds. Rumor has it that Bernstein will be installing a new sound system. Go Bernstein!
---Cameron Sellers

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Tuesday October 20, 1998

We went back to Vienna Grille for an evening of really fun dancing --- the crowds have picked up again, and lots of new faces. We got Doug to play a few cuts from the "Dr. Zoot" album, and people seemed to like the music. We have a few photos of the action at Vienna Grille on the site.

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Wednesday October 21, 1998

We went to LuLus, but got there too late for the dance contest. We'll let Elizabeth Engel tell the story:

From: Elizabeth Engel ewengel@apsanet.org

Look out! It's the seventh sign - we actually won one of Tom's amateur dance contests last night at Lulu's! Actually, I think that probably crowd approval was with Cameron and partner (I think her name is Vicki...), but since Tom's running things, he picked us. I suspect he did it because Jim whacked me across the bridge of the nose with his elbow 1/2 way through the second song, sending my glasses flying, and, after a brief stop to pick them up (before they got ground to a powder), we kept right on dancing. And yes, my little schnoz is fine. Glasses too - which is a good thing, since I still don't have the pair I broke at VSO back from the opticians yet!

Needless to say, it was a pretty eventful night. We really enjoyed ourselves. Tom makes a good swing DJ, particularly as he understands the level of dance skills of the crowd. He mostly played slow to mid tempo (but of course all Lindy-able) music so the newbies would be able to dance to most of the songs with some fast ones thrown in so the more experienced dancers could kick it. We were only planning to stay for about an hour, but we ended up there until the swing portion of the evening shut down at 11:30 pm.

Lulu's makes a nice mid-week place to dance. Cover is only $5 and you have the opportunity to win one of the weekly fabulous prizes in the amateur dance contest. The crowd is really nice, really friendly, and really appreciative of good dancing. The floor is just a tiny bit sticky, nothing too serious, and while it's not huge, the room itself is big so you never feel claustrophobic. And it's definitely less packed on the floor than at America. There are plenty of places to sit with a good view of the dance floor, and they have closed circuit TV that allows them to broadcast the dancing on the one big-screen TV and multiple small screen TVs in the place. And, wonder of wonders, they put plastic cups and pitchers of water on the ends of the bars so that the dancers can help themselves without having to pester the bartenders! What a concept!

From: Cameron Sellers Cameron.Sellers@mail .house.gov

Ron and I arrived to a crowded Lulus Wednesday night. Apparently, a rumor went around that Harvard Alumni could get in free and receive a free swing dance lesson. Before the event, Ron and I spotted a girl walking out of the place in two tone shoes. We were able to convince her to return to the joint and dance with us.

I discovered Jim and Elizabeth, Jayana and Huey from the George Washington Swing Club, Vicki, Tim Landis, Lisa S., Larry, Carolyn, and Frank and Carole on the dance floor, and I met a young lady from Dancer days who remembered me when I was really really bad. I also danced with a lady who just moved from Seattle. Hopefully she will be around dancing with us in the future.

Tom put on a dance contest around 11:00pm, and I used Tim Landis as a plant in the audience. When Vicki and I finished, he was suppose to get the crowd worked up so we would win. When Vicki and I finished I looked around and saw Tim in the dance contest. That dope. My plan failed and Jim and Elizabeth Engel won the contest.
---Cameron Sellers

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Thursday October 22, 1998

The Swing club at the George Washington University had their first dance. According to Jayna Morgan, the event was apparently a big success. She has promised to write a review for us...

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Friday October 23, 1998

We went back to the Cowboy Cafe South in Arlington to see the Rockin Bones in action. The boys were just great (we have photos), but the venue only has a small area in which to dance. On this particular evening, they shared the stage with a new band called Juliet at the Rodeo. We were quite taken with Andrea Brown, the lead singer. This band bears watching.

In the good news department, Ed and Julie are doing fine --- they've bough a new house. The boys got the New Years gig at Glen Echo, and we can't think of a better way to start 1999.

From: Nancy Baird baird1@erols.com

For the October 23rd dance, A Place To Dance LLC found itself scrambling for a band at the last minute when Jimmy and the Blue Dogs were unable to make it. We took a chance on Music Unlimited's Very Small Big Band and were pleasantly surprised. The band did a very good job with excellent vocals. They played mostly big band style swing with some 50's type rock n' roll -- all very danceable. And Tom and Debra did their usual marvelous job throughout the evening. We're still having a good time here on the basketball court -- come join us.

