Post about swing dancing, jitterbug, Lindy hop, Balboa, Collegiate Shag and music, Big Band, Jazz Swing, Hot Jazz, Western Swing, Jump Blues
~ A Brief Interview with Lindy Legend Frankie Manning ~ By Tam Francis For anyone of you longhairs who don’t know who Frankie Manning is, just keep swinging and you soon will. Frankie Manning is credited as the man who invented air-steps (aerials) done in time with the music while doing the lindy hop, as […more…]
~ Meet Jimmy Valentine the Extraordinary One-Legged Lindy Hopper ~ by Peter Loggins edited by Tam Francis About Peter Loggins Peter is a dancer and dance historian who I had the very great pleasure of working with for my magazine Swivel: Vintage Living, and also the good fortune to take many lessons from. He’s collected […more…]
~ How do you handle Dancing Fools: Read this Q & A ~ by Tam Francis Over the years I’ve taught dance, jitterbugged, collected vintage and published my (out of print) magazine, Swivel:Vintage Living, and have been asked many questions about these subjects. Below are some of the most interesting and funny of the bunch. Let […more…]
~ Fred Kelly: Tony Winner, World Class Choreographer and Story Teller ~ Written by Steve Conrad with edits by Tam Francis The multi-talented dance legend spoke about the history of the Lindy Hop, the creation of the Big Apple to the invention of the Cha Cha Cha and performing with his brother Gene. A few […more…]
~ Meet Django Reinhardt: The Gypsy Jazz Man ~ by the late Jacob Faust edited by Tam Francis Django Reinhardt, an in-depth biography on the late jazz guitarist virtuoso, written by his good friend and colleague Charles Delanunay, (published by Da Capo Press, London 1982). If ever there was a worthy account of this fascinating […more…]
~ The Short Story of The Shim Sham ~ by Harri Heinila This is a reblog from a wonderful site of the history of Jazz Dance. Harri Heinila has graciously agreed to let me share this with you on my site. The Shim Sham is one of my favorite line dances the I learned from Frankie […more…]
~Interview with Dean Mora: 1920’s 1930’s Preservationist Band Leader~ I had the pleasure of interviewing Dean Mora when publishing my magazine Swivel:Vintage Living. I have transcribed and updated this interview to share with a new audience of vintage enthusiasts. He is still one of my favorite working band leaders and is distinctive in his passion […more…]
Do You Know These Rules For Successful Dancing? Although most of this list seems commensensical, your dance instructors is often too busy helping you coordinate your feet and arms to be picky about dance floor etiquette. Plus, they want you to come back for more lessons and newbie dancers have either very fragile or very huge egos. […more…]