With the first class of FAST! starting this Wednesday, the time to register is now!

• July 22 – Balboa
• July 29 – Lindy Hop
• Aug 5 – Charleston
• Aug 12 – Jam Circles

Guess what?!  Summer is here, and that makes us very happy hoppers.  Here’s what you need to know for July:

• Open Practice – July 13th

Come test our your latest moves, or practice for Cabaret, or <insert other cool idea here>.  7 – 9pm at Mount Pleasant Hall!

• New  Classes

FAST! – Wednesdays in July & August

Click here for all the dates and details for this awesomeness. Balboa, Lindy, Charleston, and Jam Circles?!  OH MY!

Register before it’s too late!

• Cabaret – July 17th @ 9pm

Do you have your performance ready?  Cuz we’re looking forward to smiling along, and clapping at the end!  Let info@swingdancecalgary.com know if you’re performing! See you there!

• Sun and Salsa Festival – July 19th

Come swing it up in Kensington on 10th Ave in front of Carpenters’ while tasting delicious salsa.  BYOC (chips) and sunscreen.  11am – 5pm.  Best part is, FREE fun!  (more details from Bart on the message board)

The Fast! workshop comes with all kinds of summer freedom! Take as many or as few classes as you like. They are all on a drop in basis but the more you take, the more fun you’ll have dancing the fast songs. Most classes will be taught at a level 2.0 but if you have any questions about the level, do not hesitate to ask (info@swingdancecalgary.com).
The classes will be begin at 7pm and be between 1h15 to 1h30 minutes with plenty of time to practice afterward. Instructors will be available to answer questions and social dance to help solidify everything you learn.  Classes are held at Mount Pleasant Community Hall.

Balboa – Nicole & Matt July 22
This dance form came about on the crowded floors of the California Swing era ballrooms. It’s small, it’s fast, it slides and it’s danced very close. This class will focus on new variations so it is important that you know the balboa basic step, connection and can lead a follow a few moves already (come around, cross overs, lollys and bonus points for the bal swing out).

Lindy Hop – Meghan & Eric July 29
Learn how to handle those faster, high energy songs with killer Swing Outs and great tricks. You’ll learn some Frankie Manning choreography and some more contemporary ideas as well.
You should be confident in your swing out, and transitioning into 6 count and Charleston seamlessly.

Charleston – Meghan & Eric August 5
Just keep kicking! There will be tons of great variations and combinations that make this dance look and feel absolutely amazing. The best part is that you’ll learn how to come up with these moves on your own and how to follow just about anything that comes your way.

Jam Circles- Matt August 12
The music is roaring, the joint is jumpin’ and you want to show off those sweet tricks you’ve got. Learn how to attack a Jam Cirlce and wow the surrounding crowd. Warning: this class may contain unmeasurable quantities of flash and trash.

Selection

Select one $0.00 All Four $50.00 Any Three $37.00 Any Two $25.00 Balboa only $14.00 Lindy Hop only $14.00 Charleston only $14.00 Jam Circles only $14.00

Specify classes if less than 4

Note, partner name, etc.

Starting June 5 we will be running another set of classes! Take your pick:

Lindy 1.0 – Beginner 8 count w/ Meghan and Eric
Fridays, 7:45 – 8:45pm  4 classes – $50

Lindy 1.5 – Version 1, Moves to Show Your Mom w/ Dave and Meghan
Fridays, 6:30 – 7:30pm 4 classes – $50

Click on Classes to register!

CHANGES!!!!

The June 27 Fast Workshop has been reformatted! (aka, cancelled in its current form)

We have decided to run mini workshops throughout the summer, rather than one full day.  Keep your eyes peeled for the same great content, but in multiple spread out classes.

We will (still) be breaking the bpm speed limit. There will be Balboa, Lindy Hop and Charleston at unheard of tempos, taught by local instructors. Stay tuned for more details!

Other Excitement:

July 17 ~ Cabaret

A night of entertainment of all varieties. Start preparing your act now for this fun community building event. Your act can be just about anything that is entertaining to an audience and less than 2 minutes long. Singing, playing an instrument, reciting poetry, hooping, dancing and whatever else you can think of. The last one was a great success; let’s make the second one even better!

