It’s our first Live Band Night of 2016! Jessy Carolina & The Hot Mess is a 6-piece, traditional jazz band from New York City. They were featured in the Simpson’s 20th Anniversary Special, and most recently in Bioshock Infinite. Their repertoire includes Django Reinhardt, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, and much more – definitely not a night to miss!
Haven’t danced before? No Problem! There’s a beginner lesson that will get you started to dance the rest of the night. No partner necessary!
7:30 – 8:00pm: Beginner Swing Dance Lesson
8:00 – 11:00pm: Dancing to live band Jessy Carolina & the Hot Mess Band
Pricing: $8 cash or check only
Location: Nyoh’s Buckeye Bar (2871 Olentangy River Rd Columbus, OH 43202)
Now up on the blog: The History of the Shim Sham, and a brief biography of the man who created the version we dance every week at Nyoh's - Frankie Manning himself!
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If you’ve been to a Swingin’ Wednesday you’ve seen the Shim Sham. Every week, without fail, one of our DJs for the evening will play one of several iconic songs and dancers will flock to the floor to participate in the line dance anthem of the swing community – the Shim Sham. Here’s a group of swing dancers in Germany doing the Shim Sham at Rock That Swing Festival (RTSF) 2015:
So swing dancers all over the world know it, but where did it start?
The Shim Sham began in the 1920s as a tap dance, and by the 1930s it was starting to catch on – even some dancers at the Savoy Ballroom (more on that location in a future post!) would jump up and dance the Shim Sham in the corner while others danced on. The version of the Shim Sham danced today, though, we owe to Frankie Manning. Here’s a video of Frankie himself hamming up the Shim Sham with Chazz Young, whom you’ll recognize from the previous video:
But who IS Frankie Manning? Only the most celebrated Lindy Hopper in history. Frankie danced at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem in the 1930s, where he and his partner Frieda Washington danced the first aerial during a swing dance competition in 1935. Frankie was also a member of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, a group of professional, performing Savoy Ballroom dancers, whom you might actually have seen in this video, which tends to pop up from time to time on social media:
(Please remember that aerials, tricks, and dips are for competitions and performances, not the social dance floor!)
Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers disbanded at the onset of WWII when Frankie and many of the other male dancers joined the military. When he was released from the Army in 1946, Frankie continued to dance and perform until entertainers such as himself were pushed out with the arrival of rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s.
In 1989, though, swing dancing was revived and with it, Frankie’s career as an instructor and performer. During this time Frankie choreographed all over the world for dance companies, movies, and even won a Tony Award for his choreography on Broadway – it’s no wonder that it was during this era that he brought us the version of the Shim Sham we know and love.
Frankie left us in 2009, but his legacy lives on in many, many ways, one of which is a group of people smiling and dancing out his choreography every Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, USA. If you’d like to be a part of this awesome dance each week, you’re always welcome to jump on the dance floor and follow along! If you’d like a solid lesson on the Shim Sham – check out this YouTube playlist where professional lindy hoppers Patrick and Natasha break the Shim Sham down into 7 manageable steps that you can pause, repeat, and go over at your own speed!
In case you missed it late last week, registration for our spring event, Cbus 11: Columbus Lindy & Blues Exchange, went live! This is going to be an amazing year featuring live bands Naomi & her Handsome Devils, Gnarly Parkers, Blues Hammer band, and more. We're already in the third tier for passes, don't miss out! http://ift.tt/1K6x8Ac
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These 4-week lesson series are held on WEDNESDAYS February 6 – 27, 2016.
Even better, the pricing will include admission to Swingin’ Wednesdays at NYOH’s and include the basic swing lesson from 7:30-8:00pm! This means you will be able to practice your dance moves with expert and beginner swing dancers all night!
You must attend the first class to join the entire series.
Lindy Basics Lesson Series: 6:30 – 7:20 PM
Lindy Hop is the vintage swing dance of the 1940’s, and now is your chance to learn it from scratch. Hew Francis Keller and Rachel Keller will start with the fundamentals and teach you everything you need to know to start lindy hopping! No experience necessary and no partner necessary!
