New swing dance blogs

Some new swing dance blogs has appeared on my radar screen. I've found some exellent stuff there so check out the blogs and send them a comment with encouragement. Every blogger need that.

• Jazz Dance Etc/ jojo jackson
• WestieHoppold
• Gina’s Jazz Dance Blog

What do you think of these swing dance blogs? Tell me.

Sweet Emma & The Mood Swingers - Chicago boogie

Here is a music video featuring Sweet Emma & The Mood Swingers playing Chicago boogie.

Sweet Emma & The Mood Swingers is a popular rhythm & blues band from Uppsala. The video was shot at Grand with a lot of dancers from Swingkatten. You might want to look at how the video shoot looked like in November last year.

If you want to dance to them, you can do that in Stockholm May 17th at Swedish Swing Society (the dance club, not the band).

What do you think of the music video with Sweet Emma & The Mood Swingers? Tell me.

Glen Grey and the Casa Loma Orchestra

Glen Grey and the Casa Loma Orchestra is an orchestra that is somewhat forgotten nowadays but they sounded great. Here is a video clip from a short movie featuring the band playing the songs "Hep And Happy", "Broom Street" and "Darktown Strutters' Ball".

The dancers in the clip are Dean Collins and Jewel McGowan doing a version of the Shim Sham as well as dancing lindy hop in a Hollywood style. Just look at Jewel McGowan doing those swivels. Wow.

You can find out more about the movie with Glen Grey and the Casa Loma Orchestra at Internet Movie Database (IMDB).

What do think of the video clip with Glen Grey and the Casa Loma Orchestra? Tell me.

Swing Fever: Swing dancing

Here is a scene from the movie Swing Fever from 1943. Kay Kyser and his orchestra plays the song "One Girl and Two Boys".

According to the Internet Movie Database it's Jeanne Phelps-Veloz who dances swing together with Don Gallaher and Lennie Smith in a Hollywood style.

If you like the song you can hear a modern version by the Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra on the album Live at the Hollywood Palladium. Bill Elliott has btw also another album called Swing Fever.

What do you think about the dancing in the film Swing Fever? Tell me.

Lindy hop in Gävle

Yesterday I was djing swing all night in Gävle which is located approximately 80 km north of Uppsala. The lindy hop scene in Gävle is very young and they first started having regular courses one and a half year ago. It's also about one year ago since I dj:ed at their very first swing night. It was nice to be back.

My approach was very much like when I dj:ed the newbie night earlier this week: solid swing classics with a hifi feeling with tempos around 140 BPM. The only song that was a little bit faster was a version of 9:20 special by Count Basie. I also played Thunderbird, a fun song by Slim Gaillard from the album Slim Gaillard Rides Again.

The photo is taken by me and may not be published elsewhere without my permission. Contact me if you want to license it.

Where you lindy hopping in Gävle last night? What did you think of the night? Tell me.

Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx) - Hit The Road Jack

When you work as swing dj, sometimes the audience/dancers just want's more and more but you have to stop sometime soon because you have to pack up your things to leave and the event organisers, though having a great time, wants you to end so that they can start closing the place down for the night.

Then you can give the dancers a not so subtle hint that it's to go home by playing "Hit the Road, Jack" by Ray Charles.

Here is a video clip from the film "Ray" where Jamie Foxx plays Ray Charles performing "Hit the Road, Jack".



What do you think of the video clip with Jamie Foxx playing Ray Charles' Hit the Road, Jack? Tell me.

Swing Dancing in Untamed Youth

Dance is intimately connected to music. When the music style changes so does the dance. If you dance the same way as you are used to, you not really paying attention to the music. Your dancing style should reflect what the music expresses.

When early rock and roll appeared in 1950's the music became rougher with the introduction of the electric guitar, the music was wilder and more rebellious . The dance of course reflected the music.

Here is a movie clip from the film Untamed Youth from 1957 where there is a lot of wild swing dancing going on. Mamie Van Doren sings to a song by Eddie Cochran.




