Monday morning I got back from ULHS--basically what is considered one of the be-all, end-all events of the lindy hop community. This year was the first in the event's history to be held in New Orleans, and the change was very much talked about all over the community.

Let's start with the easiest measure of event success: Did I have a fantastic time? Yes! I enjoyed all the time I spent with friends I don't normally get to see, and meeting some fantastic new dancers, and dancing in one of my favorite cities ever to my favorite style of jazz dance music. It didn't hurt, either, that everyone really seemed to be there for the purpose of having fun--it was a blast to see packs of dancers walking around the French Quarter at 3AM (some carrying Hand Grenades or Hurricanes, of course).

Probably the number one reason why ULHS was so enjoyable for me--the music. I couldn't sit still! Amy (the organizer) did a fantastic job of pulling together these groups of musicians like the Ultimate Lindy Hop Combo, who came together specifically for the event. Nothing is as inspiring to me when I dance as great music, and New Orleans jazz happens to be my absolute favorite, so I was just in heaven dancing to bands like the Palmetto Bug Stompers and the Loose Marbles. The registration price would have been worth it for the music alone, as anyone who was at the WWII Museum Saturday night dancing to the amazing sounds of "Uncle Jack's New Orleans Orchestra" could tell you. Such diversity! Such arrangements! And on top of it all, such soul!

Of course, in addition to the great music, I had lots of great dances with lots of great dancers! The quality of dancing at events like these is always so high, and whether it's out in the competitions or right there on the social floor, that is inspiring to me. I always end up finding myself using new variations and dancing differently when I am so inspired by those around me. For my own taste, there wasn't enough social dancing (or not enough room to do it), but I understand that in this trial  year in New Orleans, things happened with the schedule and the loss of some social dance time was just an unfortunate side effect of the way that the competitions were run. While I can empathize with this as an organizer, it's kind of a personal bummer because there were plenty of people that I wanted to dance with that I didn't even get to ask, and I really hit my stride/dance flow at the end of Saturday night, so the peak, dancing-wise, of my weekend went unutilized.

The competitions, as is to be expected, were filled with crazy-high energy. The crowd could not stop screaming, and the competitors would not stop topping themselves! I really enjoyed the fact that personal expression and individual style seemed to reign in the competitions this year--not necessarily at the expense of good, clean dancing, but just edging it out, points-wise--and I'm interested to see what this does for the lindy hop community as a whole in the next year or so. Since I started dancing, ULHS has always been an event that defines and initiates trends in lindy hop, and I don't expect this year to be an exception. Here are the competition winners, that I can remember:

Showdown (fast competition) Winners: Chance Bushman (New Orleans, LA) and Joanna Lucero (Austin, TX)
Jack and Jill First Place: Vincenzo Fesi (Como, Italy) and Alice Mei (France/New Orleans, LA)
Jack and Jill Second Place: Sara Deckard (Denver, CO) and Dax Hock (Everywhere-ish)
Jack and Jill Third Place: Thomas Blacharz (France) and Ria DeBiase (Sacramento, CA)–this is the only one I’m not sure about
Solo Jazz Winner: Ramona Staffeld (New York, NY)
Solo Blues Winner: Dax Hock (Everywhere-ish?)
Blues/Slow Dance First Place: Peter Strom (Minneapolis, MN) and Ramona Staffeld (New York, NY)
Blues/Slow Dance Second Place: Todd Yannacone (New Orleans, LA) and Alice Mei (France/New Orleans, LA)
Blues/Slow Dance Third Place: Chance Bushman (New Orleans, LA) and Giselle Anguizola (San Diego, CA)

Now, of course, I'm re-energized about dancing and also sapped of all my physical energy because I overtaxed myself in New Orleans :) Did you go to ULHS this year? What did you enjoy (or absolutely dislike) about it?