Swing dancing, Balboa, and Lindy Hop in Los Angeles and Orange County
These articles will be recycled on the front page belowed the featured article
One of the great things about swing dancing is that you can go to almost any major city in the U.S., Europe, and even Asia now, and go swing dancing and make instant friends. It is truly an amazing thing…
Almost every week, there are danceable bands that play outside at Downtown Disney. I will list “Downtown Disney” (which is outside the park and doesn’t require admission) separately from “Disney Fantasy Faire” (which is inside the park and requires admission) in…
Any veteran swing dancer can spot the “newbies” right away by some tell-tale signs. Avoid these bad habits and your dancing will look better immediately and more people will want to dance with you. Here are the top mistakes that…
This is a random video I found on YouTube from 2007 but it has a good assortment of aerials… Love the helicopter at about 5 minutes (towards the end).
The style of swing dancing we do in Southern California has been strongly influenced by great performers who danced in old movies. Here are my picks for the top ten vintage clips that have influenced swing dancing LA/OC the most.…
This clip features Balboa by Hal and Betty Takier.
This is a popular Orange County venue usually featuring DJ’d music, but they sometimes have live bands. If you want to go dancing in Orange County on a Wednesday night, this is the place to be. Plenty of partners available,…
Southern California has some great bands to swing dance to, from authentic 20’s and 30’s bands, to big bands, to jump blues and rockabilly bands. We are spoiled! Currently, it seems that 20’s/30’s Gypsy Jazz/Dixieland Jazz is all the rage…
Are you a beginner, eager to do the cool moves you see everyone else doing, but you only know three moves? Here’s my advice to beginner swing dancers on how to get good fast: 1. Go social dancing as often…
The delightful routine performed by Andrew Thigpen and Karen Turman at the International Lindy Hop Championships in 2010 is chock full of homages to everything from Hellzapoppin, Buck Privates, and Goovie Moovie to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, the Gap ad,…