| Two weeks in New York - frankly that's not nearly enough: I WANT TO
FLY BACK THERE! The only reason that I did not go dancing each night was
that I really needed to sleep some times. Yes, I had heard before that
you have the possibility to choose from many swing clubs each night of
the week and all of the clubs have live music. But it's just so difficult
to believe before you see it yourself. Well, I went, saw and now I believe
:)
First impression of New York - it's huge! Seven million inhabitants.
I spent most of my time on Manhattan which is really crowded. Skyscrapers,
neon lights, people people people, cars, noise, subway... And actually
people were really nice to me, so you can forget that myth about rude new
yorkers. Contrary to what all travel guide books say: nobody even tried
to rob, mug or rape me, so if you just look where you are going, you'll
be just fine. |
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Of course I had to see some tourist attractions: Empire
State Building (I could feel the height in my stomach), Statue of Liberty
(yes, I did climb all the way up to the crown, stupid me), Ellis
Island (really worth visiting, helps you get some perspective on a
whole lot of things), St. Patrick's Cathedral, Museum of Natural History,
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, Times Square and so on. Well,
walking for two weeks up and down that island really proves the fact that
you DO need two pairs of good walking shoes on each trip abroad.
Clubs
The first week I went to Swing 46 and Supper Club. Swing 46 was a nice
place with two rooms, first one for those who wanted to have dinner and/or
a drink and the second one for dancers. George G and his band of 12 men
or so were playing great swing music and the floor was filled with skilled
dancers. I didn't have much time to sit down but danced all night through.
I got quite many surprised looks when I told them that I came from Finland.
And it was quite funny that many of them hadn't heard about the Lindy Hop
World Championships at all. Well, later on I learned a bit more: how many
dance camps, competitions, clubs you have to choose from in NY and nearby;
and what many people thought about WLHC.
Supper Club was amazing. The cover charge was amazing too, 20 USD.
But for that you saw four or more dance numbers and two very good artists.
And the place itself was beautiful, just what I could imagine clubs were
like before. The sofas were covered with red velvet and the walls were
blue. On the sides of the stages there were blue velvet curtains, and the
audience had tables on two floors and of course from both of them you could
see the stage and the dance floor in front of it.
One performance was Lindy Hop. Though they perhaps aimed the show more
to non dancers, because they concentrated on big lines and big movements
with their hands and it looked like Savoy Style without bounce. Hmmmm.
But they were professional performers, they could perform and smile and
there was no hesitation anywhere.
I liked the two tap dancers in tails better, I've never seen anything
like that live. And then there was the number were ladies had not so much
to wear and loads of feathers. Actually they were the same girls as in
the Lindy number, but this kind of dancing suited them much better - they
really were dancers. And I must admit that I couldn' t use those feathers
like that without a whole lot of practice. After the show people could
go and dance - nice to travel all the way from Finland to New York and
to get applause from the people sitting around :)
Weekend in Stamford, Connecticut
Saturday:
Lessons
On Saturday morning with train to Stamford for about an hour and then
with taxi to the Sheraton Hotel. Actually Paulette Brockington had arranged
a hotel package for those taking part in the dance camp, but 160 USD for
a night per person was way over my budget. Instead I stayed at a motor
inn which was much cheaper. The dance camp took place at the hotel which
meant also that there were no dressing rooms. OK, I changed my clothes
at the restroom - that wasn't the first time I've done that. There was
a dance floor but for that amount of pupils it was too small and some of
us had to dance on the carpet. There were three classes to choose from
and I decided to start with Sylvia Sykes "Dean Collins" -style because
I had already noticed during those first days that so many did that Hollywood
style. It looks great but in order to make it look great you really have
to work on it. I started as a follower but got tired of that soon and switched
to being a leader - that was a challenge! Well, life has to have challenges
in my opinion. Girls were nice and we worked out together those difficult
figures. Actually I don't really remember that any men (you know, when
we change partners) ever have asked my opinion or wanted to solve this
kind of problems with me on dance camps before... As a leader I really
felt that we were getting somewhere.