When you are swing dancing to rock and roll music, you need to be aware that the music often has 4 bar breaks (and even 8 bar breaks) instead of 2 bar breaks as in classic swing music.

What do you think of the video clip with swing dancing from Untamed Youth? Tell me.

dancehistory.org: Learn about swing dance and jazz dance history

Are you interested in the history of swing dances and jazz dances that evolved from the 1920s to the 1940s? Then you should visit dancehistory.org which is a website dedicated to just that.


From the mission statement:

Dancehistory.org is a collective of dance historians and enthusiast researching, sharing and promoting the history of American Jazz dance.

Dancehistory.org got a discussion forum where you can disuss both the history as well as dancing of these dances today. You can also learn about jazz and swing music.

This is a great resource that dancer and dance historian Peter Loggins has founded. Yay!

What do you think of dancehistory.org? Tell me.

Interview: Cynthia Millman: co-author of "Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop"

The autobiography by Frankie Manning: Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop has just been released. Cynthia Millman is co-author of the book and I was curious about her so I did an interview with her to find out more about her and the process behind writing the biography.

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? What do you do for a living? When did you start dancing?

I loved dancing as a kid, but didn’t start training until age 12, after seeing a ballet demonstration. Since then I’ve explored many, many forms of classical, modern, and ethnic dance, but once I discovered swing dancing in the mid 1980s, that was it. I have a master’s degree in dance and dance education, and taught dance (mostly to children) and performed (on and off) for 25 years. Somewhere in there, I made a career shift. I earned a master’s in library science, and have been a children’s librarian for the last fifteen years, currently at The Town School in Manhattan.

When did you first meet Frankie?

I first met Frankie at a dance in 1986, which I describe in the book’s introduction. I didn’t really get to know him until I began performing with the Big Apple Lindy Hoppers in 1990. It was while hearing his stories at dinner after rehearsals that I first realized what an interesting life he had lived, and how gifted he was at describing his experiences.

How would you describe Frankie Manning to someone who doesn’t know him?

Frankie Manning was one of the main creators of the lindy hop at Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom during the 1930s. His choregraphic innovations, especially the air step and synchronized ensemble routines, helped catapult the lindy from ballroom to stage and screen. Frankie’s choreography for and performances as a lead dancer with Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers helped popularize the lindy and disseminate it across America and around the world. With the demise of the Swing Era, Frankie took a “temporary” job in the Post Office . . . and ended up working there for 30 years! His rediscovery by a new generation of swing dancers and his professional comeback were a driving force in the swing dance revival that began in the 1980s and is still going strong. Today, at 93, Frankie has a packed teaching schedule and travels constantly to share with others the joy that swing dancing has brought him. An inspiration to us all, Frankie is as beloved for his marvelous personality as he is for his vital role in American dance history.

Frankie is one of my favorite people in the world, and collaborating on his autobiography was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

How come you started to write the book about Frankie Manning?

In 1987, I interviewed Frankie Manning for an article about the swing dance revival for a small local newspaper in Manhattan. I subsequently interviewed him for a master’s thesis project, an extensive exhibit on the history of swing dancing (which showed at swing dance events in New York City, Herrang, London, and Toronto), and for articles in Dance Magazine and The International Encyclopedia of Dance. In 1993, Frankie and I began doing educational presentations on lindy history that included lecture, interview, demonstration, and video clips. Around this time, I realized that I was completely enchanted by the history of swing dancing and asked Frankie if we could do a book together. Happily, he said yes.


Frankie Manning dancing with Cynthia Millman at CAN'T TOP THE LINDY HOP! during a birthday dance on the occasion of his 80th birthday party in New York City, 1994. Photographer: Timothy Swiecicki.

What is your favorite story from the book?

