This week's clip is a fantastic example of social dance, and one that I was lucky enough to witness live :) Here's Chance Bushman and Kelly Arsenault, two top-notch dancers, dancing together to one of the many live (AMAZING) bands that played New Orlean's French Quarter Festival this year in April. I love the interaction they have with each other, and the awesome musicality and footwork exhibited. As you can tell by the background applause, the crowd loves it too! My favorite part might be that little section around 1:17ish.

This is the part where I'm a little behind on blog posts (hey, it's my birthday week! I can do that), so I decide to share something I know very well: girly things! I'm listing here for you some of the details about my favorite websites that make me happy to be a girl.

First up is ModCloth! One of my favorite places to get clothing/accessories/decor from indie designers, and a lot of it is vintage-inspired. As anyone of my girly friends knows, I love pretty much everything they have :) They also have amazing customer service and fantastic shipping! The site and company have a great community feel to them, and promote the idea of fans being involved as much as possible, through picture-sharing, contests, and all sorts of good stuff. Plus, like any good website, you can make wishlists and share them with your friends/family (perfect for the holidays).
Check them out or Check out my wishlist

Next, try Lulu's, for similar fare. Sometimes Lulu's and ModCloth will have the same items, but one site will have them cheaper than the other. Lulu's carries a few more mainstream brands that you might recognize, such as Billabong and Soda, that you might not find on ModCloth. I haven't picked up anything from Lulu's yet, but it's definitely a place I love to look!
You can find Lulu's here

Of course, where would any girl be without Etsy? This independent marketplace is pretty well known as a great place to find just about anything you could want. You might have to fish a bit for what you really want, but you'll get it for a good price! I especially like to buy hairpieces from Etsy (fascinators and stuff), but I've also bought a fantastic skirt and an adorable pair of shoes from them, and I have my eye on a gorgeous ring, all vintage. It's especially a great place to get one-of-a-kind type stuff. The only real con I've found is that shipping from etsy producers can be a bit costly, sometimes. But, since you can communicate directly with the shop owner through messages on the site (or even through email), sometimes you can work them down a bit if it's reasonable.
One of my favorite Etsy shops is here!

The last two I'll include are some of my favorite physical shops to visit, but they also have a website. Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe probably make up a good half of my wardrobe at any given time. They're great about having plenty of stuff that's on-trend and adorable, and they're some of the cheapest trendy pieces you can find! Of course, sometimes their quality is related to their price; I've had a shirt fall apart after only a few wears if I wasn't careeful. Overall, it's really cute clothing for a REALLY good price, and the stores are a fabulous place to go if you're looking for a trend you think you could rock but aren't sure, and don't want to spend a lot of money on. I prefer shopping in their stores because sometimes fit can be a little wonky, but their online service is just as good, and the return policy (at least at Charlotte Russe) is pretty great too. I highly recommend checking out these chains if they're in a mall near you!
Check out Charlotte Russe and Forever 21 online.

Enjoy! (Even if your wallets don't)

I just got back from my second trip (ever) to Seattle, WA, for the Emerald City Blues Festival. This trip was much rainier (pun not intended, Mt. Rainier) than my previous one, for Camp Jitterbug.
The event itself was fabulous--ask any of the attendees, teachers, DJs, or anyone else that got swept up into the fray. ECBF seems to have gathered a reputation for greatness in the blues community, and it really shows. This year featured instructors Steven Mitchell and Virginie Jensen (my first time to see them!), Ogden Sawyer and Amanda Gruhl (ditto), Mike Legett and Topher Howard (<3), and Brenda Collins and Barry (whose last name I don't know but he is a badass anyway). All the instructors were fantastic, but for some reason, I always come away from Brenda's critiques classes with my mind completely blown--so that was probably my class time highlight.
The organizers also managed to get Kim Massie from St. Louis to play with Solomon Douglas's band. Solomon had been working on new charts for the weekend, and his hard work definitely showed--Kim's voice was matched well by the musicians and it was the most phenomenal night of live music that I think I've enjoyed at a blues event.
In addition to the great music and teachers, ECBF featured a host of my favorite DJs (Bill Speidel, Tina Davis, Steven Watkins, and Downtown Julie Brown!) and some of the best social dancing anywhere. It's apparent that this is one of the events that people mark down on their schedules far in advance, and all of that combined makes for a great event.