August 6-9 ~ Mountain View Music Festival

Our friends the Polyjesters put on a phenomenal festival every year out in Carstairs, AB. Join us for a weekend of fun in the sun, great people and live Canadian music.

Sept 11-13 ~ Joel and Louise Workshop

Mark your calendars for the next big workshop. Joel and Louise are phenomenal instructors from Vancouver who have taught in Calgary, Edmonton and were featured at the recent Lindybout. They specialize in all vintage dances including Jazz, Charleston, Lindy Hop and Balboa. Their knowledge of jazz dance history will blow you away!

With great sorrow we announce that legendary lindy hopper Mr. Frankie Manning passed away peacefully early this morning. He was 94 years of age.

Frankie inspired hundreds – perhaps millions – of people and dancers worldwide. For the past ~20 years, he has traveled the world, shared his stories, and taught dancers about love and respect for one another. It’s with his influence that the swing dance community is a good, friendly community of people.

Frankie’s achievements are sensational. He’s appeared in 7 films, choreography for 2 more, and he was awarded a Tony Award for co-choreography for the broadway musical “Black and Blue”.

Frankie Manning created the aerial (air-step), which became a signature of swing dancing. In the 1930’s and 1940’s, he pioneered lindy hop with incredible moves, techniques, and choreography. He was the best swing dancer the world has ever seen.

Farewell, Frankie Manning.

(Thanks to Birkley for his amazing words, and ability to convey the deep emotion that many of us are feeling)

7:00 – 8:45 ~ Frankie95 World Wide Choreography
This was created by Peter Strom and Ramona Staffield with all of Frankie’s best moves to honour his birthday. If you are attending the event in New York, you won’t want to miss this! The class will be at a 1.5 (intermediate) level. Please watch the video to get a feel for the choreography, as the class will move quickly.

All proceeds will go to the Frankie Manning Fund. Suggested donation is $10.

8:45 – 9:15 ~ Beginner Drop In Lesson
Regularly scheduled drop in lesson with Ashley and Greg

9:15 – 12:00 ~ 10th Street Stomp in Honour of Frankie
Dress up a little, there will be lots of swinging out and of course a Shim Sham.

Lindy Hop; thousands danced it during the depression,
millions danced it after the recovery.

Swing Dance Calgary is hosting another beginner series starting Wednesday April 8th.

No partner required. Wear comfortable shoes!

If you’ve already taken the beginner lindy hop and fallen in love with it, please pass the word on to your friends!

The Specifics
Class: Lindy 1.0 Beginner (6 count)
Instructors: Robert and Carolyn
Dates: April 8, 22, 29 and May 6
Time: 6:30 – 7:30pm
Location: Carpenters’ Hall
Money: $50 for 4 classes

Register online at www.swingdancecalgary.com/classes or email info@swingdancecalgary.com to let us know that you’ll be there

The next round of classes are starting right away!
Check out www.swingdancecalgary.com/classes for more details and to register.
Each class is four weeks. $50/person.

For those of you who took a little longer than usual to recover from New Years, we are starting our Lindy 1.0 6-count class on Jan 21, 2009.  Registration is now open, so head on over to the classes page and sign up!

This is a great place to start, but also a great place to return to. If you find you have a hard time thinking of 6-count moves this return back to the basics may help. It’ll add all kinds of new excitement to your Lindy! For beginners and everyone!

Due to the upcoming Cabaret, we’ve opened up two additional open practice dates to help you prepare.  Drop in is only $4.  Bring your own material to practice!

• January 19 @ 7:00pm – Mount Pleasant Community Hall
• February 2 @ 7:00pm – Mount Pleasant Community Hall

Updates!

• Weekly 10th Street Stomp is back, every Friday!
• New class structure, making classes 4 weeks long and with more variety
• Open practice Wednesdays – next one is Feb 11 @ 7:30 (Carpenters’ Hall)
• Cabaret on Feb 6th, only 1-2 minute routines of your talent!
• We are hosting 9 Plex, March 20-22!

