Breanna Perry - Blog

Be My Jazz Baby

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:46:35 -0800

So, back at Lindy Focus, Jerry told me I needed to write a new post, and Jerry is basically King of the Lindy Hop Blogosphere. Which is why here you have a blog post. Ta-da!

It's been a while, but that's what happens when you travel all over the place and start new job(s) and everything. And most recently, I spent a good chunk of time working for, preparing for, traveling to, and having an awesome time at Lindy Focus, run by my friends Michael and Jaya Gamble.

Michael and Jaya are great organizers, and ginormous assets to the lindy hop scene in general. They know what they're doing, and on top of that, they are kind, and generous, and creative, and dedicated, and some of the nicest people you will ever meet. Even better? They're also great dance teachers! They bring a calm and clear approach to what can be a difficult subject, which is why I'm excited to get to see them again, teaching at another event I'm working with, Be My Jazz Baby in Norfolk, VA!

I'm really excited for this event for a couple reasons, and Michael and Jaya are only two of them. My friends Aba and Adam will also be teaching, and a superstar from my own scene in Philadelphia, the amazing Drew Nugent and his Midnight Society, will be playing for both nights of the event! I've spent a little bit of time with Drew recently, and hearing him talk about the music of the swing era--from great pianists like James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, to killer leaders of the genre like Joe Venuti and Bix Beiderbecke--is just a good time. Drew's passion for the music is evident, and I think it translates very well in his playing, which only means great things for the dancers that get to dance to him.

Just to psych you up a bit (because you should definitely come to Be My Jazz Baby, even if only to dance or buy something from one of the many vendors that will have wares available), check out this brief clip of Drew at one of the Jazz Age Lawn Party events in summer 2010, talking about his motivations. (Edit: this is not the original clip I chose, but I think it's a good one to showcase why it's fun to have Drew around.) We dancers are lucky to have someone like Drew to play the music we love. (Related: tip the band! Whenever you get a chance! More on that later.)

Then and Now: Bop choreography!

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:42:46 -0800

Everybody and their cousins are posting about ILHC, and boy do I wish I had been there. But, instead, I got to spend some time with friends at home, and I caught up on the event via video (thanks to Patrick and Natasha).

There was an absolutely absurd amount of great dancing presented, both in the choreographed divisions and the social divisions, and it would be even more ridiculous for me to try and cover it all. So instead, I'm going to point out this piece, which jumped out at me. You might recognize dancers Nathan Bugh and Giselle Anguizola from my post about them before--so it should be no surprise that I thoroughly loved this Classic choreography they put together.

There's a comment on the video (from YouTube user "minuslain" that I think sums up my opinion pretty succinctly: "They are literally making the music with their movements, instead of dancing on top of the rhythm of the track. Light years ahead of the current of what we respect at the moment. This is lindy hop at its finest."

It's true, Nathan and Giselle are completely instrumental in this piece. For me, it's inspiring (though it's been noted before that my tastes are not necessarily even with popular opinion). But in addition to that, it reminded me of one of my other favorite choreographed pieces, from ULHS 2006, with Todd Yannacone and Naomi Uyama:

I'd say Nathan and Giselle's choreography is more complex, but there are a lot of similarities: the bop (or bop-tinged) music, the interesting rhythms and movements used (or pointed out) by the dancers, even a happy coincidence that the color schemes of the clothes are similar in both pieces! I think that both choreographies also threw people for a loop at first, too--Todd and Naomi broke some ground by using the song that they did, and I'm sure that Nathan and Giselle have at least subtly pushed the idea of musicality towards dancers-as-instruments, rather than the dancers-mimicking-song that seems to be the most prevalent idea right now.

I'm happy that there are dancers who do things like this to stretch our limits of what lindy hop is and what it should look like. Kudos to the pioneers who are brave enough to do it!

Funky movement!

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:45:12 -0800

I'm taking a quick step out from the recesses of the internet-less world to show you a couple things I'm really diggin' on, lately. I find that I'm really attracted (as always) to neat rhythms, but also to some unique body movement shapes that are popping up here and there in the lindy hop world.