From: Cameron Sellers Cameron.Sellers@mail .house.gov

Naomi, Nina, and I went to Politiki located on Penn Ave to dance on Friday night, but we were turned away at the door. I had called and got them to agree to let them in the bar, only to have them renege at the door. So if you are under 21, don't bother going there, management has a fickle mind.
---Cameron Sellers

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Saturday October 24, 1998

We were at Glen Echo for the TCO Fund Raiser and the Annual "Extremely Tacky Clothes Day". First, let us say thanks to all our friends who raided the thrift stores for the absolute worst in clothing. To end the suspense, Leo Trager (who raided his own closet...) won the suit contest hands down wearing a pair of baby blue continental cut pants (with white piping), a blue gingham shirt, red suspenders, white belt and a checkered coat, topped off with a white fedora. How do the Germans say it? Ausgeseichnet! (or Fahrfernugen, I forget...).

The Cunningham band played a great set of tunes from their extraordinary book --- we always have a good time with "Watch the Birdie". As you all know by now, the jam song was "Sing Sing Sing" and things were moving right along --- this seemed to be one of those nights where everyone was hitting their shine steps right on the button. Koerner had managed things so that couples got into the jam at the point where their routine would look very good. After some absence, we got to see Dave and Jen once more. They did their classic program with two kips followed by some fancy scissor steps --- we were expecting some Charleston stuff after the long break when the music usually shifts to "Christopher Columbus" --- but that didn't happen. In fact, the band shifted to "Sunrise Serenade", a slow song... From then on, everything seemed to move in slow motion --- I remember Koerner's eyes bugging out and John and Nina (the next couple) looking at each other sort of as if to say "What do we do with this?"

Then Dave dropped down to his knees and the crowd began to catch on. The applause began to build as he pulled out a small black box and finally everyone got it. The crowd erupted with applause and "floor-drumming." So, Jen and Dave are now engaged. A reporter from Channel 4 was on hand and captured the moment on tape. Our best wishes to Jen and Dave!

That sort of overshadowed everything else. Cameron and Carla won the Lindy Dance contest and then Cameron came back with Sue Fedor and won the First Annual Freestyle Minuet contest. They had a spectacular move in which Sue drops Cameron on his head and drags him around the floor. Boy, the "art dance" folks are going to have a field day with that... but it really does work well with the "Masterpiece Theater" song. There was a small comic interlude prior to the contest as we tried to find the song --- I knew it was there, but had no idea what track it was. We had to ask at least six professional musicians before we found the correct track. Possibly, the whole gang could use a little more grounding in baroque music... Just to see how erudite our audience is, we will offer one of the leftover tacky prizes to the first reader who sends us the actual correct title of the piece. We are also interested in trivia about Alistair Cooke. (We know that he did not play Eddie Haskell in "Leave it to Beaver.")

From: Cameron Sellers Cameron.Sellers@mail .house.gov

The big event on Saturday night at Glen Echo was not the ugly vintage outfit contest or the first Annual Minuet dance Contest, but Dave "Big Red" proposing to Jen during the Jam. I won't go into details because Sue, Elizabeth, or Chris will write a better narrative. Oh, by the way, Leon won the ugly outfit contest.

From: Mike Michniewski maxwell@smart.net

Hi Frank and Carole,
Saturday night at GE was quite a memorable night,, full of fun, comedy and romance. A video clip of "The Proposal" made the local NBC news show Monday night. Pretty intense! Congratulations to you guys for a funny fashion show.

The 8 PM- 1 AM format is great! Even though it costs more, 4 hours is just about enough time to get a good dance/big band fix. The TCO hung in there till the end, through maybe eight sets (?). It was the first time I saw Tom Cunningham do a vocal. He must have been practicing before hand, because he sounds good. Lets hear some more!
---Mike

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Sunday October 25, 1998

We heard from Lizzie Hess that Ari's debut effort at bringing Lindy Hop to Harrisburg was an unqualified success. We have this review from Larry "The Leader" MacDonald.