Our 2016 Membership Drive has begun! Memberships run for the calendar year and include great perks like discounts at lessons and events, eligibility to run for a position on the board, and more! This year's membership swag is a SwingColumbus T-shirt (available thru 3/31/16).
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For 5 great years SwingColumbus has been bringing you a free beginner lesson and 3 hours of amazing dancing every Wednesday night at Nyoh’s Buckeye Bar and Grill, all for just $3!
5 years is a long time, though, and we’re finally having to raise our prices (although you can still get practically the same $3 price you’re used to if you use our nifty new punch card system!)
Here’s everything you need to know:
Starting on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 the cash-at-the-door price will be $5 for a regular DJ’d dance and $10 for live band nights.
Punch cards will be for sale on January 6th, January 13th, and February 3rd*. One punch card will get you entry to 6 DJ’s nights at Swingin’ Wednesdays for just $20!
For dancers this means you get the same great lesson and dance for essentially the same price we’ve been able to offer you for the last 5 years.
For volunteers this means less cash for you to manage on a weekly basis.
Even if you choose to pay $5 weekly instead of getting a punch card, Swingin’ Wednesdays remains the cheapest weekly dance in town, and the only place where you get to see 100 of your friends every Wednesday!
*Punch cards will be available for purchase at the door at Nyoh’s the first 2 Wednesdays in January, and the first Wednesday of every month from February 2016 on.
Join us downtown at Columbus' newest park, Columbus Commons! We've got beer, hot dogs, a free swing dance lesson, and one of our favorite bands on the planet. Not bad for a Friday night.
This is a very family friendly event - lots of space for the kiddies to play, the carousel will be running, and Burgers, Dogs, and Fries will be open and selling...well, burgers, dogs, and fries. And milkshakes!
This week we'll be enjoying Goose Island's 312 Urban Wheat Ale for the free tasting, and other drinks will also be for sale.
The festivities take place in the cafe/carousel area at the south end of the park along Rich Street.
5:00pm ~ DJ & Beer Tasting
5:30pm - 6:00pm ~ Free Beginner Swing Lesson
6:00pm - 9:00pm ~ The Randys
"The Randys play songs you didn't even know you liked with such conviction that you have no choice but to smile along."
-- Columbus Dispatch
Surface is fine gravel, so closed toe flat shoes are recommended! Parking available across the street at 55 E Rich or at meters in the area. Ample bike racks available and lots of COTA bus routes pass the park too!
To help entice everyone to try swing dancing, we have an annual tradition of making July Month of the Newbie with lots of affordable opportunities to take a lesson and practice your skills. Whether you're a complete newbie, or you've got some experience and want to expand into Charleston or Lindy Hop, this is a great month to go dancing!
Check the links for more info, but just to break it down:
Crash Course Thursdays
These are all completely from scratch, no prior experience needed, no partner needed, just strap on some comfortable shoes and we'll boogie! Thursdays 7:30-9:30pm at Flex Fitness, $15 each ($5 off for members)
Lindy Hop, 6-count Swing, Partner Charleston, and The Shim Sham will all be taught.
Hot tip - Become a member and save! It's only $25 per year to become a member of SwingColumbus, and you get discounts on workshops, classes, and the monthly dance. You also get to vote on our board and are eligible for occasional special offers. Say you wanted to take all 5 crash courses - you'll save $25 and the membership is already paid for. Do it.....
Swingin' Wednesdays
Every week at Nyoh's Buckeye Bar. A 30 minute lesson is taught at 7:30pm and then we dance to DJs 8pm-11pm. They have AWESOME happy hour specials for us and the food is great. Only $3 cover!
Cocktails at the Commons - July 8th
We've got a free beer tasting, we've got a free 30 min beginner swing dance lesson, and we've got one of our favorite bands in the universe playing in Columbus' brand new lovely downtown park. It's all free. And if you chicken out and just sit and eat a hot dog and watch the rest of us dance, no one will be the wiser.
The SwingColumbus monthly dance is FREE in July!
In celebration of Month of the Newbie we invite you to join us for a 1 hour lesson and 3 hours of DJs for FREE. Our monthly dance has been going for about 8 years now and is a welcoming, low pressure environment to practice your moves and play around inventing new ones!
