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!

Posted on : 23-07-2010 | By : Mikey Pedroza | In : Event, Jazz/Swing, Lindy Hop, New Dance Videos, Photos, Slow (Blues), Solo Jazz, Videos

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!

Posted on : 30-06-2010 | By : Mikey Pedroza | In : Dancing, Event, Jazz/Swing, Lindy Hop, Music, New Dance Videos, Photos, Videos

Over the years Camp jitterbug has exploded out of the now small dance floor of the Century Ballroom. To the never ending wooden floor of the The Naval Armory on the shores of Lake Union. The giant floor can be intimidating and hard to find a flow at times. But the do a great job of drawing the energy towards the band with the clever use of light and flags! (If you get that last bit there, then you get a free candy from me!) Best parts about the venue is that there is plenty of room to dance and great airflow from being so close to the water. (Though if you are me, then it doesn’t matter, I’ll find a way to hit some one… purely by accident though!)

The Friday night dance, which started right after the Jump Session Show, at the Naval armory featured Bria Skonberg & PNW All Stars. A small band with a big sound! They were the perfect band to start off the night. Played great standards as well as some hot jazz songs. The passion brought forth by the relatively young Skoberg was really felt through her trumpet. They mixed the classic sounds of hot jazz with a mix of modern musician as well which made the sound come sweet, hot and smooth! It made me dance clean and energetic just the way I like it!

Saturday night, the dance moved to the Temple de Hirsch, which was a lot closer this time to Capital Hill. This venue was added to the line up last year and has served the event well. Though even with it’s high ceilings it can still get a bit hot and stinky at times, but it still has a great dance floor. The band on stage that night was Bria Skoberg & Case McGill’s Small Band. They were mostly why the room was so HOT that night! I tell you what Jim, they played hard and we danced harder which in turn made them play harder! This group really fed off of the dancers and killed it with every song the brought up. Even play some classic songs with a bit of a musical twist which kept the dancers excited and full in tune with the music. Even if the floor was crowded at times, you could still get your swing out on!

Sunday night was the last night big night of the weekend, but surely not the end. Again, the dancers flocked back to the Temple de Hirsch for what was going to be an amazing big bash night! The stage was set for one of the best big bands I’ve heard in a while, Glen Crytzer’s Blue Rhythm Band. Crytzer, being a himself a dancer and self described “music snob”, really understands what we as lindy hoppers really want! He put together a great group of musicians from the Seattle area that play with great passion. Which in turn makes us lindy hoppers dance harder and smile greater! It seemed as though more people came out for this night then the last. The more the songs swung the more the strong smell of sweat came from the pours of every lindy hopper in the house that night, ah, smells like victory!

Next post will be about the dance contests during each evening dance, stay tuned!

Posted on : 21-06-2010 | By : Mikey Pedroza | In : Dancing, Event, Jazz/Swing, Lindy Hop, Music, Photos

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!

Posted on : 14-06-2010 | By : Mikey Pedroza | In : Dancing, Event, Jazz/Swing, Lindy Hop, Music, New Dance Videos, Photos, Videos

Lady Gaga parodies and tributes abound on the Interweb. Some funny, some serious, some good, some not-so-good. But the school recital performance of “Paparazzi” by boy wonder Greyson Michael Chance just might be the best yet. As the teacher emceeing the Edmond’s Sixth Grade Festival says at the end of Greyson’s stunning piano performance, this mega-talented kid could even “teach Lady Gaga a lesson.”

Greyson is bona fide prodigy (as his lovely original piano compositions “Stars” and “Broken Hearts” on his YouTube channel demonstrate), and his talents are being celebrated on a national scale now that his “Paparazzi” video in which he bangs out the piano ballad while his classmates look on in shock and awe, mouths agape has gone viral. The video has gotten more than 36,000 views so far, and he’s even been invited to perform on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” this Thursday.

Posted on : 12-05-2010 | By : Mikey Pedroza | In : Music, Other Music, Videos

This guy has quite the story and wants to share it with everyone! Please this something that is very amazing in life and only come around ever so often. A fresh perspective of life. If you know some one in our life that is in need of some inspirational words then please send them this video. Please enjoy…

Posted on : 12-05-2010 | By : Mikey Pedroza | In : Uncategorized

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!”

