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...