We decided to perform our Swinging at the Cotton Club routine this evening and the performance went amazingly. I think it was our best performance ever. The energy was unreal - it fucking rocked. Even though the room was long and had very high ceilings adorned with large chandeliers, the audience packed themselves in tightly. We had a nice welcome out, and after the first few swing outs, the room erupted with claps. And the audience was on beat too! I was right under one of the sizable chandelier when we threw the lotus (and the back flip) so that added the dynamic of death to the whole thing. And we got the double applause: once at the bow, and then again after the flying vice. It was awesome. And then the audience kept clapping until we came back out and did a second bow (triple applause, I guess). It was so.... gratifying. And not only that, but afterwards we got some AMAZING feedback. People gushed about how great the dancing was and the performance, and the aerials. Even though many had seen the routine on Youtube, they said it was so much better in person (naturally).
Those 3 minutes of the evening are what I live for.
Ok, enough tooting of our horns.
After that we got home around 2:30am and probably got to bed around 3am. Kev and I woke up this morning exhausted but had to push on. Classes went well today. We had level 5 and level 2 after lunch. At lunch Kevin and I talked to Love & Ulrika (some local instructors) and they were really cool. He was very laid back and has a rather laissez-faire attitude (his name is pronounce Loo-veh) and she was bubbly. I think we made some new Swedish friends - nice!
Level 2 was an awesome last group to have. Even though it was after lunch and most of them were ready to take a nap, we did a bunch of 20's charleston stuff with them and they loved it! And people were laughing at our jokes as well (a nice pat to our egos). They were either better cross-cultural jokes, or the group knew each other better than the larger groups and felt more comfortable with us sooner. We also taught then some flash&trash and the ate it up. Sweet. Definitely one of the best class and group of people we have taught in a while.
All the instructors then had a goodbye meeting with the students. They thanked us and then said we were going to dance one more time for them, which I didn't know we were going to do, but we ended up jamming (not by choice). They put on Jumping at the Woodside and then we had to perform. Kev and I were happy with the stuff we did and fucking rocked the pancake (with my glasses on, I might add). We finished off the song with the California Routine and the students enjoyed it.
There was a quick run home, a nap, dinner at a restaurant, and then dancing. More on that story tomorrow.
Showing posts with label aerials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aerials. Show all posts
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Rugcutter Aerial Workshop
We did not expect such a wonderful turnout. I think we had something like 29 couples for our first class and the number stayed rather steady the whole day!
The Schedule:
Dips & Trick: 1:30-2:45 PM
Lift and Jumps: 3:00-4:15 PM
Lindy Hop Aerials: 4:30 – 5:45 PM
Dips and Tricks did not require partners because we intended the moves to be socially leadable. In it, we taught "The Jeremy", a lunge, and the Ninjammerz Dip.
"The Jeremy" named after Jeremy Otth and was inspired by a move he did at the US Swing Dance Open this past year. We weren't entirely sure it was the move he did, but it was our interpretation of it. But we particularly enjoy the move because it's rather similar to one that was popularized during the Neo-Swing revival. Next was the lunge which is a move Kevin and I often use during our social dancing and choreography. We felt like it would be good for our students to know because it's in their current Rugcutter Routine. Finally, we taught the Ninjammerz Dip, which is the final move of the Ninjammerz routine.
We then moved on to Lifts and Jumps where we required people to have partners. We taught technique on how to prep aerials, how to base, and how to land. We started the class with a climbing exercise we call the Monkey because the follow must climb around their base (normally the lead) without touching the floor. This is a challenging exercise in slippery pants. We taught the Frog, the A-Frame (or Russian), and the Liu Kang (a bicycle kick throw-out). I think most people enjoyed the last one.
In our final class we taught a pancake. We walked the students through the technique for the prep and the actual aerial. Many of the students went through the aerial all the way!
We were so proud of all the students who came to the workshop. Every arrived ready to laugh and learn and to push themselves. We were very impressed and thrilled that everyone was so receptive to our humor! One of my favorite moments was when we started doing the "meatball prep" which is where I hold a V-position (looks like Downward Dog if you do yoga) and Kevin was pretending like he was skiing over my butt (picture him in a crouch position and I am under his legs). But of course, I didn't know this until I was told after classes.
So the long of the short of it is:
The Schedule:
Dips & Trick: 1:30-2:45 PM
Lift and Jumps: 3:00-4:15 PM
Lindy Hop Aerials: 4:30 – 5:45 PM
Dips and Tricks did not require partners because we intended the moves to be socially leadable. In it, we taught "The Jeremy", a lunge, and the Ninjammerz Dip.
"The Jeremy" named after Jeremy Otth and was inspired by a move he did at the US Swing Dance Open this past year. We weren't entirely sure it was the move he did, but it was our interpretation of it. But we particularly enjoy the move because it's rather similar to one that was popularized during the Neo-Swing revival. Next was the lunge which is a move Kevin and I often use during our social dancing and choreography. We felt like it would be good for our students to know because it's in their current Rugcutter Routine. Finally, we taught the Ninjammerz Dip, which is the final move of the Ninjammerz routine.
We then moved on to Lifts and Jumps where we required people to have partners. We taught technique on how to prep aerials, how to base, and how to land. We started the class with a climbing exercise we call the Monkey because the follow must climb around their base (normally the lead) without touching the floor. This is a challenging exercise in slippery pants. We taught the Frog, the A-Frame (or Russian), and the Liu Kang (a bicycle kick throw-out). I think most people enjoyed the last one.
In our final class we taught a pancake. We walked the students through the technique for the prep and the actual aerial. Many of the students went through the aerial all the way!
We were so proud of all the students who came to the workshop. Every arrived ready to laugh and learn and to push themselves. We were very impressed and thrilled that everyone was so receptive to our humor! One of my favorite moments was when we started doing the "meatball prep" which is where I hold a V-position (looks like Downward Dog if you do yoga) and Kevin was pretending like he was skiing over my butt (picture him in a crouch position and I am under his legs). But of course, I didn't know this until I was told after classes.
So the long of the short of it is:
- We love our Pittsburgh lindy hoppers
- We love laughing with them
- We love teaching them
- Kevin and I are VERY funny
- I love working with Kevin
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