Next I took Simon Selmon's "dips and tricks" because it seemed like
the advanced group. He taught quite many lifts and dips and his dance
partner Kate Keller assisted. The level among the
pupils was quite varied while one or two leaders really couldn't do a basic
Lindy Turn (or Swing Out if you prefer this name) and I wasn't quite sure
which way I would end up on the floor after the lift... and then there
were those who learned the figures just like that. Kate had injured her
back a while ago, so I got to show a dip with lots of spinning and turning
with Simon too. The other dancers were so nice, complementing me after
the lesson. Because of Kate's injury Simon also asked me to dance some
of the figures in front of the camera for the camp video and to teach on
Sunday the Blues lesson with him. Well, I was flattered and agreed of course.
The last lesson of the day I chose to do Beginners/Intermediate Savoy
Style (yes, that's the style that all the Finns dance) as a leader. Sing
Lim from Singapore was teaching with an assistant. The lesson was difficult
and I had a hard time trying to find out how the different figures should
be led. Well, unlike some of the men I at least knew how to lead the basic
figures, so the lesson must have been extra difficult for the other leaders.
American Lindy Hop Championships:
Then I hurried to the motor inn with all the luggage and had an Indian
lunch - big mistake, because I couldn't eat so spicy food... Well, travel
and learn. The competitions started at 3 pm (half an hour late) and there
were quite many divisions. The level was real high even in Jack & Jill,
where you don't know beforehand who you will be dancing with. Great improvisation,
footwork, partnering and music interpretation. There were a couple of competitors
who really had no idea of phrasing and danced happily through the whole
tune... it was easy to compare couples when it came to music interpretation
and for me those who didn't care about the song were just boring to see.
Even though those couples could have e.g. excellent aerials, there just
was something essential missing.
There was lots of general dancing between the divisions and I danced
until 11 pm. Yes, only, because the night before at the Supper Club was
quite long (just three hours of sleep) and I found myself sitting on a
chair and sleeping. But I saw two guys dancing together for fun and they
danced with a style that had some hip hop mixed with Lindy - they were
just so great that I had to hold on to my jaw to keep my mouth closed.
I
want to dance like that too!!!
Sunday:
Lessons:
Lessons started at 9 am (can you believe that?) even though most of
the people had stayed up all night long. I started with "Lindy on a Hip
Hop tip". After 45 minutes I switched class (there's always the first time
for everything) because the lesson wasn't getting anywhere. "Intermediate
Savoy Style" people were learning difficult stuff real fast in the other
room... guess I made the wrong choice. Next hour and 15 minutes was "African
Style" by Mama Yeye - she was good. She got the whole class working real
hard and singing too! We had a real good time and we learned to do the
movements and we even remembered something when we left the room - and
that's just what she wanted. Actually I must say that her attitude towards
teaching is something that some of the workshop's teachers need to take
into serious consideration. These dancers paid a lot of money for the weekend
and I guess that most of them wanted to learn something too. So, I think
it's not too much asked if the teacher plans the lesson in advance, shows
up at the right time, is awake and able to dance what he/she expects the
pupils to learn. And if it happens so that the level of the class ain't
something the teacher expected - then the teacher needs to change the plans.
This is basics for a teacher, isn't it? And the workshop's teachers were
famous, teaching everywhere...
And then there was my moment in "spotlight": Simon's Blues lesson and
me helping him teach it. The whole room full of people learned to move
slowly together and the lesson was hot with all those 'three minute romances'.
After lead and follow and other things where somewhat covered we also did
some dips and lifts. Since we had agreed earlier that I am helping Simon
I could now for the first time ask him to tell the class some things from
my point of view too. The dancers were happy with the lesson and everybody
had a lunch break before the competitions would start.
American Lindy Hop Championships:
The Blues division was one of the first ones to be competed, so we
got ready. Four couples and each one would dance to their own music alone.
Simon and I were the last couple to go on the floor so we got to see the
others dance first. One couple did actually slow Lindy. They were OK, but
it wasn't Blues. The couple before us (Bill Millan & Laura Shigemitsu)
was very good and the girl, Laura, was great. She really was a Dancer with
capital "D" and so sensual that you can't imagine it if you weren't there.
