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London Swing Lindy Hop Dance Classes
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Home | Links:
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East and West Coast Swing, and Lindy Hop: |
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Freddie James:
The unknown force in swing dance during
the 1950s and 60s was Arthur Murray Dance Studios. The leading factor which brought AM's dominace to the swing dance scene during this time was two fold:
One: It was the Vietnam
War in which several young emerging dance Swing and Lindy Hopper social personalities went, mostly to join up, in the various
military branches. "For the love we
had to stand up for America. " People in this cultural dance genre where in love in what America stood for. Dick Clark
of American Bandstand, leter on lamented , as a result of knowing the list of those who died in this war, on
this fact, as he became the first to acknowledged
this affect on the Swing Lindy Hop dance world. Moreover, as the war got more of this group of American Swing Dance -
Lindy Hop youth, it left a vacume on the social dance floor, and as result ushered in the era of disco-following the new dance craze of Lindy Hopper ( yes he is a
" Lindy Hopper " ) Chubby Checker's innovative dance " The Twist ". There was very, very few who could pass on the dance moves
in Swing - Lindy Hop, as a result of the War during this generation.
Two. Freddie James star appearance
and emergance with " his " Lindy Hop styles started to electric'fied the whole studio system of Arthur Murray Dance Studios, Inc. Arthur Murray's
Dance Board through his efforts as the leading influence among others had taken the national lead in developing a popular
dance curricula to teach the Swing - Lindy Hop, and thus dominated the dance genre itself during this era. They
got most of the money too, and they well earned it too!
The interesting fascet about
his styles, as result of the power and force of his very physical style of Swing and Lindy Hop dance, from time
to time he would split his pants. Everyone knew of this. " So during every given performance, his wife would bring at least two more pants." As it was commented
to me. He almost earned the name " Splits " as a result. The energy he employed and the movements he threw in were all dynamic and awsome, and kept
alive some of the stuff which could
have disappeared if it was not for his dedications to this American Folk Dance. Ya ! Swing and Lindy Hop are American Folk
dances.
What may surprise the present
" Lindy World " is that he was also responsiable for encouraging the artisitic and personal rescue of Frankie Manning: this is the behind the scene scoop of the
present dance Lindy World. That proponents, students, and alumni of Arthur Murray, and then later on Fred
Astaire Dance Studios in New York City
region had the available student base which further triggered and then supported this urgent artistic rescue.
So if you ever wonder who were his first core of students and support after the initial Televised broadcast - which
reported his living conditions came from, and those who supplied the initial capital to restorate his career, then you have
some idea....
April 14th, 2004
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Email: danceithaca@aol.com
London Swing and Lindy Hop Dance Classes is an extension of London Night Life ( NightLife ), RMC website and is to foster additional indepth Inter - City Cultural Communications between the cities of London,
England and Ithaca, New York. Thus through various promotional means within the Internet and the creation of additional
sub topics, online essays and story shorts, and website portals these connections are getting stronger as a result.
The emails, which prompted this website, I have gotten have already proven this point a very clearly and dramitically-though
I do not like the frustrating spammers which seems to follow my every move.
From your point of view and if you have an online site which shows interests in Swing
/ Lindy Hop dance then you are likewise invited to do a reciprocal link exchange by email me at ithacafalcon@aol.com . More importantly, I take great pride in helping those who are new to the Internet.
The addtional links down below are gotten from various search engines. Howover, additional
efforts and text information about their efforts in Swing / Lindy Hop dance in
London, England will be likewise promoted once they have responded by placing this site
url onto their sites.
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Swing and Lindy all the Time:
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Learn to Dance Online Learn to dance online: Swing, Jive, Salsa, Lindy Hop, Ceroc, Latin and Ballroom. Free lessons and dance
moves online.
Legends: according to the Hollywood fan Magazines of the time.
Mickey Rooney, and Judy
Garland was labeled as the Lindy King and Queen of America during the30s-40s. This was the final straw, and witnessed less
and less black participation in the dance their culture created. Unfortunate too as they knew the dance coaches for both Mickey
and Judy were black.
