Swing News Archives Archives

New Features on SwingDance.LA for Promoters and Dancers

As Swing dance events have been picking up, I’ve done some major under-the-hood modifications to SwingDance.LA which I hope will be useful to Swing promoters and dancers. For Promoters A Better Way to Display Flyers One thing that has bugged me for a long time is how the flyer feed under the Lindy Calendar on the Home page worked. That used to simply be a blog comment form. The problem is that the entries were paged so that if I set the page to display ten entries, it would display up to ten entries, then on the eleventh, display only…

After a long hiatus due to the COVID shutdown, Rusty’s Rhythm Club in Playa del Rey is doing a soft re-launch with their Friday evening dance on April 1st, 2022 featuring the outstanding doo-wop band, Lil’ Mo & the Dynaflos, a dancer favorite! Before the pandemic, Rusty’s was a reliable weekly Swing dance venue on the West Side featuring great live bands and a friendly all-ages crowd. In this “soft” reopening, Rusty’s will be monthly on the first Friday of the month. Note that, for your safety, proof of vaccination is required. If you’re on the Westside looking to go…

Swing dancing at Ivy Station in Culver City

Back in November 2021, the Big Butter Jazz Band played an awesome gig at Ivy Station near the Venice Metro stop in Culver City. This was a really great event with lots of dancers showing up to picnic, plus a food truck. The good news is there are two more happening in 2021! What Is Ivy Station? Ivy Station is a partially-completed retail, commercial and residential development located off of Venice Blvd. If you’ve ever driven down Venice Blvd. in Culver City, you can’t miss it. It’s the huge red and black building on the south side of the street.…

Swing dancing at the Original Farmers Market to Dave Stuckey and the Hot House Gang

In a welcome sign that things are truly opening up, the Original Farmers Market on Fairfax in mid-city Los Angeles has announced their “Summer Sounds on the Plaza” series with acts performing on Thursdays and Fridays 5-7PM from May 27 through June 25th. Two of the local dance scene’s favorite bands will be performing: Dave Stuckey and the Hot House Gang on Friday, May 28th, and the California Feetwarmerson Thursday, June 24th. So mark your calendars! I predict that a lot of L.A. Swing dancers will show up for those shows! While not well known in the Swing dance scene,…

Mr. Wolf says "Pretty please, with sugar on top... GET VACCINATED"

Organizers behind the Cicada Club, Camp Hollywood, and other venues are starting to announce the first new Swing dance events since the start of the pandemic, with the requirement that patrons show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. While the vast majority of Swing dancers welcome and support this policy, a vocal minority does not. I wanted to express my support to organizers who are trying to re-start Swing dancing after this devastating pandemic. The fastest way to do that is to require patrons to be vaccinated. And no, it’s not a violation of HIPAA privacy laws to require vaccination. Just like…

The Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association has been giving dance lessons since 1983. Sisters Erin and Tami Stevens have taught thousands of people how to swing dance (including me!) So, as the pandemic dragged on, I was wondering how PBDA and our other beloved Swing dance venues in Los Angeles were doing and whether they would return. Today, PBDA sent out an email titled “A quick shout-out from PBDA” that answers these questions! Tami gave me permission to share it on this site. First, they answered the question, “how is the Stevens family doing?”: Hello from PBDA! We just thought it…

Sarah Breck posted on the SwingDance.LA Facebook page today that she and Dax Hock are selling the Lindy Loft dance studio along with almost everything in it including the hardwood floors, sound system, mirrors, chandeliers, etc.. She cited COVID as the reason. Located in a downtown L.A. vintage high rise, the Lindy Loft was one of the most unique places to go Swing dancing in Los Angeles. Many local dancers expressed their sadness regarding the sale and recounted the great memories they had there. Here is the full statement from Sarah: Recently, the Lindy Loft had converted from a monthly…

In this era of COVID-19, I feel like partner dancing will probably be one of the last activities that will resume in a way that we remember it. It’s hard to imagine a worse activity in a pandemic: physical touch and moderate-to-heavy physical activity with multiple partners in a packed room. Still, many of us are itching to get back out on the dance floor. No one can say when that will happen, but I thought it would be interesting to get a feel for how dancers feel about this. This poll is specifically about when you’d return to Swing…

The COVID-19 shutdowns are a huge challenge to the livelihoods of our local and worldwide musicians, who’ve had nearly all of their gigs canceled. And, it’s a bummer for us fans who miss hearing the great music they make. So, it’s a great time to consider purchasing some of their music! Below is a list of where you can purchase the music of some of the most popular bands that we love to dance to in Southern California. This list is by no means complete! If your favorite band is not on this list, PLEASE COMMENT BELOW with a link…

Jack's Cats performing at the Cicada Club

Guest Post by Jack Malmstrom I’m very grateful to Brian Shim for inviting me to share information about a new law that prohibits many workers from being independent contractors and may threaten our live music scene. Musicians invented the “gig” In an effort to address abuses of worker rights by huge new “gig economy” corporations like Lyft and Uber, our state passed a well-intentioned bill last year known as AB-5. With some exceptions, it forces all employers in the state to treat their workers — formerly classified as independent contractors — as employees. Musicians have always worked and thrived as…