Videos are up on youtube from the strictly contest, the jack and jill, and the cabaret show Sunday night. I have to say that my favorite routine from the weekend was courtesy of Brenda Collins, Karissa Lightsmith, and Anna (who I don't know but whose dancing I enjoy)--a slightly risque, animalistic, Cotton Club-esque show of oddity and interest. Look it up! You won't be sorry.
Overall, the weekend was killer. I wish that I had been able to spend more time in Seattle, and also that I hadn't ended up sick by Sunday, but I would definitely go again. Congrats to Topher and Martin for putting on a fabulous event, and thanks to everyone who helped enhance my experience--especially my host, Jennifer. It was nice to see more of Seattle and enjoy another subset of activities in the city. Next time, I won't forget my umbrella.

I've been teaching dance classes a fair amount lately, especially since I'm teaching this month's series classes with Yossef. One thing I've found is that my rapport with Yossef and the students is a lot different than my rapport when I'm teaching with Reuel.
In general, Reuel is very much a do-er; he likes to have the students "crash and burn" after little explanation, so that they can get the feeling of the move/technique/dance in their bodies and muscle memories. I find that when I'm teaching with him, I'm free to talk much more, because he will make sure that they get enough repetitions in to really nail something down.
By contrast, when I'm teaching with Yossef, we both tend to default towards talking/explaining, so I find myself flipping sides, trying to make sure the students get enough reps in to physically understand what we're trying to teach, and to make sure their muscles don't get cold waiting for us to finish talking :)
I noticed this past weekend that Steven Mitchell tends to not explain at all, instead preferring the students to watch him demonstrate it, then do it themselves (or something close). This is an approach that I think I fall into when I'm teaching by myself--still explaining more so than, say, Steven, but much more of a show-then-do than anything else.
Ideally, I try to balance all three of these approaches when I'm teaching, and I think a good teaching pair can do this while letting each individual stick to more of their strengths. Obviously, each of these things have their benefits, too--a visual learner will not pick things up the same way a student who is kinesthetically inclined will.

Which approach do you prefer, whether teaching or learning? Do you find that you default to one, and which is it? Is your natural teaching method one other than the ones I've listed? I'd love to hear you

Just a short clip today, from Herrang 2006. Here's some silliness courtesy of Frida (our hero) and a couple of guys (I see Todd and Peter, but I don't know who the third is). Love that this shows off what fun our dance community can be!

This week has been a doozy. I had my last day of work/effectively lost my job on Friday--which was interesting enough, fairly amicable, and resulted in a free lunch and lots of people indignant on my behalf (which was kind of heartwarming). This is a bit of a problem just because I don't have anything lined up yet, and I was basically living paycheck to paycheck anyway. I'm optimistic that I'll be able to find something, or at least fill in the gaps as much as possible, in the interim, but I'm also hoping I can find some work soon. I'm sure there's another 10% or more of the population that's hoping the same thing.

Anyway, I've found that, even though I don't have a day job to fill my days, I've still got plenty going on. My newest dilemma: how do I manage it all? Between yoga and other healthful pursuits, school ramping up, freelance type of stuff, choreography, teaching, job hunting, and travel (EBC coming up will be my 4th weekend in a row out of town), I've got a lot to do lately.

I tend to schedule my days already, but the schedule is in estimates, not in absolutes. Then, when that day comes around, I have a few set appointments and fill in the in-between times with other activities I have to get done--but not always very efficiently. To-do lists help, of course, and so do incentives (window shopping or a brief break with tea and a book), but I can always improve. What do you do to keep yourself on track? How do you schedule your days, or do you find that it's easier to play it all by ear? I'd love to hear how everybody else does it :)

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?