Posted on : 02-04-2010 | By : Mikey Pedroza | In : Dancing, Jazz/Swing, Lindy Hop, Music, New Dance Videos, Photos, Random Thoughs, Videos, Vintge Dance Videos

The 24 Hour Dance-A-Thon was this weekend in Irvine, CA. And it was a Smashing success! Here is an excerpt from the website www.danceathon.org:

Dear Participants and Donors,

The 5th Annual 24 Hour Cancer Dance-a-thon benefitting the City of Hope was a smashing success! Your fundraising efforts make the event more than just a swing dance. Thank you for helping us do all we can to win the battle against cancer. We wrote our big check for

$180,040 !

Please post pictures and video online and send links of galleries to info@danceathon.org

If you know anyone that still wants to donate or if you want to donate anymore money to this great cause please visit DANCE A THON . ORG , Thank you everyone for making it a great event!

Posted on : 15-03-2010 | By : Mikey Pedroza | In : Uncategorized

If our sad that Conan O’Brien is gone And feel even worse that Jay Leno is trying so hard and still sucks? Well then tune on over to CBS and watch late night’s best kept secret, Craig Ferguson!

Take a look at some of these clips and learn to laugh… in Scottish!
Check out his Twitter: @CraigFerg

Check out his Twitter: @CraigFerg

Posted on : 12-03-2010 | By : Mikey Pedroza | In : Uncategorized

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”

Here are 2 videos I found on the YouTubes. The will play one after the other… enjoy!

Posted on : 09-03-2010 | By : Mikey Pedroza | In : Dancing, Lindy Hop, New Dance Videos, Other, Other Dance Videos, Photos, Videos

For those of you who might not know, I have a very serious love for food. Not just any food but really good food! So from time to time I’ll be writing short review type blogs about the food and style of restaurants I’ve recently been to.

This blog is about Mexican food! I know what so of you are thinking, “But Mikey, aren’t you Mexican?!” And to those people I would say shut up and go back to eating your microwave dinners and let the grown ups talk!

Anyways, back to the topic at hand, “Mexican food cuisine with exquisite flavor, style and presentation,” that is the motto set out by Executive Chef and restaurateur Gabbi Patrick, owner of Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen.

This is off her website: The daughter of two entrepreneurial immigrant parents, Gabbi is no newcomer to the restaurant business. By the age of seventeen, she was already managing two of her parents’ Los Angeles restaurants and was apprenticed as a sous chef. She went on to receive her culinary degree at UCLA and continued her studies in sauces, salsas and stocks at the prestigious Greystone Culinary Academy in Napa Valley.Gabbi became an entrepreneur herself in the year 2002 with the opening of her own successful catering company. Four years later, this business concept led to development and opening of Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen in Orange.

The location is small but quaint, more of a wider hallway then a room. With the wall lined with old looking brick that reaches from the floor to the tall ceiling above. The mixture of bronze, 1800s looking light fixtures on the walls, the more modern hanging lights above the bar and the candles everywhere in the dinning room creates a great, relaxing atmosphere. The tables, chairs and the entire bar were made from solid wood and large and comfortable. Behind the bar a giant “cage” of fine tequila for those who wish to par take.

Now, the food. We began as any other Mexican restaurant with warm tortilla chips and freshly made salsa. Fresh because you could taste the ingredients with every heaping chip filled bite. Dana ordered Gabbi’s margarita and I a large Dos XX (my favorite!) Starters were a cup of the chicken and vegetable soup that had a slight bite that only made you want to refill your spoon with more right away. And and order of fried plantain with a drizzle of creme fresca and queso fresca. The sweet, caramelized plantain mixed with the cheese and cream made for a warm, melt in your mouth treat for your taste buds.

Now the main courses, Dana ordered a chicken mole with rice, fried kale and a small baked, plantain filled empanada. The chicken was cooked perfectly tender moist moist covered in the mole sauce which added an amazing tangy flavor. The kale was a great addition, frying it was a great twist of a side salad. Salty and crunchy. And the baked plantain empanada was amazing! Adding to the fact that fried plantain kicks some major ass!

My main course was was a 8oz. sirloin steak cooked to a perfect medium served a top a queso enchilada and a thick tomatillo sauce. The steak was perfect not over cooked but tender and juicy. Put together with with the tomatillo sauce that was like a a thick, spicy steak sauce brought all the flavor out in the meat and took it to a different level!

