Bad floor... Great dances.

Stuttters Ball….

Stutters Ball came into existence not that long ago. When it first happen it was the “hot new venue” with the “amazing floor”. It was not that unusual for Shesha to fill the VERY big dance floor on some Wednesday night. However… things change.

The thing about Stutters was that it only played true blue vintage music. This can be great for some of purest out there that only like dancing to the old masters… but here are many people that enjoy having a wider variety of music to dance with.

Over the next few months Strutters became smaller and smaller. I stopped going because I had some personal things come up on Wednesdays. This caused about a 6 month no Wednesday night dancing stint for me. So last Wednesday my wife and I decided we are going to go and give it a shot again considering we had heard Joffyln was DJ’ing for the first hour or so(although turned out he wasn’t there). It was a strange experience!

We showed up before 9 so we could get the 2 for 1 discount at the door and were not that surprised that so few people were there to start. It had always been a late starting venue.

The first thing we noticed was the floor! The floor which was once the envy of the Orange County dancing scene… now looked like the last 6 months every dancer had been given sandpaper to put on the bottom of their shoes for the rest of the night. It was a mess. I really think I have danced on concrete in better condition.

The next thing that surprised me was the fact that it never really “filled up” I mean yes more people did show up but so many people left after just an hour or so the numbers didn’t really change that much. And something I had never seen before happened… soon the ratio of good dancers too beginners became WAY out of wack. I would say 85% -90% really good dancers to 15% - 10% beginner-intermediate dancers. It was actually very intimidating. But it forced me to step out of my normal dancing zone. I had some really great dances with people I had never had the nerve to ask before. One of which was Jenny Knox! Wow, what a great dance, at least for me, but she didn’t seem to be in pain or looking for another dance so I don’t think she was too bored, over all I consider it a win.

A night I thought was going to be awful, turned into a really nice evening! I had some of the best dances I had had at a dance venue in a long time. I was really pleased. My wife also had a nice night! She danced with some people she normally doesn’t ask either including Nick Williams who happened to be there.

Final thoughts…

I think Strutter’s is Shesha’s pet project. With the small amount of people that come he can’t be making much money on it and it doesn’t have a lot of buzz about it any more. Not to mention the fact that he danced the WHOLE night! I don’t remember the last time I saw him dancing so much! I think this mean Shesha likes it the way it is, and after this last week I really can see why. It can be a really fun time. I don’t think Strutter’s is ever going to change and I think…that’s maybe a good thing… (except the floor!)

-X

Camp Hollywood 2009....

Another Camp Hollywood has come and gone in a sleep deprived blur.

As always CH is something of a vacation for my wife and I. We go and split a room with another couple of people (even though we only live about 30mins away) and enjoy 4 nights of dancing until we fall asleep on the floor. CH has so many great things about it. A million dancers, fantastic classes, awesome bands, etc... So many things make it worth the cost to me.

The highlights of this year were many, but I think the things I enjoyed the most were oddly enough NOT dancing. Laying on the ground listening to Jonathan Stout and others just jamming in the hallway was fantastic. Mr Stout truly is amazing and hearing him at 2am just messing around with friends was really awesome. Here are some of the photos...



Other highlights were hanging out with friends I haven't seen in far to long. Its one of the things I love most about CH is seeing old friends.

This is my 3rd CH and I must say it was a different experience this year for me. My first CH was all about classes. Second year was still all about classes with the idea of learning more moves. But this year I found that I didn't really have a deep desire to wake up early every day(especially after being up until 4am) to rush down too classes. I was much more interested in the dances. I enjoyed the classes, don't get me wrong, but I found that I was really looking forward to the dances more. And the dances were great. CH is interesting in that it really is a crap shoot as to who you are going to dance with. You dance with random follows and sometimes they rock and sometimes they are total beginners. Its great. No expectations, no worrying about if they are better then you. Just having fun dancing.