Usually in a competition I don't look at the others and now I just thought:
"Taina, you'll just have to dance better than that... if
you can." And usually in a competition I am not nervous, but to
dance after her and in front of this audience which was full of all those
great Dancers I had seen compete and dance social before... those people
would know if I am good or not and no amount of smiling and performing
would change that fact.
We started from the opposite ends of the floor and I danced alone to
the middle of the floor, turned away from the audience and held the position.
I kept my eyes fixed on the "EXIT" sign - nothing else was fixed in me
because my muscles were shaking so badly. Breathing and trying to relax
didn't really make any difference and I just kept wondering if Simon was
dancing towards me or not; I couldn't hear a thing. Well, after a long
time of shaking he showed up behind me (thank God) and we started to dance
together. Lots of dips and some lifts, spinning, postures, moving
slooowly and really fast. Simon is an excellent leader and I found
myself in some positions that I didn't know I was able to do. Somewhere
in the middle of all this I thought that it's so quiet in the audience,
this must look awful. But when we got back to the competitors' side of
the floor Laura was sitting there with one other competitor and they told
us that it was great dancing and that they hadn't known one could dance
like that. Since it was coming from a dancer I looked up to, I was of course
pleased. I asked why the audience was so quiet when we danced and they
said that it was that kind of amazed silence, which no-one wanted to break,
and that people were holding on to their seats. Aaaand: men were just looking
at me and dribbling...
Well, I was relieved to hear all that! Since Simon lives in England
and I live in Finland we really hadn't practiced. And when you are dancing
alone there is a huge possibility that you end up looking extremely silly
if you can't dance. I got a whole lot of compliments during the following
week from people who had seen the competition and I felt like walking in
the air.
The results came later
in the evening and to our surprise we actually won!
There were many other divisions too. In the American showcase finals
you could see two very good couples Steve Bailey & Carla Heiney Maryland/
Pennsylvania and Erik Robison &
Sylvia Robison from California. The reason
why I would have placed Erik and Sylvia first was that their dancing had
different components in it: dancing, open figures and so on. But I must
agree that these two couples were extremely close to each other.
In the Cabaret division the winner was "Street hop" from Massachusetts
which combined Street Dance with Lindy Hop. The group was quite large (I
didn't count but at least 7 couples) and they were great. They really danced
with all their heart and they were very good in both Street and Lindy,
so not just imitating one of these dances. This was so nice to see because
usually when you see e.g. ballroom/latin dancers perform something else
than ballroom or latin they make just a poor copy of that dance :(
(Burn the Floor is one example of this.)
"Minnie's Moochers" from Ithaca,
NY had a wonderful routine to a slow swing tune. The group consists
of four couples and most of them look younger than 15. They had choreographed
it by themselves and it had difficult formation parts (like the "zipper"
which closed and opened at the same time) and tricky footwork which they
did as one. AND each one of them was a real Dancer! But the best thing
about it was the music interpretation: for example there was piano in the
tune and they interpreted it... This was one of those many numbers after
which the audience just had to get on their feet. I was amazed and ashamed:
those formations that I have been in were not even from the same planet.
There was one thing in these competitions that I didn't like and it
was the bad use of aerials and airsteps. By this I mean that if you otherwise
have very good dancers (the level is like the highest group in Herräng
for example and then some) why do you also do aerials which end up falling
down on the floor? The couples in the divisions where you dance just with
your partner had used their brain and did only aerials which succeeded
well and were polished till the end. But in the team division and the cabaret
division there were just too many girls on their knees! They got up real
fast and the numbers continued but you could see that they just hadn't
practiced enough. My point is: you show what you CAN do and practise the
other things somewhere else - and aerials really are not a thing to play
with.
Latter week in New York
I traveled back to New York on Monday morning by train again. After
leaving the luggage at the railway station I walked a lot in the southern
part of Manhattan because it was such a nice sunny day - actually it rained
only one day or so during the whole trip and I knew that at the same time
in Finland it would be much colder and rainy.
