Five years ago, Tonya Morris had the great idea to bring together all of the talent of the dancers that came to Camp Jitterbug and put on a show for a good cause. What came was dubbed The Jump Session Show; a collection of all of the world greatest Lindy Hoppers!
This years show was held at the beautiful Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle, WA. The hall is home to the Seattle Orchestra and has had famous act such as, my personal favorite, Dave Matthews. The venue is a professional business with actual employees that now how to put on a show. So you can imagine the great pleasure it was to have people that work that venue be there on hand and help us to have great sound and lighting this year. Still no curtains, but that’s my own personal preference. HA! Anyways, the venue was a great improvement on years before with all of the professionalism involved from the back end to all of the talent on stage. Everyone brought their “A” game this year with all of the preparation and high level of thought put into every number. This years Jump Session Show really made for quite the spectacular, spectacle for all of those who attended this year.
Speaking as a performer and just as a right out lover of dance, I can say that the Jump Session Show / Camp Jitterbug is right up there as one of THE premier dance events to attend in the nation! The JS Show starts off the Camp Jitterbug weekend with a thunderous bang! That doesn’t stop until the minute you leave Seattle. I look forward to the time I get to perform for that audience, there really is no other way to explain it other then it is a magical experience. If I can bring a small amount of joy to some one watching one of my performances then I am happy. To walk out on to that stage and see all of those people staring at you can be intimidating. But if you think of it all those people came out to be entertained, by you! They are there to root for you and want you to do the best you can! If you think of it that way and have pride in what you do then there can be no stopping you! It was my pleasure to attend Camp Jitterbug 2010 and be apart of the fabulous Jump Session Show. To share that stage with all the talent that danced their heart and soul is one the greatest honors I could ever imagine.
Those 2 cent were brought to you by Mikey Pedroza. 
And below you can see most all of the pieces from the show this year, enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=32C8D28039BB47BF
Every night of Camp jitterbug the have a prelim for a contest or a final. With the large numbers and great level of lindy hoppers there you could most definitely expect some great contests!
The Naval Armory located on the shores of chilly Lake Union, was the site of the first and one of the largest prelims I’ve been a part of, the Open Jack & Jill contest. The Armory ended up being the perfect place for it since the 2 heats that were called to dance lined up from one end of the large square like room to the other. And that was for each heat, good thing there were only 2 heats. But I think everyone in that room was in the damn contest! Glad I was competing and not judging. The Finals were the next night at Temple de Hirsch, 5 couples made it to the finals and yours truly was one of the finalists. I got to dance with the lovely Laura Glasse. The others were partnered up and the band, Bria Skonberg & Casey McGill, began to play and it was a hot number! Surprising but amazing! Kept the room popping and the dancers a swinging!
Sunday night was the final and big night. The last night of dancing for Camp Jitterbug brought us the Strictly Lindy Hop Finals! In order of appearance, the competitors were: Pontus Persson & Frida Borg, Jeremy Otth & Carla Heiney, Andrew Thigpen & Karen Turman, Michael “Dargoff” Darigol & Brittany Johnson, Nick Williams & Laura Keat, Juan Villafane & Sharon Davis, Mike Roberts & Laura Glaess. It was a great contest Pontus and Frida blew everyone ouyt of the water with their take on some great, classic lindy hop moves and tricks. But Nick and Laura hot on there heels with some brand new breath taking moments. In the end cleanliness won over new ideas. The entire contest was an amazing testament to our dance and showed us where we came from and where we can still go…
Thank you to Tonya and everyone that made it out this year to Camp Jitterbug 2010!
See y’all next year!
Every year, towards the end of May, Lindy Hoppers from all over the world converge on to the city of Seattle for 4 days and nights of the best dancing of the year! The event is Camp Jitterbug and this was their 11 year running. I’ve had the pleasure to teach and perform at this event before but this year I went purely as a dancer. No obligations or duties. Just going to have a great time and the expectation of amazing night time dances and after hours. I wasnt let down, expectations fully met.