In particular, I think Laura Glaess is really excellent at finding, showcasing, and making these movements her own, so I suppose you could say that I'm in a very "Laura" dance-mood lately. Convenient, then, that these two YouTube videos I can't stop watching either feature her, or have inspired her! Check 'em out:

SO. GOOD. I don't know if I'll ever get over that routine...I lovelovelove the characters, particularly Laura's, that Mike and Laura play with.

Now, check out where they may have picked up an idea or two:

(The interesting part starts around 1:15ish.) Also SO. GOOD! Check out those jump splits/toe touches/things in the middle, too--they remind me particularly of Nathan Bugh, but basically all of this little scene is amazing.

Hope you enjoyed!

Dance/Art

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 16:04:52 -0800

I've been meaning to write on this for a while, but words haven't really come to me. Still, I think the topic is an interesting one, and it keeps bouncing around in my brain, so here goes:

I recently finished reading Linchpin, by Seth Godin. (Yes, I read Seth Godin. My hipstery business nerd cred remains intact.) The book's main goal is to convince the reader that they are capable of being an indispensable part of their organization, a Linchpin, by changing their mindset and working towards their full potential. While there are plenty of interesting points and things to discuss contained in Linchpin, there was one thing in particular that stuck out to me, and that I think is very applicable to...well, pretty much everything.

Godin talks a lot in the book about art. About artistic culture, about creativity, and especially about the value of art. This is the part I found particularly interesting:

"Art is a particular act of courage, something one human does that creates change in another." (84)

There are further statements in the book that help to clarify the idea--true art is done only for the intent of creating something and sharing it. Art is a gift. Art created with the expectation of compensation loses value as art. It's a noble idea, sure, and a bit idealistic. Of course there is great art that rewards the artist immediately. But think about it--how many examples of great artists going unrewarded can you think of, just off the top of your head?

Anyway, the idea of art as a gift, and as an act to change the receiver is a really exciting one to me, and I'd love to see it applied more in swing dancing. I think this has something to do with the choices behind my "Secret Superstar" posts; every dancer (artist) I have featured so far has been chosen because they are out on the dance floor putting out their own art. While I think all dancers appreciate recognition (and reward), I think that those I have featured dance the way they do without expectation of these things. That's not to say that they are the only ones putting out this pure, idealistic, artistic dancing, but to say that these are the ones that have inspired (changed) me with their dancing, more so than maybe some others. And there are plenty more that I could write about, too!

This idea is applicable to more than just the top tier of dancers, too. I think that every dancer, on their best night, is creating scads of art just waiting to be taken in. Not everyone is doing this all the time, but we all have our moments. Even those newbies, who barely know how to swing out, they can be selfless artists throwing a little more joy into the world.

The whole idea (of dance as art, and of art as a gift) is a heady one, and one that I could talk about forever. But to keep things brief, I think the thing to take from this is a simple challenge. All of us dancers should try to fulfill this, whenever we can. Turn your social dance night, your every performance, all your ideas, into art. Present them as a gift to the audience, even if your audience is only the partner you're dancing with. Give your joyous (or hilarious, or even melancholy) gift without expectation for how it will be received. Relinquish the idea of "wrong" and "right" and let your mistakes be part of the art--imperfection can be the most attractive thing, sometimes. Wouldn't that dance floor be a sight to see?

I think Frankie did this well. I think he would approve, too.

Secret Superstars #3

Sun, 05 Jun 2011 03:32:17 -0800

Time for more crazy-awesome dancers that you may have heard of but not know particularly much about!

I'll start with the follow first--one of my favorites, Mia Goldsmith! Mia is currently one of a bunch of amazing dancers living in New Orleans, at least, when she's not out teaching up a storm in Europe. In fact, I'm pretty sure she teaches more in Europe than she does in the US! We should fix that.
I remember watching Mia do a little performance at Showdown a couple years ago, just a sort of social dance thing, and my friend beside me remarked that she couldn't believe anyone would be able to tear their eyes away from Mia while she's dancing. She's adorable, feminine, and subtle in the most mind-blowing ways. If you've ever seen her dance or danced with her, you probably already know this! She's also one of the snappiest dressers in the swing dance scene, and she's one of the old-timers' favorites to dance with. She basically embodies everything vintage but manages to completely hold her own, too. Yeah, she's awesome.
Despite all that greatness, it's sort of hard to find videos of Mia on the internets. Let's start with this cute jazz performance from Lindy Focus in 2009, also featuring Karen Turman, Laura Glaess, and Casey Schneider (all fantastic dancers in their own right). Check out Mia's supercute footwork around 1:07!