In places like Selma, Montgomery, Atlanta, and Macon, these are the roots. What happened is that
Jim Crow created flight to the North, and cities like Chicago, St Louis, Cleveland, Buffalo ( Shuffle off to Buffalo - remember
the song, well it had a dance movement too ), especially Detroit ( where the real masters were hopping ), and New York saw
the various moves creatively combining for the first time. This saw, for example a move from Selma being " classed " ( jargon
at that time ) by another move from Jonesboro-creative mixing set in, and nothing even close to the likes of a Lindy.
There
is more.
Roger M. Christian
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Swing Dance Ithaca: The articles depicts Swing Dance and Lindy Hop in broader strokes of diversity than the New York City
Dance Paragonic global dominant dance culture.
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Dance Classes Directory:
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Place you dance class website on this directory and see your rankings increase
[ waiting is usually a three week period ]. Non - for - profits / free placement.
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Want to get noticed on the Internet?
In a Flash Rankings. |
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WebMasters and Business concerns who are successful can already verify the one leading aspect to their business development
is getting seen on the Internet.
If you do your homework and research you will discover I have an existing power base in which to promote your goods and
services. Thus if you want to get on top faster I am one of the effective means in which you can accomblish this.
Free service is open to students / scholars clubs, faith based initiatives, or assoications, as well as for Non-Profits.
Place on email subject: InterCultural Communications.
Please advise likewise at latinadanza@aol.com concerning your dance interests or essay which covers London, England.
Yours,
Mr. Roger M. Christian, Ithaca, New York | |
Dance ithaca E - Magazine
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String of Pearls
By Sandy Wright.
Hello from Birmingham, England all you
loves in America. I've go my own short
to offer.
During the time of " The Blitz " ( For
all you younger Yanks-means a time in which
Hitler was bombing us. ), I met a Yank who
really burned the dance floor with his Lindy.
" Oh G-d Almighty " loves did he hustled it and slamed shoed it right down to the tiny wooden grains of the dance floor.
You see all you wonderful loves, the Yank
got it from growing up in Queens. Oh
how I did adored his swirly hair and long brows.
I can still can see him now. Ooops, I
may be getting too personal. How I like to go on.
Ernest Kline ( oh ya an American
Gerry name too ), a tail gunner on one of those
air battleships ( as we first called them )
on a B- !7 Flying Fortress, 8th Army Air Force.
There I was at a USO dance in London,
near Surrey, listening to Benny Goodman and
Arte Shaw sitting with my legs crossed, and
being such a lady - go tell. I have just
finished my duty station on an Anti - Aricraft Battery. Ak Ak as we would call them Yanks. I already shot down two Gerries, and they made me a sargent - battery commander. Oh ya, and wouldn't you know last week I went broke on my rations card and got on the small black market in my neighborhood a pair of sheer silk stockings ( No nylons back then loves ). " No eyelinner seam ( see editor's notes ) for this Gal.
He walk in and danced with some of the
other pertties, and then ask me to dance. Then
the music the band played was Glen Miller's
String of Pearls.
All of a sudden the sirens echoed out
across all London. Gerry is at it
again. We knew he would and thus we doubled
draped the windows before, and the sirens calls
echoed out, we then dimed the lights too. To hell with Gerry, we are going to live tonight.
With out any instructions the band played
String of Pearls again, and Ernie with his
strong hands, and steady form stood a defiant
dance pose. We Lindy to stars, as at
any moment Gerry could hit us. And again the
band played String of Pearls, and while the other gals
with eyelinner seams on their legs ran, and smeared
from swet all over,
" there was I and my legs free from any pretense and dancing with one hell of a great Lindy dancer. "
A real Jiver loves. We danced all
night.
Since then we met and danced when he had
a pass, that is far as I am going to tell,
its private loves, and couple times at his
base. As the war went on, he did his twenty.
He was ordered out. Orders what a fool thing for
you Yanks to do to me. Though we wrote during the war, and as my total of Gerries only got to three, we stoped around 1946.
As I sit here looking at the pictures
of my grand children, 14 in all, I still remember
String of Pearls and that one night I danced
with a Yank.
I love you all Yanks.
Sandy, 83
Edit finished 9-7-2004
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