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Struttin’ With Some Barbecue
It was on this day, December 9, eighty-five years ago, that Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five recorded the seminal track, “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue.” The tune was written by pianist Lil Hardin, to...
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Getting Back to Work
Okay, so the holidays totally threw off my schedule. I’ve gotten nothing done that wasn’t Christmas-related for what seems like weeks. It’s fine, it happens, I’ve made peace with it and forgiven...
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Killin’ Jive
Heard this song at the dance last night, thought I’d blather on about it a little here. First of all, here’s the clip. It’s the song “Killin’ Jive” by the group Cats and the Fiddle. This clip is from a...
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Footwork Variations
As promised, here are the notes from the workshop Mindy and I taught on Sunday: First, we discussed the difference between a weight change and an axis change. A weight change can be limited to just the...
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On Being Part of the Show
You know what’s kinda fun, in a weird way? Going out dancing when you’re the only couple in the place who knows how. I live in a small town an hour outside Portland. It’s in what they call “Wine...
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Can This Marriage Be Saved?
Married people should never take dance lessons. Here is what happens: This couple’s been married for, oh, like eleven years. They’ve got two kids in elementary school. They’ve got a house in a...
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Dancing Slow
Thursday we had a band, and it was fine and nice and everything, but there was this problem. See, they insisted on playing different tempos. In our scene we have an extremely high percentage of swing...
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Why We Bother
It’s Wednesday, and I’m almost recovered from the Portland Lindy Exchange this past weekend. And like every year, I have to ask: why do we do this to ourselves? An exchange is a ton of work. Not just...
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Crunching the Numbers
Hey, it has been a loooong time since I blathered on about footwork variations. Far too long. As my loyal readers know, I’m a huge fan of footwork, not just for its showoffyness, but for what...
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Dancing Badly on Purpose
One of my dearest friends in the whole wide world has an interesting job. She’s an actual, authentic, professional, jet-setting rock-star dance instructor. This is a woman with whom I’ve shared...
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My Favorite Things
Here are some of the best things that can happen while you’re out swing dancing: Practically your favorite lead in the whole wide world is visiting from out of town to teach a workshop, and you get to...
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Homework
Real quick, here’s a fun exercise you can try… Stick on your music, and then proceed to make the following into an eight-count footwork pattern for yourself: One rock step One triple step One kick ball...
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Irreconcilable Aesthetic Differences
So I’m in DC for the Lindy Exchange, and perversely, this post isn’t going to be about the exchange at all. Isn’t that just like me? See, my sister is a local resident, and since I’m staying with her,...
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Still Dancing Badly
Okay, so awhile back I mentioned how I decided that whenever I was dancing with someone who made me feel intimidated, instead of trying my hardest to dance perfectly, I was going to try to dance badly....
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