The other person I wanted to feature in this post is Mikey Pedroza. If you've ever been around Mikey at all, you know he's hilarious, but I think it's a joy to watch him dance, too. Plus, he's representin' for the brown beans in lindy hop, and I have to show love for my people :)
I'm actually not quite sure what it is I love so much about Mikey's dancing, to tell you the truth. Something about it has just the right amount of dirtiness to it--a little bit of English, y'know--but it's couched in technical proficiency and a neat modern take on all our vintage dance history. He's full of interesting syncopations, and every movement is completely his own. The energy he puts into everything is maybe what I admire the most: watch Mikey dance, and you'll see that he's leaving it all out there, every time. (I don't really know Mikey personally, so maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so.)
Check out this solo choreography he came up with when he taught at Stompology in 2009. It's crazy full of power, and interesting movements, and vintage influences portrayed in a modern way. I am in love with that rhythm from 0:34-0:37ish, especially as a soft counterpoint to the song.

Just for funsies, check out Mia and Mikey dancing together in ILHC 2010's Jack and Jill. The two basically never dance together but are both amazing partner dancers and both have a great sense of humor. How lucky that this is on film! My favorites are Mia's SWEET little slide around 1:02, and Mikey's windmill-y thing soon after, around 1:06.

Secret Superstars #2

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 17:26:38 -0800

It's been a while, but don't worry, I've got some more Youtube-y goodness lined up for you. Check out the next in my series of dancers that are slightly-weird-in-the-best-ways and why I like them so much!

First up: One of my favoritest follows, Casey (Cakey) Schneider! If you've ever been around Casey, um, EVER, then you know how absolutely witty and hilarious she is, which is plenty reason to like her. But besides that, she is a fabulous dancer! You might know her from her work dancing/choreographing/founding with Sister Kate, Seattle's vintage all-girls jazz troupe. If you don't know about them, you should look them up.

Besides dancing with Sister Kate, Casey teaches and dances all over the country/world, primarily with Mike Faltesek (who will also show up on this blog, I'm sure). Their partnership is one of my favorites to watch, and Casey contributes plenty to it! There are plenty of things I love about her dancing, but I think mostly it boils down to the fact that she brings a flavor not seen much by national-level follows--a very vintage-inspired, simple, athletic flavor. And somehow, she still manages to be very feminine while doing it. She's a genius with rhythm and movement, and a fun performer to watch. Check out this clip of her and Joshua Welter (also from Seattle) in their Showcase choreography from ILHC 2010--I love how old-timey it is! And then after you watch that, go YouTube the hell out of Casey Schneider!

Once you've got your fill of Casey, check out one of my other secret favorite-types, Chance Bushman. Chance is one of the most unique dancers I know--no one does what he does. He manages a style that's messing and clean at the same time, highly creative, super rhythmic, and even manages to be completely original while maintaining a reference to the vintage roots of the dancing that he does. And beyond that, he's been instrumental in helping build the New Orleans lindy hop scene, and integrating it with the freaking amazing live jazz they're lucky enough to have every night (and day). Check him out with partner Giselle Anguizola (featured in the first post of this series) as they busk with the Smoking Time Jazz Band on Royal Street in the French Quarter. Oh yeah, and he sings, too, how great is that?!

Secret Superstars #1

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 20:35:16 -0800

I'm on this kick lately, and I want to let you know about it. Basically, my new favorite thing is unusual dancing. That's not to say that I've suddenly gained an affinity for weird, poor, makes-no-sense dancing; I still like the good stuff. It's just that, lately, I find myself more and more drawn to those dancers who are out their doing their own, usually vintage-inspired, thing. I'm going to start a new little series, so that I can point some of them out to you :)

Let's start with two of my favorites, Giselle Anguizola and Nathan Bugh. I've always admired Nathan's dancing--he creates amazing rhythms, and brings an awesome subtlety to everything. Having had a chance to sit down with him and hear more of his thoughts and philosophy on lindy hop, I feel that I can confidently say that his dancing makes my heart sing because even though it is unique, everything he does is based in the vintage idea of lindy hop. Seriously, the guy is a genius.
Giselle is another dancer who brings a great vintage viewpoint to her dancing. I once heard someone describe her thusly: "It's like she's straight out of The Spirit Moves. You couldn't pin her on any one specific dancer, but if you put her in the video with them, she would look like she belonged there." I think that sums up pretty well why she is so amazing!
Here are Nathan and Giselle in the most recent Lindy Focus Slow Dance Strictly competition, where they took first place! I adore the characters they brought to this dance.

