How to Audition for Workshop Tracks

So, this weekend the Tucson crowd lindy bombed The Loft Cinema Farmer's Market, an opportunity provided by the lovely and talented Ms. Katy Rullman. While at said event, I mentioned to a particular brother Ford(of Tucson's famous Brother Ford Twin Duo) that it had been over a year since posting my last article. He told me to write a How-To blog on auditioning for tracks at workshops. Of course, I agreed to such a feat. We are all going to 505 Stomp soon and need to be ready for track auditions, so why not?.

My next course of action: consult Professor Google on "How to Audition for Tracks at Lindy Hop Events". I found that  Rebecca Brightly's "6 Tips to Ace Your Levels Audition" , beautifully sums up most of what I would have recommended to said brother Ford. Although a bit long winded and internet "flamy", the comments were also fun to read and worth a gander.

Since Brightly's article is so articulate I won't bore you by reemphasizing her words, but rather highlight tips that I thought were glossed over or not included at all.

So, stash those egos aside and add these to your arsenal for level auditions (or in some cases level checks):

1) Put Yourself Out There!

Rebecca touches on this in her statement about "befriending the judges". Meh to the befriending judges. More important, be friendly to everyone around you and dance your little butt off. Lindy hop is a social dance, so be cordial and you'll find that even the most shy people will open up to you. Gosh, I know this a tough one, being a shy person myself. Take a deep breath and just do it.

Example: What? They need more people to rotate through everyone? Volunteer! Maybe, even be the first there. You're ready, enthusiastic, and dammit you have something to contribute to this workshop regardless of the level you place in. This also shows the judges you have confidence, which might make the different between a level placement if they are on the fence as to where to put you.

People often remember shitty attitude, but they also remember good attitudes.

2) Keep it Clean.

Improving basics, demonstrating basics, doing your basics with grace and decorum, or down right jankiness...these are concerns for any dancer worth their salt. Same goes for the judges. I don't mean clean as in keeping it socially acceptable (dear God, please keep it clean), I mean keep it clean as in do the crap that you know how to do well.

That is pretty much my philosophy in competitions as well. Keep it simple and clean. Don't try fancy crap just to do fancy crap. This concept makes those golden glorious moments of musicality and fancy shmancy stuff stand out even more...if it is surrounded by clean basics.

3)  Always Dance WITH Your Partner.

Be in the moment. It's just you and your partner for that one song. Show the judges that you are making those moments count. That's leading and following right? In line with "don't be an asshole", whether it is a shitty dance or not, you can still make it a memorable experience for your partner by just having plain old fun. Here is a checklist for this: facial expression, body language, and catch their eyes occasionally to let them know you are with them.

I must remember this one myself, because it is crappy music that always get me- not the level of my partner. My partner could have two left feet, but I will still enjoy dancing with them if the song is great. It's time for me to think about this even when the music is shitty, 'cause chances are it isn't my partners fault that drivel is coming through the speakers or the fact that damn tenor sax player is twenty cents flat. In fact, my partner might really enjoy this drivel and far be it for me to rain on their parade.

This is always a recipe for a good time. If anything, the judges will see two people having a good time. 

4) Turn Lead into Gold

Be a dance alchemist. The best leads turn my stupid mistakes into gold and then it doesn't even feel like a mistake. Follows can also turn bad situations into awesomeness and jaunty fun. (Yeah, I just wanted to use the word jaunty.)

Anyways, the most recent and well known example of this is Michael Sequin and Frida Segerdahl at the Lone Star Championships invitational J n' J. Yeah, they didn't connect perfectly, but BOTH of them didn't let it ruin their dance. Let's face it, Frida is the queen of lindy and is admired far and wide as an already established master dance alchemist.

Some people doubt Michael Sequin's skills as a dancer and the awesomeness of this dance(check out some of the comments on on this reddit thread to see some of these contentions.) I respectfully disagree with internet flamy doubters on this matter, so they can shut it.

Michael Sequin, you have clearly put points into your dance alchemy skills. Props and congrats on your big win.


