The 4th annual Dayton Swing Smackdown took place over the weekend in the adorable historic town of Miamisburg, Ohio. The team competition included 64 dancers in 8 teams who have been working in their spare time, between classes and jobs, to put together fantastic and entertaining routines! This is an enormous feat and congratulations to everyone for putting on a great show!
The team competition had 2 parts, one was the choreographed full team piece, the other (with lesser weight on final scores) was the Strictly, where each team elected one or two couples to improvise to fast and medium tempo music.
Results were:
1st Place: Team SwingColumbus
2nd Place (and also taking home the Collegiate Cup!): University of Dayton Swing Club
3rd Place: Ann Arbor
The videos:
SwingColumbus
1st Place
University of Dayton Swing Club
2nd Place
Ann Arbor
3rd Place
The Ohio State University Jitterbucks
The Ohio University 'Everyone Wants to be a Bobcat'
(music was yoinked by YouTube - thanks Warner Music Group!)
The Jazz Academy is hosting a free lecture that sounds perfect for you Lindy Hoppers who are into blues dancing! Chris Thomas King is a talented blues guitarist and singer who grew up in Louisiana and is very much a blues historian (see Smithsonian video below). He appeared in the move 'Oh Brother Where Art Thou' in the role of real life blues singer Tommy Johnson, depicted as a hitchhiker who claims to have sold his soul to the devil. He has continued to act in and score music for film, including the Ray Charles biopic 'Ray'. Mr. King will be giving a lecture/workshop in the afternoon and performing in the evening on Saturday, March 5.
Blues Roots workshop with Chris Thomas King Registration Fee: Free Saturday, March 5, 2011, 2:00 pm
Workshop Description:
Chris Thomas King will introduce the roots of blues and jazz, including New Orleans jazz and delta slide guitar. King will discuss and perform some early forms on acoustic guitar and harmonica, then connect those forms and rhythms with contemporary musical styles, including pop and hip-hop. There will be lots of time at the end of the workshop for questions and discussion.
Join Chris Thomas King that evening at 8:00 pm in the Lincoln Theatre as part of the Inside Track concert series. For tickets and information click here or call 614.469.0939. Tickets are $25 and $30. Columbus band (soon to be national!) The Floorwalkers will also perform.
COLUMBUS ALIVE/INSIDE TRACK HAPPY HOUR EVENT: Columbus Alive will also host a post-concert happy hour event at Black Creek Bistro (51 Parsons Avenue in Olde Towne East) immediately following the concert featuring dinner and drink specials including a signature concoction created especially for the Chris Thomas King concert.
Dancers from Team SwingColumbus are excited be doing the Lindy Hop on stage with a big band as part of a musical celebration fundraiser for WWII vets. Honor Flight is a national organization with regional chapters whose mission is to fly veterans to Washington D.C. to see the WWII memorial. The Columbus chapter of Honor Flight holds an annual variety show fundraiser. This year will be SwingColumbus' second time performing in the show.
It is pretty expensive to make these flights happen. To support Honor Flight, you can donate, host a fundraiser, or become a volunteer. A variety of people volunteer for everything from administrative tasks, to piloting a flight, to accompanying veterans on the trips.
Or, of course, you can attend the variety show on February 13th!
SwingColumbus is thrilled to be supporting this worthy cause!
Event Info:
Jukebox Revue
featuring local and regional talent performing music from the Big Band era.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13 at 2 p.m.
Westerville Central High School, 7118 Mount Royal Ave., Westerville
Music from the Big Band era, featuring the swingin’ sounds of The Continentals Band, 7 year-old piano prodigy Gavin George, and Award-winning accordionist Joe Natoli. Lots of fun and surprises!
Expect the return of the Big Band sounds, great performances from local and regional artists and a few surprises. “Bob Hope had the right idea with the USO tours,” said David Colley, a Westerville resident who volunteers on the Honor Flight committee. “We’ve adopted that vision of bringing that era back and being entertained by that classic variety-show format. This event is going to be a lot of fun for a great cause, and help the vets of WWII in our area who so deserve to take the Honor Flight for their day of honor.”
Tickets are $20 general admission and $10 senior, child or veteran. World War II veterans are admitted free of charge but will need to obtain a ticket in advance. Tickets can be puchased in advance in a number of ways:
in person at Westerville City Hall
by phone: (614) 839-0189
by mail: Westerville Honor Flight Committee, 1260 Autumn Park Ct, Westerville, OH 43081