Tonya Morris is the brains behind the camp dedicated to Lindy Hop and all other forms of jazz dance. She begin Camp Jitterbug as workshop weekend with only 2 couples teaching at the even that only needed one venue. But over the years Camp Jitterbug expanded to include over 20 instructors from all over the world, about 6 venues for classes and 3 different evening dance venues! This expansion that takes over most of the Capital Hill area of Seattle, WA, was needed to supply the demand of students that come to learn from the best in the world.
In the next few posts I’ll be talking more about the evening dances, the contests and the Jump Session Show!
Dear Count Basie,
Did you know your music was going to move a generation? A generation so far removed from the one you grew up in that you might as well say they 2 different worlds, entirely! I’m not claiming to speak for my entire age group but I think I speak for those groups around the world that hear your music and are instantly transformed! Those hundreds of hours you spent on the road, on a different band stand in a different city every night of the week for months have not gone unnoticed. You perfected your craft, and those of he other musicians in your band, and recorded so many tracks. Did you know that many years after you were gone from this world kids would still be listening to and heed its call? Your music inspires us all, like a call to arms, that makes every boy and girl, jump up, grab a partner, clap our hands and stomp our feet to the sounds that you and your band produce. It is as though your music actually speaks to our very soul and gives us no other choice but to dance to every note in those 2-3 minutes tunes. When many of us hear those first 8 notes to “Jumpin’ at the Woodside”, your swinging masterpiece. I’ll tell you what Jim… there is no other feeling quite like it! It’s like you are the doctor send your electric music running through us and giving us all life! The way “Shiny Stockings” moves and bends so masterfully. The rise and fall of the moods in that song brings tear to my eye every time I begin to hear it. And the build up you create through out the entire piece is nothing short of genius! I could go on and on with every one of your swinging pieces. But the truth is that your entire collection of music, from the slowest saddest number to the blazing hot, mind blowing pieces that made our jaws drop and lift our souls. Every number you played, you played it your way. And your fans across the world still celebrate you for it today. So thank you. Thank you for doing what you truly loved and sharing it with the world. Thank you for playing every song as though it were the last time it would be heard. Thank you for making every note heart felt and full of life. And thank you, for every time we hear those first few notes you strike, on your black & ivory keys, makes us want to get up and swing out!
The media of your day may have pegged another young man as the “King of Swing”. But to this young dancer you, William “Count” Basie, will be my one and only “KING OF SWING!”
This past Saturday night, I went to see the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. They a modern dance group based out of New York and they are in a word INSPIRING! You don’t just “go to see them,” you experience them. This new production featured a new piece called “UPTOWN”. This was a piece choreographed by Matthew Rushing and inspired by the Harlem Renaissance of the early 20th-century. Check out this article in the Orange County Register.
It Featured eight pieces: “Welcome to Harlem”, “Rent Party”, “Great Minds”, “Visual Arts”, “Shuffle Along”, “The Weary Blues”, “Divas, Apples & Jazz” & “The Cotton Club”
Check out some of the pictures and videos of this great work!
Here are 2 videos I found on the YouTubes. The will play one after the other… enjoy!
Hot Club Stomp performs their newest routine, “SHAKE THAT THING!”, at the 2nd annual CAMP SWING IT 2010 in Seoul, South Korea.
Hot Club Stomp is a Lindy Hop and Classic Jazz Dance team with members from all over California. The clip features Mikey Pedroza, Nikki Marvin, Jeremy Otth, Laura Keat & Shesha Marvin performing a Classic Jazz Dance routine done to a remixed version of “Shake That Thing” by Dean Mora.
If you listen close enough you may be able to hear the changes we made to the song, i thin you’ll like them. And if you listen closer you’ll hear the incredibly warm sound of the Korean “Ooooh!” You have to love the Korean dancers, I would dare say that they are the best audience in the world!
…Enjoy!