From: Larry MacDonald lawrence.r.m acdonald@ccmail.census.gov

On October 25, Lizzie Hess and I drove up to Harrisburg, PA, for a dance sponsored by the Harrisburg Rat Pack and the Jewish Community Center. It featured Big Tubba Mista', a popular local band, and was MC'ed by Ari Levitt, one of Lizzie's favorite dance partners.

At first I thought I was at a Tom and Debra event because the place was crawling with young people dressed to the nines in vintage clothes. And I thought it really odd that nobody looked familiar Chris Cowles and Carla Heiney were the only people there that I recognized. I slowly realized that it was just a completely different segment of the youth population getting hooked on the 30s and 40s swing era.

They really packed a lot of things into this one evening. Ari conducted a one-hour "Madison Time" class, TV cameras were rolling, they had a dance contest, fashion show, a side display by the Eddie's Men's Shop (a great source for zoot suits -- they had a bright green velour suit and all sorts of other wild colors), and the debut performance of the "Savoy Swing Dancers," a team recently started by Ari. The six-member team performance was highly entertaining with first rate choreography. Most of the team members are Lindy Hop newcomers, but they were impressive. I only wished I could have taped it as it was loaded with plenty of moves worth stealing!

The dance contest was fun even though Carla and Chris kicked our butts. We did manage to win a Big Tubba Mista' CD, though. Unfortunately the CD did not contain the same danceable music that the band played at the dance, though.

I highly recommend members of the DC crowd going up to the Harrisburg dances. (There are plans for another Harrisburg dance on Sunday, December 27, so mark your calendars.) For me it was worth the price of admission just to see Ari dance. The guy is a natural who does simple stuff and makes it look great.

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Monday October 26, 1998

I was tinkering with the website when I got a call from Steve Devoney --- apparently, Channel 4 was going to run a story on Dave proposing to Jen at Glen Echo. So, I put a tape in the VCR and switched off AMC for the event. Amidst all the disasters of the day, they kept running all these little teaser clips about the TCO dance. Almost everyone who was there had a microsecond on TV. I was particularly thrilled --- after years of meticulously collecting vintage clothes, I get my moment on network TV wearing a bizarre plaid doubleknit suit that I got for fifty cents...

From: Cameron Sellers Cameron.Sellers@mail .house.gov

On Monday, Chevy Chase was crowded as always with about a 100 dancers in there. People keep telling me that the crowds are large because of the swing craze, but I know better- it's because of the DJ! Around 10:30, the rest of us wanted to keep on dancing but Bernstein insisted on having a birthday dance for Lisa Morgan Brown. So for her twenty sixth birthday, she got to dance with real men of the Lindy community. To show her appreciation to Tom she put her foot through the ceiling doing the Straddle.
---Cameron Sellers

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Tuesday October 27, 1998

With some very great trepidation, We set off for the Birchmere. Some time ago, this venue was the last refuge of the folk music crowd, the last place in the world where people would actually pay money to hear aging hippies sing "Stewball." When they would book the occasional R&B group, there were all these little signs all over the place that cautioned people that "This is a place to sit and listen". Well, guess what: THE BIRCHMERE HAS CHANGED! There is actually a dance floor and a reasonable sound system. The folkies were gone, but not quite forgotten --- the cutesy-pie puppet oompah band could get lost. In general, the new Birchmere is a good dance venue. The floor is fairly big and unobstructed, there is a bar, non-granola food and HVAC plus plenty of parking. We actually look forward to more events at this venue.

Better yet was the New Morty Show. These guys are always a real hoot. Tonight, their repertoire was more swing and less novelty, although they did their required nod to Billy Idol and Metallica. The best parts, however, are when Vise Grip and Kat Starr take on Louis Prima and Keely Smith. The band has a real mastery of the swing genre and their treatment of familiar alternative tunes is always whimsical. We absolutely love the nod to Tito Puente that crops up in their version of "White Wedding". The Morty version of "Caldonia" is another one of our favorites. Their songs tend to be a little on the long side, but the fun never quits. This was definitely a fun evening. Not a single song by Pete Seeger.

From: Cameron Sellers Cameron.Sellers@mail .house.gov

The Birchmere is a great venue for swing. Granted, the place is located in the worst section of Arlington but the parking lot is secure and the restaurant has everything that Glen Echo doesn't have: air conditioning and heat. The restaurant put in a new dance floor which can hold about 200 lindy hoppers or 400 if you turn it into a mosh pit. The environment reminded me of Lulus or Vienna Grille but bigger. There are pool table on the side plus plenty of table for people to sit down and watch while drinking a beer.

