Happy New Year!

 

Happy New Years from Blue Suede Souls!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

Most of the time Idon't think about dancing on Thanksgiving, but when I do, I think of the Turkey Trot. Oh, those lively dances!

Happy Halloween - Cha Cha Cha!

Happy Halloween!

Kim Lenz - Zombie for Your Love

Great Rockabilly tune for the season!

My Rockabilly Martian Gal

Invaders from the trailer park!

Dancing Shadows

A little Paul Whiteman Orchestra to welcome October, though I don't think Paul was thinking of the same sort of shadows that I am.

Oktoberfest Win!

A little Oktoberfest jump, jive, and wail won Kelly and me a CD of Jay Fox and the Bavarian Showtime Band! Who can be sad when there's polka music and the smell of frying bratwurst in the air?

Oktoberfest!

Gary and I have wanted to go to an Oktoberfest for a couple of years; 2012 we totally missed the largest one in the Indianapolis area because we mistakenly thought it was in October...actually early Sept. 2013 we were ready. Yesterday we headed to German Park located on the Southside of Indy, for food, German culture, and of course, dancing.


My parents warned us choice seats nearest the dance pavilion fill up fast, so we arrived early and claimed a table right by the floor. My mom and dad arrived soon after, and we quickly set out for food. OMG, the choices, even for a vegetarian; I had a soft pretzel (yum) and the best sauerkraut ever.

Then we danced. We caught two bands...both were very good. They played mostly polkas naturally, but also a smattering of other music. In fact, after a rousing swing we were awarded a CD, which was pretty cool. Gary and I danced some polka and have decided we want to get better at it; there are venues around town that have regular polka dances. The polka is a whole lot like skipping, and who can't have fun skipping?

Here's a pic of the train dance...

Happy Labor Day

Happy Labor Day from Blue Suede Souls!

Here's hoping you didn't get burned!

A little Victor Bluebird ad from the August 1944 issue of Life Magazine. I have to say, their image of Spike Jones doesn't look anything like the original!

Fun with Lindy Hop

A little fun with a mock-instructional Lindy Hop film from MGM.

WE DID IT!!!!!

OK, so those of you who routinely do dance tricks are probably not going to be impressed. But for Gary and me the following accomplishment is a HUGE deal. Little background: we do now six fairly complicated and athletic moves, aka, someone, probably me, could get hurt doing them if we were not careful. It took us a long time to learn them.


And then came the belt loop flip.

And let me say this is a BACKflip, as in an over the head flip from a standing start like cheerleaders and gymnastics do. I was and am neither. In my childhood I did some cartwheels and the intermittent round off, but I never was able to do a black flip.

We've been working on this move for a year. There were many times I thought privately I can't do this. I asked myself often why would I, a 54 year old woman with a bad shoulder and a sometimes wonky knee, why why WHY would I even want to do this? There were so many setbacks. We had trouble with the mechanics. Gary had a bout of bad knees himself and my shoulder flared up again so we had to quit practicing it for awhile. And while the man of course is involved, it's ME that's doing the flipping, so my shoulder has to be well. But I am determined. Some might say stubborn. But I'm not stupid. I know I have to careful about areas that have been injured, and I also know a fall at my age is a lot different than one at twenty. So we took it slow. We also learned from an experienced instructor. And then one magical night in practice we did it!

That was cool. But of course, doing it at home and doing it out are two different things.

We picked our debut venue; our beloved Boogie dance because it's never too packed, has a great floor, and the first song is always the same.  :-) We decided to do it at the end of the song...we'd be warmed up and we wouldn't have to worry about dancing after we'd done it. The song started. We were both nervous. And then...we did it! It was crunchy...the landing and entrance needs work... but hot damn, WE DID IT!!! We'd decided to only do it once not wanting to push our luck, but a friend of ours missed it and wanted to see so we did it again..even smoother.


I know a back flip isn't rocket science or solving world hunger, but for all of you over fifty who think you can't do a move, maybe you can. It might take you longer to learn it, you may not be able to do it over and over at a dance, and there will be setbacks, but maybe, just maybe, you'll have more patience than you did at 20. :-)

Here it is:

Whenever it Warms Up...

Here's a little song for our much awaited summer weather from Ben Pollack and his Park Central Orchestra...go ahead, Mother Nature, commence with the sunshine!

Do's and Dont's of Dancing - 1950's Style

During a foray through the trove of YouTube I came across a lovely little advice video for dancing - in the 1950s. Some of the advice is really good and some is, well, just kind of strange!

And The Beat Goes On...