Don’t forget about Alberta Inspiration Weekend, happening Jan 30-Feb 1 in Edmonton.  Spend the weekend getting inspired by your friendly neighbourhood prairie instructors! Workshops for 2 levels (beginner and intermediate) and classes include rhythms, fast lindy, dancing to the music, blues, solo charleston just to name a few.

Hurray for 2009, complete with all kinds of new excitement at SDC!

• Weekly 10th Street Stomp is back, every Friday!
• New class structure, making classes 4 weeks long and with more variety
• Open practice Wednesdays – next one is Feb 11 @ 6:30 (Carpenters’ Hall)
• Cabaret on Feb 6th, only 1-2 minute routines of your talent!
• We are hosting 9 Plex, March 20-22

Don’t forget to sign up for classes starting January 7 and 9!
Classes include Lindy 1.0 6-count, Lindy 1.0 8-count, Lindy 1.5 “The W Factor”, and open level Blues.  Don’t hesistate to email us if you’re unsure of your level.

CHECK OUT THE BRAND NEW CLASSES!
2009 is bringing all kinds of exciting changes, and a new class structure is one of them.  Please don’t hesitate to ask us how you and your dancing level fits into this new (and not set-in-stone) structure.
The new lessons are also now posted on our calendar, in case you find that format easier to comprehend. If you have any thoughts, feedback, questions about the new classes, please email us!

• 1.0 Lindy Hop – 6 Count
  This class will cover the basics of the 6 count Lindy footwork, how to lead and follow, social dance etiquette and also some 1920’s Charleston. If you have no partner dance experience, this is the class for you. It will get you spinning and swinging in to time.

• 1.0 Lindy Hop – 8 Count
  This class will cover the basics of the 8 count lindy footwork, principles of connection, social dance etiquette and also some 1930’s (Lindy hop) Charleston. Lindy Hop is the original swing dance; it’s energetic, social and a lot of fun!

• 1.5 (Version 1) “Moves to show your Mom”
  An opportunity to review and improve upon what you learned at level 1.0 and then soar into some great moves that would impress anybody’s mom. You’ll also learn how to execute safe turns and dips that will get you a second dance!

• 1.5 (Version 2) “The W Factor”
  ‘W’ for WOW! Mix things up with more moves to add to your skill set. We’ll work on the concept of lead and follow and how to inspire the person you’re dancing with.

• 1.5 (Version 3) “Lindy Hop like Grandma used to make”
  This class will look at the classic lindy hop moves that have made people hungry for more since the 1930’s. Not to be confused with ‘boring basics’, there is a darn good reason these techniques are here to stay.

• 2.0 Lindy Hop
  In this class you will learn to make your dancing look like as much fun as it already is. Swivels, big swing outs, subtle lead and follow and much more. This class includes some rhythm variations and styling options.

• 2.0 Charleston
  By the end of this class series you will be able to dance an entire song of Charleston! There will be some review of 20’s and 30’s basics like kick throughs, new variations and turns but the focus of the class will be tandem Charleston, Charleston swing outs and combinations.

• 3.0 Killer Lindy Hop
  Moves to make your follow scream, subtlety and inspiration that will knock him dead. This is the lindy hop that you have dreamed about (or seen on youtube) that you’ve been dying to do but had no idea how.

• 3.0 Badass Partner Charleston
  Let us know if you’re interested!

• 3.0 Performance with Style
  Let us know if you’re interested!

• Balboa
  This dance form came about on the crowded floors of the California Swing era ballrooms. It’s small, it’s fast, it slides and it’s danced very close. Instructors will do their best to cater to all levels of dancers. Get ready!

• Blues
  Learn how to slow dance in style. This dance plays off of connection and has a very basic step. Excellent for the beginner/intermediate level dancer who wants to dance at slower tempos and experiment with musicality. The music is soulful and the dance is simply wonderful.

• Also look out for more Solo classes in Vintage Jazz and Solo Charleston

Do I need to register with a partner?