As the night came to an end, Dana ordered another Gabbi’s margarita and some home made churros! WOW! What an amazing way to end a night of great food. Churros with caramel and chocolate sauce! These churros were golden brown on the outside with sugar and cinnamon and soft and warm on the inside. The best I’ve ever had!

Well there you have it, if you are ever in the area of the Orange Circle in the heart of Orange Count, CA, stop by Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen and order you up a plate of traditional Mexican cuisine made in to art. Be prepared to spend a little more then your used to though, art doesn’t come cheep. But greatly worth the food, drinks and atmosphere.

So Enjoy Yall!

Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen

Posted on : 04-03-2010 | By : Mikey Pedroza | In : Food, Photos, Random Thoughs

“Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can.” -Martha Graham

I started dancing when I was 13 years old and the only people who knew was my family. I wouldn’t dare tell any of my friends at school. I imagined all the jokes and teasing I would suffer from my fellow classmates and that was enough to keep me quite. After all guys play football, basketball, soccer, anything that gets us dirty! Guys don’t learn to dance, that’s for girls! So during the week I went to school during the day but at night I would go take swing and ballroom lessons.

I lived a double life for about a year, until that fateful day, when a “swing dance club” from a local high school, came to my junior high. Everything was fine until they turned to the crowd and asked if anyone wanted to come up to the stage and dance with them. Without thinking, I jumped from my seat and said “I WILL!” I immediately regretted this decision. As I took that walk towards the stage everything went into slow motion. I could feel the ridicule and judgment being passed by the entire student body of La Paz Intermediate. And what should have been a short walk up became the green mile and I was the dead man walking. I finally got to the stage, found a partner, the music started and I began to dance in front of my entire school. I mean the entire school, every student, the entire faculty, the librarian, the lunch lady, everybody was there watching me dance. As I danced with my partner; legs kick extra hard my hands swing even bigger. I waited to hear inevitable laughter and heckling that was domed to come. But to my surprise it didn’t come. Instead it was replaced by a loud roar of cheering and excited yelling. There ware no jokes or teasing, but there was joy and excitement! Everyone was so excited to see one of their own go onstage and dance with (and may I add BETTER then) the high school kids that they embraced the moment and went crazy. As there cheering grew larger so did my dancing; I rocked the hell out of some rock steps! At the end of the song, my secret let out in front of the entire student body of La Paz Intermediate. And to my amazement, it was received with roaring applause.
For the next week I was like a star at my school and that’s a big deal for 13 year old.

I thought my secret, of dance, was something to be ashamed about but I was wrong. I learned from this and decided that it was okay for someone to be different. That we are not subject to societies stereotypes of what a man should be but we have the ability to do whatever is in our hearts and truly makes us happy. I find myself learning this lesson over and over again through out my life and each time it becomes easier and easier to be the man I want to be. A man that loves to dance!

Posted on : 27-02-2010 | By : Mikey Pedroza | In : Dancing, Lindy Hop, Quotes

What is the Dance-a-thon?

The Dance-A-Thon is a 24 hour swing dance that takes place in Orange County, California. The mission: to raise as much money as possible to help fund cancer research and treatment at City of Hope Hospital. All of the participants, board members, bands, teachers, DJ’s, and performers are unpaid volunteers. The 2010 Dance-A-Thon will take place March 13-14 from noon to noon.

The 24 hour Cancer Dance-A-Thon features:

Live music from bands that play Swing, Big Band, and Jazz music. Dance lessons from world class instructors. DJ’d music from some of the dance community’s most popular DJ’s. Performances from local dance teams. Contests that are fun for everybody. A pasta dinner and a continental breakfast – yum!

TWENTY FOUR HOURS OF INCREDIBLE FUN AND DANCING – ALL FOR A GREAT CAUSE!!! Register or Donate Today!

(I will be in attendance for this amazing event for a great cause. I will be teaching a special class at 6 AM appropriately called “Wake Up With Mikey”. So please come out and enjoy 24 hours of dance we all love for a cause you can really ’swing’ behind!)

Posted on : 20-02-2010 | By : Mikey Pedroza | In : Event

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!

Posted on : 17-02-2010 | By : Mikey Pedroza | In : Dancing, Event, Lindy Hop, New Dance Videos, Solo Jazz, Videos

Tags: Hot Club Stomp; Mikey Pedroza; Laura Keat; Jeremy Otth; Shesha Marvin; Nikki Marvin; South Korea; Camp Swing It 2010;