First off, I want to give a shout out to Josh, who I was finally able to talk to on the phone!! Josh is currently serving in Iraq, and although I try not to pry too much to find out what exactly he is doing, I do know that he is flying his Cobra and saving lives. I'd missed his call twice over the last few months, but this time I happened to be awake in the Tulsa airport at 5:45 am when I finally got to talk to him. It's a funny thing, trying to think of what to say when you don't have the chance to talk to someone often. I felt like I needed to ration my words and really only say what's important. It was a funny feeling.
Since my last post, I hosted my second annual summer party. About 50 people showed up to
swim, drink, play pool volleyball, grill out, and just plain enjoy themselves. I had a great time, and always hope that hosting parties allows others to do the same, and maybe meet some new people along the way :-)Because my trip to Thailand, fun as it was, wasn't as relaxing as a vacation should be, this weekend 7 friends and I are driving to the Florida panhandle to do a bit of dancing and a lot of beaching. I have been looking forward to it for weeks, and can't wait.
Sooo, in the Lindy Hop world, it seems that West Coast Swing is seen as the enemy. The Dark Side, the ...well you get the idea. I had never been westie dancing, so about a month ago I found out Alan was DJing, so I went out for a whirl. I had a good time, but it was definitely not my style. I heard Alan was supposed to be "the best of the westie DJs", so I decided not to go back unless Alan was DJing. Well, he was DJing again last week, so I went for my second time. There are a lot of similarities in WCS and Lindy hop, but the differences I think are what make me enjoy Lindy more. I like the Lindy demographic more as they're more my own age and personality. I also like Lindy because I feel a lot freer in my moves while WCS seemed more limited (perhaps because of the lines). It may have been however that I just don't know WCS well enough to have given it a fair chance. Who knows.
Speaking of giving a fair chance to other forms of dance, yesterday was my first class in an 8 week Argentine Tango series. Again, there is a huge difference in the tango vs swing movement, but I liked that a lot of the language was the same. Again, an older crowd in tango, but I signed up with Leandro, and then Alan also joined, so at least there are 2 people in the class I'll be happy to see on the rotation!
Work is treating me the same, I still enjoy what I do. I am currently working on 3 projects - 2 in Tulsa, OK and one in Neenah, WI. So if you don't see me out, that's probably where I am.
meanwhile, it's wedding season. That means if I am in town over a weekend, I am probably doing something for a wedding. I have been to countless wedding showers and bachelorette parties this summer, and still have 3 weddings to attend! phew! For Josh and Allison though, I'm excited to see them dance at their wedding since we've had some private lessons to prepare them for the big day. They've gotten awesome!! :-)
Lastly, Sam moved out this weekend, so now I am on a roommate hunt, but you guys all probably knew that. I just remember learning one time that for recognition of an ad, one has to see it like 5 times. So I do what I can.
1 comment:
If what I've seen happen in Houston is any indication, then the tango could quite easilt come to dominate your liking.
The Westies, they are not the Savoy heritage, and it definitely makes for a different feel. And god forbid you confuse whip with West Coast (what with them being identical as far as most lindy hoppers can tell, but don't tell that to the slowly dying-off crowd of whip people here). WC and lindy definitely feel different, with West Coast in feel much closer to salsa and such since lindy uses tension almost exclusively to transmit leads and energy, whereas lots of other dances use a greater mix of tension and compression and let the follow propel herself under her own power. (For example, in salsa you invite your follow to do a move, you don't propel her into a power move like a swingout. Ballroom, I am told, it almost entirely compression leads except some Latin dance stuff.)
And it's interesting that West Coast has an older crowd in Atlanta too, and I can certainly see why. Lindy is just not something you can do so consistently as an older person, it batters the body too much, relative to West Coast. It has a different rhythmic link to music, it doesn't have a canon of songs and song styles, it has a different basic (a sugar push-link step combo, apparently), and it kept the slottedness that lindy flees from despite a swingout being a slotted move. All things that cause a very, very different feel.
Aramis
Post a Comment