5) Solo dancing

Okay, if you have danced for a bit, chances are you have heard this soap box topic before. It's true: learning to dance by yourself does improve your partner dancing. Howard's two cents are "especially solo charleston, because you do charleston movement in lindy hop all the time". What? Still don't believe us? Well, here's the number one reason(among many) on my list--body awareness so that you can develop the ability to adapt to new movement. Gosh, that can help with things on Brightly's list, like lines and matching your partner.

Didn't make the level you were hoping for? As an experiment, try working on your solo v-jazz and charleston before your audition. Hot damn, why don't you try taking a tap class? Or African dance class? Something! Go on, you won't die trying to learn it.

Stick a fork in me, I'm done. Go have some fun and dance your butt off.

Swing out and Prosper!

-G

Passing the torch and Rocky Mountain Balboa Blow Out 2012

Mind blown, as expected. My mind is always blown after attending a balboa event. I guess that sort of thing happens when you have only attended a few bal events and those few are spread out by years. Okay, so, should you spend the time and money to attend this event in the future? The answer is yes and here is the list of reasons why:

1)      A very well thought out and organized event (Cheers to Sheri this year as the event manager)

2)      Top rate instructors (Mickey Fortanasce, Kelly Arsenault, David Rehm, Bobby White, Kate Hedin, Laura Keat, Jeremy Otth, Heather Ballew, Sylvia Sykes, Denise Phelan, Nick Williams, Shana Worel and Jason Swihart)

3)      Great band

4)      Beautiful dance hall, floor

5)      Inspiring dancers travel this event

6)      Class tracks- kudos for them including a beginning track for advanced dancers(a great way to get non bal dancers to a bal event)

7)      Lunch time discussion

I know that some people might complain about number six, but you know what, tracks are fantastic. They are great for the teachers and student alike because it cuts down on the amount of complaints. This year, for the first time (apparently), they did a level “check” instead of an audition. Basically, if your technique was not up to par in the track that you placed yourself in, they would ask you to move. Instructors don’t place you in a lower level to be mean, they do it because it cuts down your frustration and of those you might partner with. You should trust the instructors; they have many more years of experience as teachers and dancers than you probably do. This IS their job afterall.

Speaking of professionals and our dance culture- I am always impressed with the passion and knowledge that these instructors have for our dance, whether that is lindy hop, balboa or whatever.  These are intelligent people that really, pardon the vernacular, know their shit.  The professional instructors for our dance culture are doing their best to pass on the knowledge so that we, as dancers, can understand our heritage and honor that heritage.  

I see many new dancers get a brief taste of our culture and really not understand anything about it, nor do they seek it. It’s reflected in their attitudes and their dancing skills. It makes my heart weep thinking about it. So, bless the instructors at this event for doing that.  It’s not like there is a class you can take on it, you just need be around to absorb the information. If you have no idea what the hell I am talking about, go and do some research about the history of our dance. Right now. Serious, do it.

I have to say, that as far as learning about our cultural heritage, I am glad that it is coming from the instructors, real dancers that are active in our community, and not from a stuffy professor that has only observed our culture from an “outsider’s” perspective (ha, that is as soap boxy as I am going to get about the evils of academia).  

I was honored to see Denise Phelan and Sylvia Sykes pay homage to Hal Takier(an original balboa dancer) at the Saturday night dance. While talking about Hal, Denise could barely hold it together, she considered him family. It was touching to see and even though I am not as educated on Bal history, I started to get misty eyed myself. There, at this event, were people who knew and cared about the history of balboa and were telling awesome stories about the old timers.

Now Sylvia and Denise are filling the old timer shoes now and are beautifully taking up the torch (and have been for quite awhile now),  passing along the knowledge they have acquired over the years. There was a particular moment during Sylvia’s talk that really struck me (pardon me, this is a bit paraphrased): –“If the old timers were ever to come back, I want them to still be able to recognize the dance” and “that it was important that we preserve the spirit of the dance itself”. That could spark a whole other conversation, but let’s save that for later.