Gary and I attended a fun 60's dance last Friday. The band was Twisted Gold, the event the Whiteland, In. Barn Reunion Dance, which is held every year to commemorate the Whiteland Dance Barn, long since torn down, but whose hallowed halls once held the sounds of many famous acts. We've never danced to a complete night of 60's tunes, and found it very danceable and fun. The band was great, the crowd even better. Here are some pictures...a trio of young boys whooping it up, a pair of young ladies cutting a rug, and a parade of pink feathered ladies dancing in a huge circle. After that two of Gary and me.

We needed a fun evening. Last week we found out our beloved Melissa has moved away, probably never to return. Her circumstances are her own and of course we respect them and her, but oh, it was a very sad Gary and Kelly who drove away from the studio that night. We've always wondered what we might do if we didn't have Melissa...just in case...but now that the inevitable is here, we're see-sawing. Take another instructor at the same studio? We are fond of a number of people there.Try another, maybe less formal, place? Find people who teach specific dances? For the moment we are letting things settle in our heads. We can progress by teaching ourselves from you tube and vids, but having an expert is something we want too.

Melissa has been more than a coach and instructor; she has been our dance lab partner and our friend. We will miss her very much and wish her only the best. I know we will find someone or a couple of someones to teach us, but...sigh. In the end, we will never stop dancing as long as we are able, and things will work out...they always do.

The beat goes on...

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day from Blue Suede Souls!

Daleks and Terry Lee

Terry Lee knocked it ought of the park as usual last Friday...he and the band just get better and better if that's possible. They have a few more CDs out so we bought another, plan on getting them all.


Oh, and you never know just who you might run into at Mike's Dance Barn....exterminate!!!!!

Schoolhouse Rock

Went to a fun dance last weekend around the Racine, WI. area. I had thought it would be in the gym but instead it was in what appeared to be the old library...much smaller. Still, the floor was lovely, the people very nice, albeit not many of them...maybe 19.

It's fun to try new venues, even if they aren't exactly what you thought. :-)

Dancing at the Knights of Columbus

Note: Somehow this one wound up in the draft bin instead of getting posted...so much belated, it hits the presses!

Yesterday we had an opportunity to dance at a new venue, the North Side Knights of Columbus. The K of C (at least the one we visited) probably isn’t known for dancing. They had no proper dance floor, just a public school-grade linoleum on concrete deal with a stage fit for Easter pageants at the front of the room and a window into the bar fit for making those pageants tolerable at the back. The K of C is a social club with Catholic connections – the pope’s answer to the Elks, Masons, and other popular fraternal orders of the early twentieth century. Every time I dance at a place like the Moose Lodge I’m reminded that there was a day when insurance didn’t exist and these organizations through their membership fees provided a means to paying for disability, medical care, unemployment, and even burial expenses. It’s odd to think that, in a lot of ways, the 2000’s could use a resurgence of the fraternal orders. This is a blog about dancing, though, so I’ll stay away from musing on reconstructing society! As our favorite DJ often says, well…let’s dance.

So, as I mentioned, the floor was hard and slick and not well suited for anything involving athletic movement in suede-bottomed shoes. It seems to be that a place that’s not set up with a proper dance floor will necessarily lack sufficient space for dancing and the K of proved no exception. Somehow, in spite of the size of the room, adding tables and people equated to a jammed floor with many near collisions. I fall back on an early plea from the blog: if you’re dancing realize you’re not the ONLY person dancing.

Sure, there are accidents. Last night a very good dancer practically started off his EC swing between Kelly and me. I know he’s good and I know he’s very polite, so I chalk that one to a simple error. However, when six or seven couples do the same thing there’s something wrong. Not everyone on the dance floor is a clod so there must be some mystical energy, some occult phenomenon akin to the Bermuda Triangle that comes into play when dances are held in a space not intended for dance. Compasses spin, radios go haywire, and even the deftest of dance mavens find themselves left-footed and stumbling out of control. Their sense of propriety abandons them. Their knowledge of floor-craft becomes a fuzzy memory. Soon they’re tripping the light not-so-fantastic right across your big toe and putting their prodigious butt in your partner’s face.

I’m becoming enamored of bringing an exorcist to these cursed venues. A little holy water and incense, a few mumbled prayers, and out damned dance demons! Maybe we’d all be better dancers for the ceremony. The only problem is I would have figured the K of C would have some kind of stored up resistance, a Vatican vaccination handed down through organizational lineage. Eh, so much for that theory.

Versitility

I've never been a Liberace fan, in fact I only stumbled across this clip parasitically by listening to an episode of Fresh Air which featured a story about an upcoming Liberace docu-drama (Behind the Candelabra, I believe). During the show they played a piece of this clip along with a similar scene from the television program, which got me thinking. What Liberace is doing with Mack the Knife, is improvisation - re-imagining a standard in a new and inventive way. The same can be done with dance.