The competitions also stood out for me this year. The Am Lindy was great, far better then the other years I have gone and the showcase was amazing as always. The Underground Jitterbug Championship (UJC) also rocked this year! Tiffany Wine & Kenny Nelson put on a show I will remember for years to come! Here is video...


All in all CH was again a great time. I think next year though I might just do the dances... we will see. Next year I may change my mind again.

Remembering Frankie...

April saw a great loss to the dancing scene... Frankie Manning passed away on April 27th 2009.
Although I was not able to meet the "Ambassador of swing" I feel like he is the reason me and so many others are dancing. Anyone who has ever seen Hellzapoppin understands what I mean.
I'm sure there are many other blogs by people more eloquent than I am, so I will let them describe the amazing person that he was.

The whole reason I am bringing this up is because of what Shesha & Niki did for our little OC swing scene. The day after Frankie passed, Shesha opened up his venue for all to come dance and morn Frankie Manning. Atomic had no cover charge that night. And it wasn't just a free night to dance. It was much more. They had a moment of seilence, words about him and how he effected their lives, shim sham, big apple and even a small dance routine from Hellzapoppin performed by Jermery and Laura. I don't know how many people out there would have done something like this for all of us dancers. It was a amazing gesture. And if you think about how much they could have made by charging a cover that night... it just shows the stength of charecture of Shesha and his lovely wife.

Another unexpected benefit of this was that a few of my friends that are just starting to learn to dance contacted me. This was the text message I got... "Dancing FREE tomorrow at Atomic. Some old dude died i guess. You coming?" At first I was pissed! How dare they be so flippent about it. How dare he not even know his name! He shouldn't even be allowed to come! But then it hit me. This is the point. What would help the Lindy scene the most? I sent back... "Unless you researched WHO passed, and what he meant to the Lindy Hop you can't come. >:(" 20mins later I got back one about who Frankie was and a thank you for telling him to look it up. I told him to send that off to all the other new dance-lings he has invited. Everyone showed up with a lot more knowledge and feelings about the importance of that night.

Things like this always remind me why I love the people that swing dance. Sure there is drama and sure there is a few issues with people... But really, the people that dance... LOVE their dance. They love the music, they love the scene, they love the people that make it possible. Not many places in the world can you go where there is 300 plus people and not worry about a fight breaking out, people stealing purses or just general rudeness.

In conclusion... Thank you Frankie for doing so much for this dance. Thank you Shesha & Niki for doing so much for our OC scene. Thank you dancers for loving Lindy Hop!

Swing dancing high school?

Last night a friend of ours was DJ'ing at Strutter's Ball so we decided to go. It had been like 2 or 3 months since we had been there as the music is normally not really to our liking. But with Morgan DJ'ing we figured it would be a fun night.
We really did have a good time. Morgan's set was good but I didn't know most of it, so playing with the music was a little hard for me. But over all a lot of fun. The place was kinda empty for some reason... Not really sure why.
Strutter's is such a odd place to me. It has such clearly defined "zones". Really good people in the front, beginners in the back. One of my friends I think nailed it on the head when she said "Its like high school. They are the seniors and you are the freshman. " It really does feel like that. Honestly though I think its only part their attitude. The other even bigger part is my own feelings of... well sucking. When you dance with someone a lot better then you, you feel like your boring them or its a bad experience for them.
My goal most nights is to dance with one of the "seniors". I know it will help my dancing so I try very hard to wait for a song I know, at a tempo that won't make a fool out of me, and then I try really hard to get up the nerve to ask one of them.
The ridiculousness of the whole things amazes me. A few of my friends are really good, yet even they intimidate me. However after my wife so kindly reminded me what a idiot I am for not dancing with Janine (our good friend who is really good) I summoned up my nerve I walked up and asked her to dance... It really was on of my best dances of the night and she told me to not stop asking. That meant a lot to me and I'm happy my wife reminded me of the fact that they are just people. Friends or strangers... they are just people who share the same love of dance. They just happen to be better then you at the moment.