Just for funsies, here's another video that has both Nathan and Giselle in it (from Lone Star Championships 2011), dancing with other partners. Nathan is second out in this contest, dancing with my friend Joanna Lucero (another great dancer!), and Giselle is dancing with Chance Bushman, who will also be featured on this blog. They are the fourth couple out. Just check out the fantastic uniqueness that both these dancers bring to the contest. Can you really not enjoy them?

Events! 3 of Them!

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 02:25:40 -0800

Okay, so it's now February, and I'm about to write about three events, all of which happened before Martin Luther King Day. There's been plenty written about two out of three of these events, so my reviews won't add much. I just wanted to add my 0.02 about how great they all are.

Lindy Focus IX ran from December 27, 2010 all the way into New Year's Day, 2011. This time around marked my fourth consecutive Lindy Focus, and every time I go, the sheer quality of the event, and all the work that Michael, Jaya, and Sosh put into it, simply astounds me. I've participated in the event every which way and sideways, and I've boiled down my Lindy Focus formula to one of volunteering, competing, social dancing, and hanging out. There's simply not enough time in the day to do everything, and Lindy Focus offers great classes from top-notch teachers, but I take my time at this event to hang out with all the people I never get to see enough of, and dancing with even more of them. Lindy Focus is always a great combination of social time and inspirational dances for me, and this year was no different--I left feeling completely exhausted, but also completely fulfilled and missing the entire camp. That's just the way Lindy Focus works--you want to live there, and you never want to leave!

The following weekend, I was off to Philadelphia for Lindy and Blue's LaBLove event for 2011, from January 7-9. In the past year or so, I've developed a great connection with the Philadelphia dancers. The community in Philadelphia is amazing! There are great things coming out of the city, in choreography, in organizing, in energy and exuberance, and the attitude is contagious. I took this weekend to capitalize on that great energy, socialize to my heart's content, and explore Philadelphia even more. In addition to the event, I managed to go out on a delicious chocolate tour with some friends, have a lazy waffle breakfast and shopping day with another friend, be coffeeshop-productive with other friends, and thoroughly enjoy myself. The Philly group have managed consistently now to bring out my good side, dancing and otherwise, and LaBLove was no exception. Extra kudos for letting me DJ at Jazz Attack beforehand and Powerhouse Blues afterwards!

To complete my trifecta of awesome events, I hit up the Lone Star Championships in Austin, TX the following weekend (for those keeping track, that would be January 14-16). I managed to make it to the event last year, and had a fabulous time having fantastic dances all weekend long. This year didn't disappoint! I come to Austin expecting good music and even better dances, and Lone Star provides all that in the best low-key environment you could imagine. I was lucky enough to make finals in the Advanced Strictly with Michael Gamble, and we had hours and hours of great dance time through the whole weekend. I also got the opportunity to work a bit with one of my other favorite people, Nathan Bugh. It was all time well spent! Between all the dancing, all the great music, all the great people, and all the time spent at the Fed, Lone Star definitely had to be my last weekend for a while. I left Austin completely satisfied and completely exhausted. It was the perfect end to my trio of travels.

Obviously, I would recommend any of these events to anyone. Just maybe not all three in a row, if you're not up for it!

MMM! Sweet Spots in Dancing

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:51:06 -0800

Today's post is all about those things that happen in dancing--whether it's a social dance, a chill choreography, or a badass competition--that just make you say "UNNHHH!" when you see them. You can't help it, it's a visceral reaction. It's like the whole world is right because of what just happened, right there on the dance floor, and you got to see it. Have you got favorite dancing sweet spots? Let me know, I'd love to hear them. Now, let me illustrate some of my own favorites with video!