Sylvia and Denise also articulated that balboa was not a dance where you can outwardly see the “coolness” of it. The best part of balboa is interplay between you and your partner; it is all about how it feels. That being said, they also pointed out that if you can do your basics really fucking well it would be impressive, even to non dancers (then Sylvia proceeded to tell us that she worked on it for thirty years). Well, of course crappy basics are boring to watch, especially for an outsider.

Anyway, in the spirit of Sylvia’s soap boxy rants (Hey, her words, not mine) keep the spirit of balboa going and take the time to really understand it- oh, be floaty J

I normally end my blogs with “Swing out and prosper”, but I think it would be appropriate to say in this case:

Toss out and prosper

G

PS I was damn inspired by all of the wonderful dancers at this event and I can’t wait to get out on the bal floor and dance again! 

Recipe for Dance Badassery 2012

Greetings 2012!

New Year resolutions you ask? Yes! Be more consistent with the blog? Check. Start a weekly venue? Check. Make weekly swing dance lessons available? Check. Choreograph more? Check.

So, more on that weekly venue. Warehouse Stomp is going weekly and moving to Friday nights! Be sure to join us every week for Tucson's FIRST weekly venue (not counting Swing Cats). I am hoping that our community will grow by having a stable place that is not university oriented. Not that I don't love the university, but at least the parking will be better. :)

So, as a courtesy to all dancers out there, let me give you a dance recipe that will help you improve your technique, moves, and get closer with the greater dance community.

Recipe for Badassery

Ingredients List:

• Love to dance
• Love for the music (one of the most important ingredients in my opinion)
• Social dance
• Positive perspective and fierceness 
• Lessons for technique
• Travel
• Youtube nerditude; know thy community!

Directions:

Sometimes the love for dance and the love for music is something that you develop. This comes with the investment of  and experience. This is where social dance comes in. Just do it. Do it a lot. Dance. Dance. Dance. There is no such thing as too much social dancing! Take lessons, privates, whatever, those are important to develop technique and whatnot...but it means NOTHING unless you apply it. So, get your butt out there and DANCE!

Traveling is very important. Dance life can get very stale unless you travel. Don't have a ton of money? Our neighbors up in Phoenix are a good place to start. They have dancing seven days a week, so take a road trip up there on occasion and visit them. Also, relatively speaking, Albuquerque and L.A. are not super far either- both driving distance. You can bet your butt that dancing in another city is different but refreshing experience. Save money by carpooling, couch surf at host houses, split hotel rooms, do whatever you need to be frugal. The moral of the story is that if you can leave the state for traveling and get to some of the bigger events- DO IT! 

So, maybe your are like, "What the fuck Gayl? I can't travel. I still don't have money for that crap! Not to mention lack of time to travel." Sure, I know. I have been there. I was a grad student, blah blah blah. Well, there are several options. Some events offer volunteer programs to help offset the cost. But let's face it, that doesn't always work out either, so.... here is where YouTube nerditude and know thy community comes in to play. First, any great lindy event worth their salt publishes their videos on YouTube. Such services allow those of us lacking in travel means to live vicariously through these videos. They inspire us to aspire to learn and there have been many videos that inspired me to attend such events. Learn about the greater community, learn the history, stay informed about current events in our culture! Tucson is a VERY small pond, so get out there and discover our rich culture.

Don't know what to search for? Well, check out lindy blogs and forums for ideas. My two main go to sites areYehoodi and Jerry's FB feed (Like Wander & Pondering -JSALMONTE). Jerry's blog is also linked on my page below. There is a whole world of lindy hop going on as your read this damn blog. That's the beauty of all this lindy mania... as a lindy hopper you share a love for dance and music with people from all over! Almost every city, no matter what country, if the town is a decent size there is a high probability that there is a lindy scene there.

Now for perspective and fierceness. Also long as your dancing is approached with the purpose of having fun, well you will be just fine. Check your ego at the door and just enjoy yourself. Nothing is more of a buzz kill then a snooty lindy hopper. That being said, be fierce about what you are learning. Ask respectful questions in class, get in touch with how you learn, you'll always have a better experience for it. Just remember, no matter what, there is always something to learn from any situation. 

So, get out there and try this recipe for Badassery.

Swing out and prosper!

-G

PS feel free to add anything that I missed!