One of my favorite versions of Love Me Or Leave Me was played at Swingkatten's lindy hop practise tonight. This particular version is sung by Sammy Davis Jr. I like the song because it is very dynamic, smooth at some times, other times it's loud, I love those horns.
I, like many lindy hoppers, picked it up when I saw the hilarious video clip of Tommy Blacharz & Max Pitruzella dancing to Love Me Or Leave Me imitating (or making a parody of) the dance style and the dance moves of the dance couple Kevin St. Lauren and Carla LaRue Heiney.
This video clip I think can be considered a modern classic. Almost every lindy hopper has seen it but if you joined the dance scene in the last 2 years you might not have seen it, so, you should see it right away below.
I don't know what's best, to first see the "original" with Kevin and Carla dancing to Love Me Or Leave Me or see the "copy cats" Max and Tommy? You have to decide what works best for you.
First out is Tommy Blacharz & Max Pitruzella :
Now have a look at Kevin St. Lauren and Carla LaRue Heiney
I think both couples does a great dance. I would love to dance like that. I'd love to dance with Carla.
If you have any information about Max and Tommy's version, where it was performed, etc, I'd like hear from you.
What do you think of the different versions of people dancing to Love Me Or Leave Me? Please comment.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Love me or leave me: Kevin & Carla or Max & Tommy?
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4 comments:
That Max & Tommy clip was filmed on a Friday night in Washington, DC at Chevy chase Ballroom in June of 2003. It was the week after The Harlem Jazz Dance Festival and they were taking time to travel around the states.
There's a second clip of this routine out there which was filmed the next evening in the Bumper Car Pavilion at Glen Echo Park.
The amusing thing was that most of the people who saw either of the performances in person never really understood them.
Kevin and Carla were living in DC at the time, but they were traveling so much that they rarely made appearances at the weekend dances. As a result, many of the newer dancers that attended these two dances did not understand any of the references Max and Tommy were making.
Thank you Jerry! This was just the kind of information I was looking for. Great!
Here's another clip of Tommy and Max. I don't know if it's the one Jerry was referring to, but I think it comes out a bit better.
This was actually the first time I'd seen Kevin & Carla's original, but I knew their style enough to get some of the references back when I first saw the parody. Of course, it's a fantastic routine whether or not you "get it."
Thanks m8 :)
Been searching around for information to my own little blog.
I think the Max and Tommy version is awsome :D
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