Swingtime with the Ulster Orchestra

Two weeks tonight, Saturday 25th January, the Ulster Orchestra will be playing a host of swingin' tunes in the Waterfront Hall, Belfast, ranging from 1920s Big Band through to the 1960s Rat Pack eras... and I have two tickets to give away!

The winner will be announced the evening of Monday 20th and all you have to do is like and share this post on the Swing Slate's Facebook page or comment below.

And if you don't want to risk missing out, you can buy tickets from the following link: https://www.ulsterorchestra.org.uk/whats-on/swingtime!

Good Luck!

Frankie Manning Foundation Ambassador Scholarships 2018

The aim of the Frankie Manning Foundation is to fulfil Frankie's dream of spreading the joy of Lindy hop around the globe.

The tireless passion of the FMF to realise this dream is occasionally underappreciated (and I hope to soon write an article specifically about them!) but one of the key ways in which the FMF have ensured that their labours bear fruit is by awarding scholarships to dancers from across the world.

These dancers are not only people who the FMF believe share Frankie's vision but they are also dancers who represent communities the FMF believe would benefit from extra support and who can serve as ambassadors for Lindy hop within their own local communities as well as within the global swing family.

As such, the FMF plays a crucial role by ensuring that anyone can be reached by Lindy hop and also by ensuring that Lindy hop is kept within reach of its roots.

Accordingly, these scholarships especially target those from African-American communities throughout the USA (who are chronically under-represented despite the celebrated origins of Lindy hop), those from geographical areas outside the USA where Lindy hop is in its early stages, and dancers who have participated in FMF youth programs.

As well as the honour of receiving such an accolade, ambassadors are awarded fully-paid scholarships to attend one of the world's leading dance camps (Herräng Dance Camp, LindyFest, Beantown Camp, ILHC, Swing Out New Hampshire) and are welcomed into a supportive community of alumni that offers as much help and wisdom as the dance camp itself.

But something that is often overlooked is that anyone can apply to be considered!

Applications for the 2018 Scholarship Programme opened last month and shall close on the 31st December 2017 so there is plenty of time to apply, and as someone who feels incredibly chuffed to have been awarded an Ambassador Scholarship in 2015 I cannot emphasise enough what an incredible experience it was and continues to be.

As I have mentioned, the FMF are keen to support dancers from some communities in particular but they welcome all applications and will consider each on its own merit, so for further information visit the Frankie Manning Foundation website.

A one, and a two, and you know what to do...

Birmingham Bounce 2017

After waiting for what seemed like an age for it to arrive, the inaugural Birmingham Bounce has already come and gone.

For me it very nearly didn't happen at all, courtesy of delayed flights and lost, then found but damaged luggage, so I eventually arrived on the Saturday afternoon a tad knackered but raring to go.

Sadly, however, that meant I missed two highlights - the classes by Tatiana Udry, and seeing Swing Belfast's own Anna kicking ass in Friday night's competitions: coming second in the strictly finals with James, and third in the jack & jill.

I'm sorry not to have been there cheering Anna and James on but, just as I had mentioned before, anyone representing Belfast was not shy of support as I think we ended up taking about 35 people to Birmingham, and to say I am not also immensely proud of that in and of itself would be an understatement.

I don't think I've ever been to an event with more than three others from Belfast, so to more than decuple* that number (*yes, it's a new word to me also) was a glorious thing. But quantity isn't much without quality and from the many accounts I heard it sounded like everyone represented Swing Belfast with distinction.

In fact, when I got chatting to Paul on the Sunday afternoon, he told me that a number of people had even described the Belfast dancers as being "aggressively friendly", so it's clear to me that the enthusiasm and warmth that I fell in love with in our nascent scene is also an exportable quality!

Having such safety in numbers I think also proved to be a brilliant way for some of our newer dancers to experience their first ever big event and as I'm sure all of them would agree, the weekend itself was a lot of fun and a fantastic introduction to Lindy hop outside Belfast.