On Tuesday night, the New Morty Show came to town and the Birchmere was perfect for them. The only local act which could be compared to their weird style is Peaches. Other than the costumes, New Morty adds a twist to their music by making the Sex Pistols swing. The Jam is probably the best part of their act. They start with Benny Goodman and weave their way through the decades playing rock and punk rock. When you enter the jam you never know what the beat will be, so you just run out there with your partner and hope for the best.

Hopefully, there will soon be another swing concert there.
---Cameron Sellers

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Wednesday October 28, 1998

We picked up Ellen Werther at about 10:00 in the morning for a trip to Fredricksburg, Virginia. We were ostensibly in search of vintage shoes thanks to Tricia Reneau's article in the Forum last week. After a fairly uneventful trip down I-95, we arrived in Fredericksburg and found it to be a very charming place, full of antique stores. Carole found a pair of shoes right away and we left Ellen searching for shoes for her store while we checked out the town. Innocently, we followed the railroad tracks, because we are checking out train stations as possible locations for a swing video. To our amazement, we came across a St. Vincent DePaul thrift store --- they are the BEST. Inside, we hit the jackpot -- we got a really nice Peters Jacket, with the original leather zipper thong for $1. Then we found a 1940s style tweed overcoat with a windowpane check and HUGE shoulders (Ellen and I are still arguing about its age...). Then --- and it made the whole day --- we found a mouse gray wool twill raincoat in perfect shape. It even had a stamp from about 1955 (airmail was seven cents then...) in the pocket! These two coats set us back another $4. We had a great lunch at a place called J. Brians. They even have a jukebox and a small but serviceable dance floor. So, Fredericksburg is definitely a place to visit.

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Thursday October 29, 1998

We went back to the Zoo Bar to see our old friend Sidney Banda, the master of the saxophone. Once again, Sidney and Rob were in fine form and we love the vocals of their friend "The Queen". Some changes have been made at the Zoo Bar --- they have re-carpeted the place. While this improves the decor, the old carpet was so worn out that it was actually possible to dance. The new carpet makes leather shoes a must. HOWEVER, the staff and management are so friendly to dancers that this inconvenience seems very minor.

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Friday October 30, 1998

We split our Friday evening. First, we attended the J Street Jumpers dance at Forest Glen. The band was (as usual) spectacular and folks put considerable time into their costumes. We especially liked Deb Brooks as Charlie Chaplin. (I am indebted to her and her makeup pencil) for a pencil mustache. Bob Kleinpeter also looked great as a "homeless dancer" ("Will dance for beer..."). It looked like everyone had a great time and we were sad to have to run out to Zones where we were the Dance Contest Judges.

Down on E Street, Duke and Kris had done a great job with the dance lessons and were keeping everything humming as Daryl Davis provided the sounds. His inimitable Boogie-woogie style kept the crowd swinging well until 2:00 in the morning.

The winners of the dance contest were:

  1. Lisa Morgan Brown and Cameron Sellers
  2. Vicki Harrison and Tim Landis

We also saw a great West Coast performance from "Rob B and Judy B". Other competitors were Katie Laughlin and Jeff Frederick and Kerri Nolan and Rob Petrie. Congratulations to all!

From: Sue Fedor deevoo@mci2000.com

Thanks to all dancers and the J. Street Jumpers for making our pre-Halloween dance a big success. We had about 225 folks show up so we got to pay the band (they were surprised to have all promised money in hand for a first time gig...apparently, they've been stiffed before!) and we made some money for SOS.

The creativity quotient was off the charts when it came to costumes. I know I'll be forgetting some folks, but we had Hobbes (the tiger), Isis, Scott and Karen as disco dancers (they could have won last week's ugly vintage contest, a bum (I know that's an awful thing to say about Bob Klienpeter...), Monica Lewinsky (complete with cigar and stain), Charlie Chaplin (Deb Brooks won the costume contest), a very colorful nerd (he had a beanie with a propeller on top), Andy and Jackie as cute little elves, Medusa, etc...etc...

