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*Beginning Lindy Hop 6:30-7:30 *Intermediate Lindy Hop 6:30-7:30 Intro to Swing 7:30-8:00 *Students must register by 9/1 to take this class. Next Month's Classes: | | *Beginning Lindy Hop 6:30-7:30 *Partner Charleston Hop 6:30-7:30 Intro to Swing 7:30-8:00 *Students must register by 10/1 to take this class. | | This Month at Swingin' Sunday: | | 9/1 - Dance Card Sunday 9/15 - SOUL NIGHT featuring a Soul Train Contest! 9/29 - Birthday Jam | | Travel Opportunities: | | If you're looking to meet more dancers and skyrocket your skills, there's no better way to do it than by traveling to some regional events! 'Tis the season for dancing in the Midwest. Check it out: Cowtown Jamborama in Omaha, NE September 19-22 Southern Fried Swing in Greenwood, AK, September 27-29 Sweepin Swing in Tulsa, OK, October 11-13 All Follow's Eve in Fort Worth, TX November 1-3 Nevermore Jazz Ball in St. Louis, Missouri November 7-10 | The Funny Section: | Seeing "Swing Dancing" on TV:  | | | | | | | | | SOUL NIGHT! GET EXCITED! This Sunday is SOUL NIGHT!!! And, yes, I am physically incapable of typing SOUL NIGHT in anything other than capital letters!
Come on out and get down to all the best soul music, including the likes of Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and many more. Although soul music didn't reach its peak popularity until after the golden age of swing dancing, soul and Lindy Hop go together like bread and butter, like peas and carrots, like chicken and waffles, like all the most delicious things! PLUS, sometimes, the infamous SOUL NIGHT wig and glasses appear, and someone ends up looking like this:
Austin Freeman, SOUL NIGHT Oct 2010
To make this Sunday an extra special event, we're adding a Soul Train Competition to the festivities! Soul Train was a musical variety show that aired on TV from 1971 through 2006. It featured plenty of soul music, and, more importantly, the Soul Train Line. In the Soul Train Line, dancers formed an aisle by standing in two lines, then took turns strutting their best dance moves down the middle. But don't take my word for it, check out the action here:
Authentic Soul Train Line - click for video
You do NOT want to miss the WSDS's first attempt at this, so come out Sunday night to strut your stuff and cheer on the other dancers! | | | Nouveau Quintette to Play at Swingin' Sunday Oct 6 Local jazz band Nouveau Quintette, along with a special guest vocalist, will be playing for the WSDS on Sunday, Oct. 6th. Mark your calendars now! This will be the first time we have a live band since moving to our new venue in January. The band will play from 7-10, so keep in mind that we won't have 7:30 classes that night. Also, admission that night will be $6 (members) $8 (non-members) to help pay the band. Check out their sound in this demo recording; it'll have you tappin' your toes!
| | Editor's Note: How to Get the Most out of Class So you're thinking about signing up for one of the WSDS October classes. Or maybe you've taken one of our monthly classes before. Or maybe you've traveled the state, the region, or even the world to take swing dance classes. Regardless of where you are in your journey, here's what I can tell you from experience will get you the most out of the time and money you spend on classes: 1) Rotate partners. This is first on my list for a reason, folks. Odds are that you are neither the best nor the worst dancer in any class you take. That means there are people in the rotation that will help you get better, AND people that you will help get better. As a student, I've had more "a-ha moments" as a result of my partners than from any instructor's feedback. And, as an instructor, I've seen whole classes progress MUCH faster when all the participants rotate. 2) Assume it's you. Move not quite working out? Does your partner have a "what just happened" face? Feeling physically awkward? Assume it's your fault. Maybe it isn't, but I promise you this assumption will make you a better dancer, faster. Ask yourself what more you can do to make a move or technique work better, and if your answer is "nothing" then a) you're probably wrong and b) ask yourself, if there's nothing MORE you can do, what can you do BETTER? If the answer to both those questions is "nothing," then why are you taking classes? When you've tried everything you can think of and it still doesn't work, ask the instructor to watch you with a partner. He or she will be able to tell you either what you missed or, if you aren't the problem, what your partner needs to do. Which brings me to. . . 3) Don't teach the class. You're there to learn, and someone else is being paid to teach. It's a) totally inappropriate and b) quite selfish to speak up while the instructor is talking (even if he or she just asked if anyone has any questions) with anything along the lines of "I think it would help for people to know ____." While you may be motivated by trying to help, all you're doing is hijacking the class and distracting from whatever the instructor is trying to teach. If you do have something constructive to say, and you're sure it applies to many people in the class, point it out to the instructor while people are practicing, and let him or her decide whether the whole class needs to hear your thoughts. 4) Try to do what's being asked of you. This sounds like common sense, but I often see other students neglecting to do it. If you're an intermediate Lindy Hop student, it might be tempting to mentally check out when your instructor launches into a lecture about something fundamental, like pulse. You already know what pulse is, how to do it, and why it's important. But, guess what? The instructor wouldn't bring it up if the class was doing it well already. See tip #2, assume it's you, and strive to do better. If it's any consolation, there isn't a pro swing dancer in the world who thinks they can't improve on fundamentals. That may seem like a harsh list of tips, so let me finish by saying that most swing dance classes are more fun than a lap full of kittens! Everyone is there to have a good time, and I guess my last tip is to not lose sight of that. Got thoughts? Email me. Chelsea Rothschild | | | | | | | | | SOUL NIGHT is a WSDS tradition dating back several years, but it's not our only theme night! We've also done Blues nights, R&B, Sock Hops, and more. Keep an eye on the weekly for other upcoming theme nights, and if you have questions or suggestions, email me. Steals and Deals: | | WSDS members get discounted prices for monthly classes and admission. Check out our website for details! | | More Swing Dancing in Wichita: | If you want to take your swing dancing to the next level, Check out the Lindy Bombers! This local dance club has been meeting every Monday evening for years, working on swing dance vocabulary, technique, and musicality. The Lindy Bombers can also put you in touch with the Shiny Stockings and Five Moes Named Guy, Wichita's solo-jazz troupes. And, if you're REALLY motivated, the Lindy Bombers are also your gateway to Hot Rhythm Revival, Wichita's competitive swing dancing team. There are lots of options out there, come check them out! | Video of the Week: | Hot-shot lindy hoppers Chance Bushman and Karen Turman dance to soul music in this video of an invitational jack & jill competition at the International Lindy Hop Championships in 2011. | |
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