Here are a few pics of the night....

Here is DJ Morgan and Janine..
Des(my wife) and I...
Des and Amy shagging...
Make sure you ask these girls to dance.... They are always fun!

-X

When I grow up I want to be Nick Williams....

So last night my wife and I were at Memories. Augie was DJ'ing last night so it was all pretty fast stuff. A lot of quick Bal. Seeing how I wasn't really feeling 100% and my Bal sucks... I just ordered a glass of wine and sat back to watch the crowded dance floor most of the night. I don't know if it's normal or not, but I really do like just watching the floor. Memories is always a great place for that too. They have such a wide range of dancers. From the people that just learned their rock step to the pros that show up now and then.

Let me tell you... last night was better then youtube!
Nick Williams showed up. Watching that guy is amazing. He always seems so in control. So smooth. So clean. He danced with a few different follows last night most of which I didn't know(which isn't really saying much because I know so few people) and made all of them look fantastic. I sometimes forget how lucky I am living in SoCal and being able to see and if I ever get the nerve, talk these people at local dance venues.
Although I know I will never be Nick Williams or those like him, at least its nice to see them in real life. It helps inspire us novices to clean up our footwork!


-X

First time at the Cicada Club....

I would first and for most, I would just like to say.... WOW!
The Cicada Club is one of the most interesting theme places I have ever been. From the second you step off the grimmy LA sidewalk into the magnificent entry way you are in another time. Looking at the incredible entrance with all the art deco marble you quickly realize this isn't just some normal high end restaurant or club. Then as you are about 10 feet away from the etched glass doors they open... as if by magic. Well actually its the rather tall doorman wearing a very cool uniform including the small little hats you see bellhops wear in movies.

Saying the interior is anything less then mind blowing is really an understatement. The look and feel really does blow you away. As you look around you will see many people of all walks of life and age ranges, but you will not see a single pair of jeans or even a gentleman not in a tie. The strict dress code is enforced but for good reason. If someone was not dressed for this place it would really ruin the feel. It would take away from the great feeling of being IN the 20's. I personally was dressed in slacks, shirt, tie and blazer and couldn't help but feeling a little under dressed as I was standing in line to get my drink at the bar flanked by two men in tails.

Really, from the old style microphones to the 20's elevator(with elevator boy and everything) to the cigarettes girls walking around this place really does give you a wonderful time traveling experience. One of the people I was with said she was going to open a saving account the next day to start saving to have her wedding there... I just hope I'm invited.

The Cicada Club is run by Maxwell DeMille... and you can tell. He really looks like he is part of the Club. From the fedora to the two tone shoes Mr DeMille is the living essence of this place.

So now that I have talked about how great this place is.... I'm going to hit the very few things I didn't really like about it...

Like I said this place IS Mr. DeMille.... this hold true on a few different levels. It looks great... and dances a little.

The Cicada Club really didn't feel like a dance venue. They have 2 small dance floors. One down stairs and one up. However most of the people that were dancing were VERY much beginning level. There were a few that were very good... but they were the glaring exception! The place was also very hot once you started dancing. I understand the problem because you have a lot of people there to eat and drink, not to dance and you can't freeze them out.

All things considered... if your wanting to dance all night with good dancers this may not be the best choice... But if you want a great evening of drinks, atmosphere and a little dancing this is by FAR the place for you.

Cicada Club

617 S Olive St
Los Angeles, CA 90014

(213) 361-6186‎

maxwelldemille.com


-X


PS...
Word to the wise... If you follows do go and are looking for a good dance go try and steal the elevator boy for a dance... I hear he is a good lead.

Who would have ever thought.....

So I've been thinking about this for some time. Its seems like every time I come home from a night of dancing I always have something to say. Either about the DJ or the venue or follows of the night. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. But I just think I would like to have a place to put those thoughts down. Anyway... stay tuned...err... rss'ed? How would you say that in the world blogging...I'll have to think about that.

-X