And we had this rubber severed arm...it's a long story, but Steve gave it to me for Christmas one year while we were dating. The kids ran around playing with it all evening and it made the rounds of the dance floor. At one point, during "All of Me", Mariana sang, "Take my arms, I'll never use them" and hoisted the rubber arm out onto the dance floor.

We had a lot of new people there that night. Much thanks to Donna Barker and Mark Ormsby for doing the lesson. The lessons must have taken, because many of the beginners stayed even to the third set!

On a sad note, those who attended dances before may have noticed the absence of guards at the front desk. Due to repairs to the building, they were moved out. The lack of their presence made it easy for some new damage to occur to the building. On Thursday night, somebody hurled a pipe through a mirror in the front section where the guards used to sit. That mirror had been donated by the Truman Administration to the Seminary. It is now destroyed. The place is fragile and it could very well be a full time job between organizing these events and keeping a watchful eye on the property. So after the November 7 event, we're going to be taking some time off from Forest Glen Ballroom events. One of the things on our priority list is to discuss ballroom security, repair, and use policies with the Walter Reed general. We've all worked so hard to raise money for repair and many folks have offered to volunteer their labor. It would be a shame to pour all this effort into a place that is not respected by all the people who use it.

From: Cameron Sellers Cameron.Sellers@mail .house.gov

I headed up early Friday night to Forest Glen to help set up, but Save Our Seminary Committee (SOS) did a great job transforming the ballroom into a run down haunted ballroom without me. So thanks to Steve, Sue, Chris B., and the rest of the SOS team.

The lucky band to play in the beautiful historic ballroom was J Street Jumpers. Most of the band members got lost so they straggled in but once they started playing they never missed a beat. Considering that SOS was competing against America, Zones, Centreville and the American Lindy Hop Championships, they had a pretty good turn out.

Around 10:30, Lisa Brown and I travelled to Zones and competed in the Swing Dance contest being hosted by Duke and judged by Frank and Carole and the audience. Since most of the regulars were gone, Lisa and I competed against Tim and Vicki, Rob and Kristin, and Jeff and Katie. After the contest we danced to Daryl Davis into the late night. I left at 2:00am to go pack for the trip to ALHC in NJ.
---Cameron Sellers

From: Arnold Taylor Ahnoldt@aol.com

During a week-long free-load on my family members in Rhode Island over the Hallowe'en period, Lilian and I slipped away after visiting tapered off and did some swing dancing that may be of interest to any of our devotees who travel in that direction.

The first was a return for me to a ballroom called RHODES-ON-THE- PATUXENT. Built before the turn of the century for elegant ballroom dancing and dining, it features dancing space equal to Glen Echo, with a large bandstand on the long side of the rectangular floor, a balcony five steps up on three sides opposite the bandstand, and another balcony one story higher. Each balcony has boxes that overlook the dance floor, behind which are tables and chairs, behind which is room to dance!

The place suffered neglect after the big bands died late in the 1940's and some years ago was slated for demolition. The nearby Masonic Temple purchased the building and grounds and restored it. What a beneficent move! The place has the charm of Forest Glen and the spaciousness of Glen Echo. Suspended wooden floor (although around the sides it was somewhat sticky) The rest rooms are new, inside, clean. The place is air conditioned.

The band was The Squirrel Nut Zippers. This was billed as a swing dance but these dudes put on a concert instead. Of the 1,400 persons there (that's right: 1,400 - at $20) 500 stood in front of the bandstand and yelled and shook. Another 250 beginning swing dancers flung themselves around the periphery of the crowd while 50 authentic swing dancers suffered abuse from the exuberance typical of so many beginners. The remaining 600 sat at tables in the balconies and watched - and drank and smoked.

The Zippers were atrocious. Few of the tunes were swing dance tunes. Some tunes were crafted to contain a change in the beat in order, I suppose, to appeal to the concert-goers - especially during the vocals. This did not seem to bother the beginners who didn't keep the beat during the few tunes that actually were swing rhythms. Nevertheless, Lil and I did our thing, chatted with some local folks and enjoyed ourselves in spite of the band.

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Saturday October 31, 1998

We spent Halloween by visiting most of the places on out "Upcoming Week" list. Our "Hopping" evening began at the Lucky Bar. We had a nice chat with Paul Lusi, the owner. This is a very nice place that has made a fairly strong commitment to swing dancing.