Dean Mora's Orchestra featuring Dean Mora and Kayre Morrison

Dean Mora and his Orchestra played in front of a packed house at the Cicada Club’s New Year’s Eve “Eve” Party on Monday night. Dean’s band, “Mora’s Modern Rhythmists” was the Monday night house band at the Derby starting in the late ’90s. His band appeared regularly at the Cicada Club until he moved to Sacramento and decided to stop performing in Los Angeles as often due to the grueling commute (sometimes driving back right after performing). On Monday, his orchestra, featuring vocalists Kayre Morrison and Damon Kirsche, played three sets. The first featured songs from the 1920s to ’30s, the…

On Friday, July 5th, the last Vintage Rhythm Night was held at Dax Hock and Sarah Breck’s Lindy Loft in Downtown Los Angeles. The sold-out farewell event was headlined by Jonathan Stout’s Grand Slam Sextet and Dave Stuckey and the Hot House Gang. Less than an hour before opening, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake centered in Ridgecrest rattled the 9th floor Loft, but that didn’t stop the dedicated staff from putting on a great show, or the crowd from enjoying it. See photos of the event from Photos with Class, and from Jennifer Stockert! In the end, was a bittersweet event,…

I was shocked and saddened to learn today that the Lindy Loft will be closing on July 30th. Dax Hock and Sarah Breck, owners of the Lindy Loft, made the surprise announcement by email this morning. Here it is: Hello Friend, This is Dax and Sarah from the Lindy Loft, LA. After 5 amazing years getting to grow and learn together, it is with great sadness that we announce The Lindy Loft L.A. will be closing July 30th. While Downtown Los Angeles has given The Loft its unique charm, it has been a challenging environment for us to raise our…

Birthday dance at Swingtronic at Pour Vous

One of the organizers of Swingtronic at Pour Vous has informed me that turnout will be evaluated this Wednesday March 20th and Wednesday April 3rd to determine if Swing dancing is “worth keeping” there. (There will be no event on Wednesday March 27th). Pour Vous is an amazing bar, styled after a Parisian nightclub and featuring a vintage-styled interior and an authentic old trolley car in the back patio! Swingtronic happens Wednesday nights at Pour Vous and features authentic Swing and Gypsy-Jazz bands like The Big Butter Jazz Band, The California Feetwarmers, and many others. In fact, over fifty bands…

Swing dancing has returned to Clifton’s after a brief hiatus, to the relief of many Swing dancers. I waited for two consecutive weekends of Swing dancing there before publishing this, just to be sure it was true! Many Swing dancers, including me, enjoy Clifton’s because it offers Swing dancing in a night club atmosphere. It’s a place were non-Swing dance civilians can encounter real Swing dancing for the first time! Clifton’s features live Swing bands on Friday and Saturday nights. Admission is $10 after 10PM on Fridays and after 9PM on Saturdays. There is a “secret” guest list that gets…

Instructors David Stockin and Barbara Yeh have revived Swing dancing at SOHO Dance LA, located just east of the 405 and north of Santa Monica Blvd. It will be happening every 3rd Sunday of the month, making it one of the few regular Swing dance events on the West Side! They’ll feature an intermediate/advanced class from 6:45 to 7:30PM for only $5 extra with admission. There will be a complimentary beginner dance lesson from 7-7:30PM followed by social dancing at 7:30PM for $15, with live band starting at 8PM. Given the relative dearth of Swing dancing on the West Side,…

UPDATE 3/8/2019: It was announced on the Clifton’s Irregular Regulars page that Swing dancing is back at Clifton’s! Sailor Mike will be DJ-ing tonight with The Fabus Four featuring Natalie Mendoza playing tomorrow. Let’s hope it lasts! Original story below. – Brian It was announced on the Clifton’s Irregular Regulars Facebook group (a fan group not officially affiliated with Clifton’s) today that “Swing music and dancing would not be happening for 2 weeks”. The reported reason was to revamp the sound system. That Facebook group, started by David Kan, has been by far the best source of reliable information on…

In a surprising and disappointing development, Shesha and Nikki Marvin announced yesterday that they are being forced to close the newly-opened ATOMIC Ballroom Fullerton effective today due to the landlord transitioning the lease to the CF Dance Academy, the children’s dance school on the third floor of the same building. ATOMIC Ballroom Fullerton opened just last August with much excitement after much work was put into it by Shesha and Nikki, making the announcement that much more heartbreaking. They will be honoring all lessons purchased at ATOMIC Ballroom in Fullerton at their Irvine location. Josh Collazo confirmed that their gig…

3/3/2019 UPDATE: The Cicada has been closed for a week for filming (something that occurs frequently there). Unfortunately, I don’t know the fate of the free Swing dance nights with Jack’s Cats after the filming. There seems to be some hesitation in re-starting them. Stay tuned for more information when I get it! – Brian In exciting news, Jack’s Cats has announced that they’re starting a three-night-per-week residency at the elegant Cicada Restaurant, one of the most authentic Art Deco venues in Los Angeles, and one of my personal favorite places to dance! Their nights will be part of Maxwell…

Lindygroove's 2018 Haunted Halloween Ball

On Thursday, October 25th, LindyGroove in Pasadena had its annual Haunted Halloween Ball and it was EPIC! Granted, LindyGroove’s Halloween parties are always good, with amazing decorations, good music, a huge turnout, and most of all, over-the-top incredible costumes. Last Year – A Bit Disappointing? In 2017, I felt that there weren’t as many amazing costumes as there had been in previous years. You might even say I was a bit disappointed, to the point where I decided not to write about it on SwingDance.la. There was also some grumbling on Facebook – some thought the costume contest winners…