The weekend's teachers were Swing Express' own Paul & Sarah Neary and Scott Cupit & Jenny Thomas with Felix Berghäll rather enviably teaming up with both Tatiana Udry and Katja Završnik (probably my two favourite follows on the planet) for their partnered workshops, and between what I experienced and what I heard, it seems that the classes all went down a treat.

As I said, I missed Tatiana's classes with Felix but I was determined to make up for it somehow and decided that the Saturday night social was where to do it. Not only was I going to try to make up for the dancing I had missed that morning, and indeed the night before, but I was also going to attempt to compensate for missing out on a class with Tatiana by asking her for a dance.

I've commented before how my confidence escapes me when approaching my favourite top tier dancers and as the Birmingham Bounce was my first weekender in over a year, it's safe to say that I was feeling distinctly chutzpah-lite. But the second I rediscovered some testicular fortitude and actually approached Tatiana it turned out, unsurprisingly, that she was absolutely lovely and every bit as spectacular to dance with as to watch.

My erstwhile reticence was then completely shown up by some of the newer Belfast leads (some with less than a year of classes under their belts) who walked straight up to Tatiana and the rest weekend's pros and asked one or all of them for a dance: Brett, Curtis, Luke and Mark and a probably a few more didn't even blink, and I believe a few of our follows did the same!

And then when the inevitable jam circle kicked off, the Belfast crowd once again showed up and made us proud with about a third of the dancers who took the floor hailing from our scene.

Furthermore, a special mention must also go to Mark and Kristina who, despite being one of our newer couples, waited out the regular jam cool as you like and then bounced into the middle of the action as the fabulous Basin Street Brawlers really started to crank up the BPM.

All in all, it was a really fun weekend of dancing that I hope whetted the collective appetites of the 30-odd Belfast dancers for whom this was their first big event. A big thanks must go to Paul & Sarah and Swing Express for putting on a brilliant inaugural Birmingham Bounce (as well as an apology for taking so long to finally write this up but I'm using wedding prep as my excuse!) and I'm sure we're all looking forward to our next trip to Brum!

competition giveaway - 'Swing Dance' by Scott Cupit

In a proud first for this blog I have been given three copies of Scott Cupit's book Swing Dance to give away!

I'm looking forward to getting stuck into my own copy as soon as it arrives but if you fancy one for yourself then all you have to do is head over to the Swing Slate's Facebook page, like it, and share the competition image!

The book is released on Thursday 17th September and this competition shall run until midnight on the following Thursday (24th); which gives me a week to come up with a novel way for selecting the three winners...

And in the mean time, here is what the book's publishers have to say about it:

With all things vintage enjoying a boom worldwide, swing dancing has well and truly swung back into fashion. From vintage festivals and tea dances to weekend socials and hundreds of weekly classes held around the world, multiple forms of the dance that was created in late 1920s Harlem by Frankie Manning are growing ever more popular.

Swing Dance explores the vibrant contemporary swing dance scene, looking at the different dance styles and the associated culture, community and fashion. Illustrated with vintage and contemporary photography, as well as specially commissioned step-by-step guides, it provides everything you need to know, whether you fancy kicking up your heels in the Charleston or mastering the Lindy Hop ‘swing out’.

The four major dance styles are covered – Charleston, Collegiate Shag, Balboa and Lindy Hop, including the Strolls, which are guaranteed to fill the dance floor. Each chapter begins with an overview of the fascinating evolution of the dance style; ‘Get the Look’ examines the fashions for guys and girls, including hair and make-up, and a clothing, shoes and accessories checklist; while ‘The Music’ suggests the top ten tunes to practise to. Then follows a breakdown of the basic step patterns upon which the dance is built, and a guide to some of the key moves. There are also insider tips from old-timers and today’s leading swing dancers as well as fun, easy-to-follow page-embedded video demonstrations produced exclusively for the book and accessible via scannable QR codes.

Good luck!