Next, we hopped up to Capitol Hill to join the festivities at the Poli-Tiki Subterranean Tiki Bar. The DJ played a very nice medley of swing tunes and we had a great time doing a little demo for the crowd. There seems to be a lot of interest in Swing on Capitol Hill as well.

Next, we hit the RockBottom Microbrewery in Bethesda where our friend Mike Lange was playing. There was a very small dance floor, but we were able to get all our aerials in. We have always been fans of Mike and it looks like his gig at Glen Echo will be very Lindy Friendly (with a mix of blues tunes for the Other People...)

From: Sue Fedor deevoo@mci2000.com

Being the tired, married folks that we are, Steve and I happily took up Chris Bamberger's offer for a low key evening at her house. After the dance, we contributed all of the pumpkins we had carved for her to use at the house. She was grateful, especially since she had to compete with the house around the corner, which was completely lit up from top to bottom in Halloween regalia. A nice row of carved pumpkins added a home-spun touch to her porch and they were much appreciated by the trick or treaters.

When we arrived, Cullen and Mike Henry were already there. We ate pizza, passed candy out to the kids and played with the cats. One of Chris's cats, Caboodle, does a backflip. We wandered all over Chez Bamberger, tried on her dance clothes (Cullen looked too good in the feathered boa) and I worked out on the exercise equipment. While we were waiting for Rob to come home from his radio show, we honored the 60th anniversary of the broadcast of The War of the Worlds over the CBS Radio Network. Mike had a 1974 made-for-TV movie about the Orson Welles adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic tale of science fiction. Through the miracle of fast forwarding technology, Mike was able to show us just the best parts. Cullen's friend (who's name escapes me...) came over, straight from another halloween engagement, dressed like a cat. She joined us for our movie night. Rob came home a bit later and it was time for that all-time Halloween classic: HELLZAPOPPIN'!!!!! I think we now have a whole new crop of Olsen and Johnson fans. And now, they'll know what to wear to our Hellzapoppin' party, once we get around to having one.

We left around 12:30, but our evening was not over. Since the Army is no longer stationed at the main seminary building, some of the SOS members (the ones who live across the street, especially) thought it would be wise to do foot patrols. Good thing, too, because they caught three or four groups of kids up to all sorts of mischief. One group was climbing the scaffolding used by the workers repairing the exterior and when they were surprised, they ran off, leaving full cans of beer scattered everywhere. The statue of Justice over on the east side of the property (farthest from the beltway) always presents some concern. We have a lot of local "witchcraft" practitioners who like to leave flowers, candles, tarot cards and do little rituals around the statue. So we headed there first, thinking we'd see something strange, and sure enough, somebody left a candlelit Jack-o-lantern, right in the middle of a dry forest. Mike Henry joined us for our late night escapade as we scoured the site for hoodlums. This was probably not a good idea for me, as I was nursing a slight sore throat and the dry, cold night air did nothing beneficial for it. The next day, I paid dearly for both the late night and lack of attention to my throat.

From: Arnold Taylor Ahnoldt@aol.com

Our second escapade was really that. My natal city, Providence, has changed dramatically. Lots of one-way streets. Having inadvertently taken a turn that put us on I-95 headed out of town, Lil noticed a gargantuan sign on what looked like an old warehouse and it said: SWINGERS. We knew it was not a haven for promiscuous couples because the accompanying heroic-size art work showed two swing dancers making a good move - uh, dance move.

On a whim, I turned off the highway at the first opportunity, and criss-crossed the area until we reached the place. It is called THE COMPLEX, on Richmond St. near Pine St., and it is like ZONES in that there are several rooms with different kinds of dancing featured. Each room is a lounge, sort of - bar, smoking. There is swing dancing every night but Sunday and Monday.

The dance floor appears to be B-grade plywood under a coating of clear epoxy. Interesting. Okay to dance on. The space is 1/4 Glen Echo size. Music was DJ and well done. I thought Mark B was doing the spinning! Most of the dancers were 30 to 40 until the 20 to 30 crowd began to move in at around 10pm. Cost was $4@ if I recall, and the drinks reasonable. When Lil tuckered out, I danced with a couple of the better dancers (still not able to use my right arm, but still able to use my feet) and also taught a couple of beginners.

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