I love all of Frankie’s stories, but the one that stands out for me is when he danced with Betty Grable at a USO show in New Guinea during World War II. In addition to being a fun story, I feel that it illustrates so much of what Frankie is all about: his ability to make the best of a bad situation with incredible pluck and humor; his use of dance to connect to individuals and audiences; his love of entertaining people and lifting their spirits with his dancing; his professionalism as an entertainer; his respect for musicians; his personal charm; and his ability to disable racial prejudice at a time when it was so deeply entrenched in and so openly a part of American culture.

I also find his story about Sergeant Montgomery very moving. It’s one of the first stories I ever heard Frankie tell, and I’ll never forget hearing it that first time.

Now that the book is done, do you have any other subjects that you would like to write about?

As a children’s librarian, I have quite a few ideas for children’s books. I’m also interested in doing some articles on holistic health practices and meditation. And I’m considering some other research projects in the swing dance area.

Is there anything else you would like to mention?

Just that I hope everyone enjoys reading about Frankie Manning's life. Part of why we were able to get a publisher was because we could demonstrate to Temple University Press that there was an extensive international audience for Frankie’s story. Thinking about sharing the book with all of you helped keep us going during the lengthy process of getting that rich, long life into the pages of a book.


Thank you, Cynthia Millman, for taking time to answer the questions!
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about the book.

Update: Read my book review here.

Order Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop at Amazon.com. Maybe join the campaign to make the book a best seller?

What do you think of this interview? Got other questions for Cynthia Millman? Tell me.

Hey Mr Jesse: Jonathan Stout and His Campus Five

It's so pleasant to know that in the beginning of each month I know exactly what I'll be blogging about and that is of course the fabulous podcast Hey Mr Jesse. Here is what I wrote about this show earlier.

The thing that makes this podcast great is that Jesse Miner och Manu Smith each episode invites a swing jazz musician and interviews them. This time they interview Jonathan Stout, the band leader of Jonathan Stout and His Campus Five. This might be the best interview so far. If you haven't listened to the podcast before, now is the time to do it.

Besides being a musician, Jonathan Stout is also a swing dancer and he talks about what makes swing music danceable. He gives music examples of different ways to play swing music and how that affects the dancing. One thing he mention is "dancing to the music", which means that if you listen to the music and are interpreting it, the music gives you huge clues about what moves to do.

One of my favorite expressions is: "The music made me do it". That happens when you have this great dance with a great dance partner and you feel absolutely compelled to do a certain movement because it totally fits to the music. Nothing else would have made sense. Both you and partner smile and say: "Yeah, we nailed that one". That's a total connection between you, your partner and the music. It's like the music is standing beside you with a big sledge hammer and say (in the most friendly but firm voice). "Make that move, or else...".

I think the interview is educational both for dancers and musicians.

Jesse Miner mentions a lot of other stuff also, like the upcoming Frankie Manning biography: "Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop" and the new documentary Anita O'day: The Life of a Jazz Singer.

Check out everything in the show notes for episode number 17 of Hey Mr Jesse.

Download the May episode of Hey Mr Jesse. (50 MB, mp3)

What do you think of the Hey Mr Jesse podcast? Tell me.

Royal Crown Revue concert at Debaser

The neoswing band Royal Crown Revue is out on an European tour and is coming to Debaser (Slussen) in Stockholm tomorrow.

Neo swing is not classic swing but it's a style of swing that is influenced by rockabilly and jump blues. Neo swing became popular around 1997-1998 when there was a swing music revival and a lot of people started swing dancing.

Here is a video with Royal Crown Revue performing their song Zip Gun Bop. In the video you can see Peter Loggins dancing lindy hop.



The evening starts at 19 and before Royal Crown Revue goes on stage the Swedish band Nosey Joe and the Poolkings will play. I hear that RCR is an awesome live band, so if you have the opportunity I think you should go there.

Buy tickets at Ticnet. 145 kr.

Interesting fact: Royal Crown Revue was featured in the film "The Mask" where Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz dance to their song "Hey Pachuco!".



What do you think of Royal Crown Revue? Tell me.