So, the next time a samba is played, think about it in terms of a cha-cha or a rumba. When a salsa tune is played, ask yourself how you'd do a west coast swing to that tune. It's an exercise in creativity and it can help you transform your dancing into something that's truly your own!

Mother's Little Helper - Happy Mother's Day

A Mother's Day message from Mick and the boys. Happy Mother's day to all you dancing moms out there!

Happy Birthday Fred Astaire

Today would have been Fred’s 114^th birthday, but I think he did about 500 years worth of dancing in the time he had.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo from Blue Suede Souls! If you tango, make sure to spike your tea!

Happy Birthday Godfather of Soul!

We lost James Brown way too early, if he were still with us he'd be 70 today.

Happy Birthday Bing Crosby!

Bing Crosby would have been 110 this year. Happy birthday der Bingle.

Happy Birthday Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald would have been 96 today, and in honor of her and National Coffee Week here's a little Black Coffee.

Happy Earth Day!

Here's to a little frolicking in the fresh air, happy Earth Day from Blue Suede Souls!

Chuy Reyes - Oink, Oink!

As barbecue season gets nearer I always think of this Chuy Reyes classic.

La Opinion said that Chuy Reyes was “prolific and passionate, he has a command of arranging Afro-Cuban music in the modern jazz style”. Hailing from the Huastec region of Mexico, Reyes was brought to Mexico City in 1925 where he was enrolled at the Conservatorio de Mexico and subsequently received a five year musical study scholarship that took him to Germany. In 1933 Reyes made his American debut, appearing at the Chicago World’s Fair. In 1940 he began work in the Hollywood Theatre, later appearing at the Mocambo Club and El Copacabana in Chicago.

Here’s Reyes with the Rumba Boogie, look at those moves!

 

 

Back Off Zit Face

1926 ad for low self esteem, okay actually it’s for a period skin cleanser called Pompeian Massage Cream but still. I love the claim that it gives you a “clear, ruddy complexion…”. I didn’t know those two things went together. I also didn’t know that many boys are inclined toward grime. So, if you want her to save a dance for you,
de-grime before going to the ball!

Tango

Still loving learning the tango. :-)

We've gotten to the point now that we want to start making it our own, and who better to start our usual experimentation process with than Valentino?

Check out the famous vid below. Yeah, it's a little dorky (especially the old guy with the fishbowl), but the dance itself is drop dead sexy. I love how close they are, and how at times he almost drags her across the floor. Whew. Hot hot HOT.

The Yam

I went digging through Google library today, searching for interesting imagery and ideas from the past. By accident I came across the 193x cover of Life and Fred and Ginger doing something called The Yam. A little research (trust me, very little) brought me to the 1938 Carefree, an Irving Berlin, Fred and Ginger collaboration of the usual sort.
IMDb gives the following plot summary:

Dr. Tony Flagg's friend, Steven, has problems in the relationship with his fiancee, Amanda, so he persuades her to visit Dr. Flagg. After some minor misunderstandings, she falls in love with Dr. Flagg. When he tries to use hypnosis to strengthen her feelings for Steven, things get complicated.

Yeah, complicated by the usual musical comedy fluff. Boy meets girl, boy has problems with girl, and boy and girl work their differences out through a series of improbably song and dance sequences. Something strikes me, though. I’ve seen another Astaire movie, Daddy Longlegs and there’s a common thread – older guy stalking young girl. As a friend once said to me regarding a severely Spring-Autumn relationship, it kinda’ makes you go ewww.

Anyway, here's your dose of dance-related film for the day. Happy Friday!

 

 

Happy April Fool's Day!

Happy Easter!

Happy Gnome Day...er...Easter....from Blue Suede Souls!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here's wishing you a happy St. Patrick's Day from Kelly and Gary at Blue Suede Souls!

Happy Anniversary Indy Dancers!

Micro update tonight! We’re getting ready to head out to the Indy Dancer’s 30^th anniversary dance this evening. Doing the math (always a challenge for me) that means the club was founded in 1983 – back in the days of space shuttle Challenger’s first flight, Ronald Regan, Michael Jackson, and The Police. Ah, the good old days never were all that good – I was a sophomore, head full of nothing, nowhere to be, and nothing to do. Nostalgia!

Anyway, getting back on subject, tonight’s festivities will be held at the fabulous Indiana Roof Ballroom, a facility we’re very familiar with. The Roof has hosted celebrations of all sorts since 1927, playing host to personalities like Audrey Hepburn, Paul Newman, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Peyton Manning, and Reggie Miller. I can’t think of a better place to celebrate the club’s pearl anniversary.