"For this week's post, I'm feeling kind of music-y. At the moment, I'm in New Orleans for ULHS--only, it's Saturday afternoon, and I'm procrastinating on a test that I have to complete before the weekend is out, instead of watching prelims and dancing at the French Market. The event thus far (one day in, for me) has been amazing, as expected. The organizer really pulled together some great musicians and bands, the quality of dancers here is through the roof, and the combination of the two has produced great energy and relationship between the dancers and the musicians. That's one of those things that is so amazing to be a part of, but that rarely happens, because the environment has to be just right to facilitate that interaction. Well done, Amy!

Anyway, in the spirit of New Orleans, I wanted to let you all know about a band that I'm currently digging on, called The Jazza Band. There's little information out there on them, but they have a great street/New Orleans jazz type of sound, with plenty of uniqueness to set them apart. I think one of my favorite things is that they play versions of some great songs like Diga Diga Doo and Undecided, but they play them at tempos and with an energy that makes them accessible to dancers of many different skill levels.  Check out this version of Washboard Wiggles, off the Jazza Band's album New Orleans--I played it recently at an exchange to start off a DJ set, and the whole room enjoyed it enough to applaud afterwards. Never had that happen before, but I think you'll understand after you take a listen :)

Washboard Wiggles: http://www.emusic.com/samples/m3u/song/11282378/17451778.m3u

You can find the Jazza Band on emusic, here: http://www.emusic.com/artist/Jazza-Band-MP3-Download/12043160.html
They also have a myspace pagethat you can check out, here: http://www.myspace.com/jazzaband

Note that the formatting of this post may be a little bit weird; I'll fix it after my site editor has decided to stop being a jerk :(

Technically, this past week was a week #5, which doesn't actually fit in my blog plan. So y'know what? I'm just going to talk about how my week went. And then I'm going to post this late since I didn't get to finish it when I wanted to.

I can't lie, this past week has been pretty fantastic, despite having to slog through it all. It feels like it's completely dragging, but the byproducts have been worth it, I think.

Thing #1: Econ--We had our first test in my macroeconomics class this week. I've been doing pretty well with the material in the class so far, and it's new territory for me since the only math-type things we dealt with in my engineering classes were more letters than numbers, and involved an insane amount of calculus. We got the results of the tests back on Wednesday. I have a 97% average in the class! This is big for me, given all the crap I've gone through with school in past years. It's awesome to feel academically successful after having struggled so hard to reach mediocrity before.

Thing #2: Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, FREE, in town at Live on the Green (an outdoor concert series sponsored by a local radio station). I knew I wasn't going to make it in time to see any of the other acts, but I did manage to find parking and get to the venue in time to see Sharon Jones perform, and it was SO WORTH IT. She is a complete performer, and knows just how to work the crowd's energy. I went to the concert feeling that I wouldn't stay long because I was so tired, and left ready to dance all night. If you ever have the chance to see Sharon and the Dap Kings live, DO IT. I hardly think that needs to be said.

Things #3-17: Miscellaneous goodness this week, too. Feeling skinnier this week (y'know, just one of those girly things), doing well with work, a little bit of dance/choreography work, and plenty of good things in planning stages for me, school/dance/otherwise.  On top of it all, a dress I've been wanting from one of my favorite stores, Modcloth, went on sale for almost 50% off, so I squeezed it into my budget. Woo!

A week that drags by is pretty much worth all that goodness. I could stand a little more sleep, but otherwise things are well. Who doesn't like having a good week?

Here's attempt #1 at trying to keep up with my new blogging schedule...it's a teensy bit late, but homework comes before internet fun, y'know.

Check out this video of the Pro J&J all-skate at Lindy on the Rocks this year! In the spotlights, Kevin St. Laurent danced with Ramona Staffeld, and also danced with Nelle Hatley (I'm assuming there weren't quite enough leads). Of course, that meant that hilarity ensued during the all-skate. Love that they all had fun with it! And of course, I love these ladies' dancing anyway. Wish I could have been there!