When swivels hit that part in the song JUST RIGHT, and they're the most amazing swivels you've ever witnessed. This video of Carl Nelson dancing with Nina Gilkenson in the Pro-Am competition at ALHC in 2007 (a favorite video of mine, really) is a perfect example. I see that sweet spot at least 3 times in here--once around 0:13, where Nina's swivels are busy letting you know that it's about to be ON, again around 0:44, where there are some sweet swivels that subtly accent the music, and again around 2:35, where they're filling out the music just right. Of course, this is all just my opinion, but see what you think:

Claps! I am all about some well-placed rhythmic clapping in a dance. To illustrate, let's use this choreography by Mikey Pedroza and Nikki Marvin in ILHC's 2010 Classic division. There is a spot in this routine, right around 2:01, where the pair claps in a great complementary rhythm to the music. And don't miss Mikey's excited, energy-filled claps throughout the routine, around 0:29, 0:57, and 1:02--to me, they're a great addition to the performance, and you can really tell that Mikey's putting everything he's got out there. For extra credit, note the neat clap around 1:54 to start off what I think of as a Stops variation (one of my favorite parts of the whole routine). Also, "clap" is one of those words that starts to lose all meaning when you say it too often too quickly, kind of like fork.

When something crazy just happens, you have no idea what it is or how it worked, but everything looks awesome! This, of course, can happen in any number of ways--I happen to think Todd Yannacone is particularly good at making this happen, and same with Max and Annie. For this example, though, I'll use a video of some of my friends up in Philadelphia, PA. The group put together an ensemble routine for LaBLove in 2010, the anniversary event celebrating the dance organization Lindy and Blues. The routine is full of surprises and neat little things, and I think it's a video you'll want to watch at least three times, to try and catch everything.

Floweruary and more!

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 23:15:33 -0800

It's been a while, but I'm back for some blogging. I've got a couple of posts lined up that should be coming out over the next few weeks, including a couple of dance-y posts including video clips, an event review (in triple), and possibly one on organizing or DJing. Things are busy, but exciting!

I'll start off the blog-krieg with a simple girly one. For the whole month of February, I (and plenty of other lovely ladies) are participating in Floweruary, an event dreamed up by my friend Kerry Genese in Philly. The basic aim of the event is to provide an extra reason to dress up every day and put a flower in your hair, similar to Tievember (wearing ties every day in November).

Every day in the short month of February, participants wear a flower in their hair and take a picture of it to submit to the Tumblr blog. There are some silly ones ("Flour"-uary), plenty of pretty ones, and a plethora of flowers, for sure. The event has even stirred some others to contribute knowledge, like Jo Hoffberg's "Hairuary" (hair tutorials blogged every day in February), or Jesse Hanus's Hair Flower Tutorials. Now it's my turn! For my contribution, I present lindy hopper owned-created-tested-and-approved place to buy your own hair accessories!

First up, a lindy hopper in SoCal and her well-wearing blooms made for dancing! Kennly Asato's Etsy shop is Blooming Vintage . She also has plenty of adorable hair pins, like felt hedgehogs!
Next, another lindy hopper, this one in Cincinnati, OH. Lisa Curry makes pretty, feminine headpieces that you will love from the second you put them on! You can check out the Etsy shop FollowFashions to get your own.
Lisa Casper, adorable lindy hopper from New Orleans, LA, also makes fabulous felted flower accessories that will be available for sale soon. No link yet, but you can see her work on Facebook!
Finally, two lindy hoppers in Atlanta, GA have been successfully wowing event-goers with their selection of vintage accessories. Michelle Postles and Erica DeBlasio create everything from durable hair flowers to flower rings to art deco jewelry, and plenty more. You can find them at their website, Forties Forward.

These, of course, are just the crafty ladies that I happen to know. I'm sure there are many more who are willing to do a little work to help the rest of us look fabulous. Support them!
In related news, and if you'll allow me a brief plug, I'm happy to say that two of these vendors will be at my event, Cumberland Shuffle, in March! Forties Forward will have a table set up for the weekend, with plenty for sale, and Lisa Curry will also be in attendance (with accessories, I'm sure). Can't wait!