Be My Valentine

Sigh. Gary and I enjoyed a lovely Valentine's dinner and dance at the Indiana Downs, sponsored by the Shelby County Players. We like going to dances for a good cause, and since we used to live in Shelbyville, IN., and we have family members who act, this was all the more sweeter.

Who knew such an elegant affair could take place at a casino? Of course, you had to walk through the dinging and all the smoke to get there, but it was worth it.

Neat Stuff: Under Armour Shoe Bag

As a dancing couple we tend to lump our dance stuff together for the trip to the ballroom. It makes travelling easier, there's only one bag to lug around, one bag to watch over, and one to pack up before heading home. Sometimes, though, it's nice to have your own space and when it comes to bags that means something small enough to carry around easily, but large enough to contain your shoes and the little things you need (for me that means hankerchiefs, a fan, a brush, some bandages, and a bottle of motrin).

Under Armour to the rescue! The large PTH bag is designed for atheletics, so it's big enough to accomodate shoes and sundaries while still being portable. Plus it has that manly vibe that says you recognize dancing is a sport as much as an art, in case you worry about that kind of thing!

I'm Back!

Well, the computer is (mostly) back and as you’ve probably noticed I’ve had a little time to take down the Yuletide decorations and put up something more in keeping with the season. It feel good to be back at my desk again, putting virtual ink to page and finally starting 2013.

This year promises to be a great one Blue Suede Souls land. We’ve purchased our Indiana Roof Big Band Series tickets, and will be attending the first concert of the 2013 season tomorrow. We’re also working hard on expanding our dance experiences, traveling to new and interesting venues, and generally having a good time. So, how about a belated welcome to the New Year and a look at my BSS Resolutions.

I think it's good to have goals. Without them I feel like I'm simply showing up and, if watching sports has taught me anything, there are no prizes for just showing up. This year my dance resolutions are:

1. To learn about the history and origins of the dances we’re learning.
2. To expand my dance repertoire by adding Tango to the Latin-style dances I know.
3. To visit at least one new, never-danced-before venue.
4. To let the little things go and just enjoy dancing.

There it is, four simple resolutions for 2013. Let’s see if I can remember to write an end of the year post to let you know how I did at attaining my goals.

Neat Stuff: Holographic Dance Floor

It’s not quite the holodeck, but it’d be cool to dance on a floor decorated with holograms. Though I guess it’d make those who don’t pay attention to what they’re doing pay even less attention!

In Case You Noticed...

In case you’ve noticed the lingering holiday decorations, I wanted to say we’ve had a bit of a computer problem that’s preventing me doing any graphics work. I didn’t want you to start singing that “redneck girl” song – you know, about leaving my Christmas lights up all year long? Anyway, as soon as I can get the computer repaired I’ll have our standard BSS banner up again.

So Cute!!!!

The Moo

Well…we did it, we joined The Loyal Order of Moose.


Two things had stopped us before…the smoke and ‘club requirements.’ Gary and I aren't ‘clubby’ people, even though we are members of three dance clubs. Dance clubs are mostly about dancing…if you want to be more involved you can be, but extra participation isn’t required.

We love our clubs but wanted some more dance venues, and there is nothing better than a good old fashioned Moose club for that…they usually have dancing at least two nights a week, sometimes more.

We’ve seen quite a lot of Moose clubs over the last few years, because one of our dance clubs, Indy Dancers, uses the facilities of two of them. We really like it there…the Moose people have always been friendly and welcoming. The interior is a little dusty, a little retro, and until recently, a whole lot of smoky. The clubs are in the process of choosing if they want a smoke free space (a private club can do that), but the tide is turning, and many of them are now smoke free, including the venues we dance at. So the smoke problem is eliminated, or soon will be.

For the ‘club requirements’ issue, we knew the Moose wasn’t much on secret handshake stuff…they originated as a men’s social club and never went in for much of that. I had read somewhere that they do require you to believe in a ‘supreme being’ which as Gary said that could be anything, but I don’t like be told I HAVE to, whether I do or not.

Nevertheless, last Friday we made our way to the local Moo, having decided that we really did want to join. My plan while acknowledging a supreme being would be to have one of the Muppets in my head just to be ornery. I think Gary was going to contemplate some kind of spaghetti monster during his moment. But we didn’t have to. We were met at the door by a very nice man who simply said wanna see the place? We did, and he gave us a brief tour. Bar, check. Restaurant, check. Pool tables, bingo room, check, check. Dance floor, yeeha! It was huge! After that he said do you want to be members, we said yes, filled out a short form that had our address and phone number on it, paid 90 bucks for our yearly fee, and that was that.