In the evening I took the subway to the dance studio where they had
promised a place to sleep for free. For a low budget traveler this was
a very good offer. But... after a couple of nights I saw the huge cockroaches
(a lot of them) and there was also mice there. And the boiler broke in
the middle of the night. So after cleaning all the water off the floor
I was getting enough of traveling cheap. Fortunately I had a possibility
to move. Next day I packed my backs and moved my things to the apartment
of this great dancer called Anthony I met at the ALHC.
But lets go back in time to Monday evening. I wanted to take a look
of Argentine Tango also, because I have been dancing it a bit this autumn.
I had already in Finland chosen a place via internet. Actually you could
find too much information about anything in New York through the internet:
how and when to travel in NY, sights and museums, walking trips, musicals,
theaters, shopping, all kinds of dancing... so this was one of the things
I planned beforehand. The place was called Dance Manhattan, which is a
dance school. It was situated on the fifth floor and I was sure that I
was in the wrong place when I saw the fancy lobby. The floor was packed
with very good dancers and most of them did interpretate the music! In
Argentine Tango in Finland it is still rare that the dancers could interpretate
the music. Actually there where surprisingly many men that had visited
Finland and they wanted to know about Argentine Tango and finnish Tango
in Finland.
The rest of the week went by so fast: seeing the sights and dancing.
Anthony asked me what I think about NY and I answered that it's great but
not very beautiful. Stupid me. I heard about that all week through
when he took me from one lovely place to another :) So, I hereby state
that New York has many faces and one of them is very beautiful!
The World Championships
So the competition was held at the Supper Club, which was very 40's
and therefore more than a suitable place for a Lindy Hop World Championships.
But the tickets were really expensive (60 USD) which did limit the number
of people coming to watch the competition - I actually heard many persons
saying that they were not going to spend that amount of money. The competition
started behind schedule, but the skills of the dancers compensated that
just fine when the competition started. The level was higher and wider
than before - now you could easily see those couples who were from countries
that don't have a Lindy Hop culture. Their dancing was artificial looking
- choreographies that had just something to do with Lindy. USA, Germany
and Sweden were the strongest by far. So it was quite easy to see which
couples would make it to the finals - although I would have placed Steve
Bailey and Carla Heiney from USA to the finals instead of Elvis Bleret,
Carole Rion from Belgium. After all this was a Lindy Hop competition, not
Rock'n'Roll or aerobics.
The Swiss couple Stephan Joller and Erika Schreiber had made quite
a lot of improvement since the last time I had seen them. Their dancing
was more together and their skills were more in the same level with each
other. I remember a very nice open figure which showed the use of body.
The Robisons should have placed second or even first. The movement
of the couple was sooo smooth both inside the couple and with the floor.
You could just see that they have danced A LOT together - beautiful!
And then we have the German couple: Marcus Koch and Barbel Kaufer.
I was just so happy to see them dance a perfect round - usually in a competition
there happens some small errors in their dancing. But this was perfect:
the figures, music interpretations, the performing and it also had humor
in it, which is rare for Marcus & Barbel. So they were very close in
my opinion to Robisons. Maybe they should have won because of their variety.
The audience was standing and cheering and applauding - great atmosphere!
Jonas Nermyr and Elin Stierna from Sweden
should have been number 7 in the finals. They just were not good enough
dancers. They had a choreography and I don't remember much change in it
to the music. And the girls performing was frankly quite awful.
Fredrik Åberg & Elinor Karlsson
had a choreography too, although they changed it a bit and interpreted
the music. It was OK but not better than Koch & Kaufer and Robisons.
Well, all in all a great competition. I usually don't agree with the
judges, so this is nothing new. Although now the judges should have known
what they were doing: Helena Norbelie (World Champion 1997), Isabella Thede
(silver medalist in 1995), Dominic deCoster (has been dancing and judging
for years), Paul Grecki (?) (at least teaches Lindy), Rob van Haren (great
teacher and dancer)... (I can't find the list of judges anywhere, nor the
presentations of them, sorry). Anyway I hope that most of us ain't dancing
for the judges in any competition, but for each other and the audience.
So all you Lindy Hoppers, get on the floor and dance, dance, dance all
you can; the level is getting higher!
The End |