No, you do not need to have a partner. However, we do have to keep our lead and follow ratio balanced in the class to ensure everyone is participating as much as possible. If you register individually, you will be put on a wait list and admitted to the class as balance allows.
You are much more likely to get into the class if you register with a partner.

What is a lead and what is a follow?

These are the two roles in all social dance. Leads generally direct the dance and the follows respond to the direction. Typically leads are males and follows are females but we’re welcoming of either choice. Often you are considered a stronger dancer if you can do both.

Do I have to dance with people other than my partner in class?

Yes, in swing dancing we rotate partners throughout the class. We believe that swing is a social dance and that classes should have a fun, friendly learning environment. In this atmosphere people learn as much from each other as they do from the instructors. Rotating partners is important in learning to lead and follow and we strongly encourage you to participate. If you are not willing to rotate partners in class you may wish to consider private lessons.

What should I know before I step on the dance floor?

See our Dance Etiquette post.

What is the dress code / what type of shoes should I wear?

For the regular Friday night dances, casual clothing is most common. You will see everything from jeans and a t-shirt to a fun twirly skirt, so dress in what you feel comfortable. For shoes we strongly recommend starting out with a well-loved pair of flat shoes. Often times, starting out with worn down runners or old dress shoes are best. You want to be able to slide a bit on the floor, but as you’re dancing you also don’t want blisters! High heels, unless dance specific high heels, are not recommended.

Do you have a repeat rate?

Yes. Once you have completed all the class variations within a level, you will receive 40% off repeat classes in that same level for the following year. For example, once you have completed 1.0 Lindy 6-count and 1.0 Lindy 8-count, you can retake these classes for 40% off. This will be refunded to you after your full-price registration is completed.

All of Swing Dance Calgary’s classes and the 10th Street Stomp happen here:

The Carpenters’ Hall
301 10 St. NW
Kensington, Calgary

This welcoming old hall in the middle of Kensington has become our home. With its hardwood floors and large stage it’s a great location for weekly dances and also live bands. It is block away from Sunnyside C-train station and close to many lovable pubs and restaurants. Parking is available on the north side of the hall, and can be reached from the back alley behind.

View Larger Map

Register here: http://swingdancecalgary.com/2008/04/10/register-pay-for-classes/

Thinking Lindy Hop sounds like the best thing since sliced bread? There’s another set of Lindy 1.0 and Lindy 1.5 classes starting this week, Friday May 23.

Check out Current Classes for more info, and Register!

The Beat Niq Jazz Club will be hosting lessons and live music

House Swing Band

Doors at 8, music at 8:30
$10 Cover

Wednesday May 7, 14, 21
Tuesday June 3, 10, 17
Wednesday September 10, 17, 24

Check out beatniq.com for more details!

Songs that the Shim Sham is usually danced to:

• Stompin’ at the Savoy
• Shim Sham Song
• ‘T’Ain’t What You Do

CHOREOGRAPHY: Each number represents one 8 count step

1. Stomp off starting to the right
2. Stomp off starting to the left
3. Stomp off starting to the right
4. Break

5. Pushes and crossover to the right
6. Pushes and crossover to the left
7. Pushes and crossover to the right
8. Crossover to left, Crossover to the right

9. Tacky Annie
10. Tacky Annie
11. Tacky Annie
12. Break

13. Half Break
14. Break
15. Half Break
16. Break

17. Stomp off starting to the right
18. Stomp off starting to the left
19. Stomp off starting to the right
20. Freeze

21. Pushes and crossover to the right
22. Pushes and crossover to the left
23. Pushes and crossover to the right
24. Crossover to left, Crossover to the right

25. Tacky Annie
26. Tacky Annie
27. Tacky Annie
28. Freeze

29. Half Break
30. Freeze
31. Half Break
32. Freeze

33. Boogie Back
34. Boogie Forward
35. Boogie Back
36. Boogie Forward

37. Boogie Back
38. Shorty George
39. Boogie Back
40. Shorty George

41 – end of song: Grab a partner and dance!