No supreme being question or anything else…just nice friendly folks, like what we’ve come to expect at the Moose. And while we did join to dance, there are other benefits as well. Lots of discounts, a wonderful kid charity called Mooseheart, and an old folks home in Florida called Moosehaven. Gary and I will probably never use it, but it’s nice to know if we wanted to we could don antlers, kick the ‘real’ old people off the dance floor, and cut a rug.

And we get to call each other Moosies.

Pork and Beans

Since January is the month of resolutions and diets, I thought I’d focus on a food-related cover this month. Pork and Beans is a one/two-step written in 1913 by a fellow with the unusual name of C. Luckyth Roberts. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of another person with the moniker “Luckyth”, and it’s unusual enough that I think I would remember if I had. Mr. Roberts is far from a lost name in ragtime, stride piano, and blues music, though.


Charles Roberts was born in 1887 in Philadelphia, PA and began his showbiz life early, touring with the Uncle Tom’s Cabin Company at the age of three and later with Gus Seeker’s and Mayme Remington’s Ethiopian Prodigies. He took up the piano at five and first played professionally in Philadelphia and moved to Harlem, NY in 1910.

Roberts founded the Harlem piano school, writing rags that inspired more complex compositions later in the ragtime era. Roberts influenced ragtime greats such as James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, and Willie-the-Lion Smith. Roberts toured Europe with James Reese Europe in 1915 and was music director for The Smart Set, a review show with a connection to Logansport, IN through its founders Salem Tutt Whitney and J. Homer Tutt, between 1913 and 1919. Roberts played Carnegie Hall and remained active as a soloist and band leader into the 1960’s.

As for the sheet music art, it’s a kind of cubist rendition of a pig apparently contemplating contributing to the bean pot. I’m always a little weirded out by artwork that features animals gladly going to slaughter or talking food and this one’s no exception. It’s a pretty simple image, nice bold colors, an easy connection with the theme. I even found a very nice recording of Pork and Beans on YouTube.

Hands Hands and More Hands

Last year I posted something about a women's Latin hand styling called 'holding the egg.' Essentially, you pretend like you are holding said object gently between your thumb and middle finger, all while slowly rotating your wrist and moving your arm up and down. Oh, and while the other other arm/hand is doing the opposite. Gracefully. All at once. When I first started practicing I felt like I was doing that rub your stomach while patting your head thing.

I sought out Latin stylings because in general I don't like the ballroom ones. Nothing wrong with them, just not for me. This year I want to expand, so I started with a review of the Latin egg.



I also looked at belly dancing hand motions, which are remarkably similar, albeit a little more fluid.


  Then I found flamenco. I love love LOVE these stylings. They too remind me of both Latin and belly dancing, perhaps a bit more complicated.




What really blew me away was when I looked at Balinese hand movements, which I'd  never paid that much attention to because the head movements are so interesting. But look at the hands! They have that same, middle finger first, slowly undulating turn.

To me, this style is very feminine, artistic, and empowering. I like the fact that it seems to be cross cultural. And it's ancient, so perhaps some part of me is reaching way back there to touch the fingers of a long lost sister. Shiver.  

Welcome to 2013

Well dance friends, its New Year’s Day and I hope you’re not nursing too bad a hangover after last night’s bacchanalia. We had a grand time dancing and dining the last hours of 2012 away at Starlight Ballroom last night. As the champagne toasts finished up and the last strains of Auld Lang Syne died away, the evening left me thinking back to the year that was and all that happened.

In 2012 we decided not to go on any dance trips. We’d hoped to make the trip to Chicago for Halloween, but jobs and circumstance conspired and we decided to spend the holiday in Indy dancing with Indy Dancers, Brickyard Boogie Dancers, and Indy Singles. We started Tango lessons and learned some Swango moves to add to our West Coast Swing. We made some great friends in 2012 and met some great dancers, people who have made dancing even more fun.

What does 2013 hold for us? More Tango and Swango, that’s for certain. We’re also contemplating travelling for some lessons during the year, but we’ll have to wait to see how those pan out. Mostly we’ve made a pact to focus on developing our style to play to our strengths and minimize our weaknesses and, as always, having fun and writing about it here!

Happy New Year

This year Gary and I attended a New Year's Eve bash thrown by the Starlite Ballroom here in Indy, a mere ten minutes from our home, always nice but especially so when the event lasts until after midnight. The food was good, the exhibitions fun to watch, but the best part was being with good friends and of course the love of my life.

I hope you all find something this year that makes you as happy as dancing has made us.

Happy New Year!!!