Move Across the River '08 - Part I

Tomorrow we're off on another dance excursion. This time it's not far - just to Cincinnati where we'll be attending Cincinnati Bop Club's Move Across the River '08. We're not members of Cinci Bop, what caught my attention was the chance to take lessons in some fairly obscure types of swing dance: The Shag, The Imperial Swing, and the Arkansas Street Swing.

It's a funny thing about the way dance developed after the 40's. Music got faster, fewer people danced, until (after the disco gluttony of the 70's) nearly all the dance halls closed their doors or were converted into some less savory second life. When you start to learn swing today you're taught that there are two types: East and West Coast and if you dig around long enough you'll eventually discover Lindy Hop. The thing is, in reality swing was as eclectic as the culture of the states of the union. In the southeast The Shag was the swing of choice while in the mid-south you had dances like the Arkansas Street Swing and the Imperial Swing (with roots in the St. Louis area).

Back near the beginning of this blog you'll remember we went to a bunch of Lindy Hop classes in Iowa. It was a great experience and I took home a lesson (in addition to a few ideas for steps). That lesson was this: Don't expect to learn a whole dance in a two day conference. You probably say 'duh' but yeah, some part of me expected to come home from Iowa knowing how to Lindy. I'm not going to Cincinnati with the same misconception! The hope is to steal a couple of Shag, Street Swing, and Imperial moves so that we can work them into our triple EC and our Lindy Hop.

Pictures and a report on the proceedings will be forthcoming Saturday evening - so stay tuned!