Seattle’s premiere weekend of classes, dances and non-stop Balboa madness: CAMP BALBOA SEATTLE.

Register now or at the door on Friday and get ready to learn from some of the absolute TOP Balboa instructors in the world, including champions Randy & Kara, Nick Williams, David Rehm and Kate Hedin, and many, many more.  This is truly an unprecedented line-up of instructors for a Seattle Balboa event and the possibilities for what you could take away from the weekend is breathtaking.

Special thanks to local Balboa-maven Jo Coker for producing such a phenomenal event in the area.  Be sure to check the website at www.campbalboaseattle.com for all the details including the instructor line-up, evening dance opportunities, class schedules and more!  (P.S. Peter is going to be teaching there as well!)

THIS IS AN UNBELIEVABLE OPPORTUNITY! If you have any interest in aerials, either learning them or improving what you already know, DO NOT MISS THIS.

Kerry Ward is a world-renowned aerials instructor and coach who has worked with some of the top lindy performance teams and dancers in the world. He has studied with some incredible teachers (including Lindy Hop world champions and actual circus acrobats) and has brought YEARS of experience, learning and innovations to his aerials technique. Now, he’s coming to Seattle and YOU get to work with him!

Kerry has been an active part of the lindy hop community for many, many years and has a genuine passion for making aerials accessible to darned near anyone who wants to do them. He has a knack for making them as easy as possible, with underlying technique that minimizes strain and injury potential. On top of all this, he’s a terrific lindy hopper and just about one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.

THIS WILL BE AWESOME. Mark your calendar NOW to spend the afternoon working with one of the absolute TOP aerialists in the world today.

Partners are recommended but NOT REQUIRED.

AERIALS & AERIAL TECHNIQUE with Kerry Ward!
Saturday, August 28th
1:30pm - 4:30pm
$25 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Ave. Kirkland, WA 98035

By popular demand, we are offering a three-hour intensive class on this excellent routine! Based on the original Shim Sham, this is a classic choreographed number created by legendary lindy hopper Dean Collins back in the original swing era.

Dean started out in New York City, dancing Lindy Hop at the Savoy Ballroom during its heyday, and became one of the top dancers in the city, even being named “Dancer of the Year” in 1935 by The New Yorker magazine! He moved to Los Angeles in 1936 and became one of the most in-demand dancers and choreographers for swing dancing in Hollywood for many years.

Dean created his Shim Sham to be a performance piece for himself and two other dancers and it is AMAZING. It’s built off of the original Shim Sham, but with his own twist and styling on every single part of it… then he set a whole second chorus that is completely different and will BLOW YOUR MIND.

The routine is full of amazing moves and bits of styling that will help you learn to move more like a swing dancer than ever before! We are offering this workshop for the same bargain rate of just $25!

THE DEAN COLLINS SHIM SHAM
Saturday, August 21st
1:30pm - 4:30pm
$25 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Ave. Kirkland, WA 98035

Come out to Eastside Stomp this evening for out FIRST EVER NIGHT OF LIVE SWING MUSIC with legendary local band The Careless Lovers! The cover for the evening is still only $7, so come out and swing the night away with us!

Then tomorrow, join us for another terrific afternoon of music, film clips, discussion and some dancing as we host another Jazz History workshop featuring Duke Ellington! For just $10, you get two solid hours of great stories, classic film appearances and discussions of the history and significance of one of the greatest composers in American music history! This is going to be a blast, so don’t miss out!

The SHIM SHAM started out as a tap routine in vaudeville and became so popular that it is now known as the “National Anthem” of Tap. It was adopted and adapted by the swing community in the 1930s and is now a common and widely known routine that is done all over the world.

The Shim Sham is VERY FREQUENTLY done at swing dances as a chance for EVERYONE to get on the floor and be a part of this legendary performance routine. It was known by everyone from tap dancers like The Nicholas Brothers, Fred Astaire and Bill Robinson, to Lindy Legends like Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, Al Minns & Leon James. Learn this routine, and you join a long-standing continuum of dancers that stretches all the way back to the early days of vaudeville! It’s considered a classic, standard routine for all swing dancers to learn, and this is YOUR chance!

Come and learn the routine and some of the fascinating stories that surround it! Peter Flahiff spent a lot of time with the originator of the first, original Tap Shim Sham, Mr. Leonard Reed, so you’ll benefit from some first-hand anecdotes. It’s also a routine that Peter has taught regularly for well over ten years, so he can REALLY break it down for you.

SO, we’ll cover the traditional Shim Sham, The Freeze Chorus and The Boogie Chorus, AND THEN we’ll move on and learn another classic routine called THE JITTERBUG STROLL!

The Jitterbug Stroll is a more recent jazz routine created by Lindy Hop legend Ryan Francois, a man who Frankie Manning once described as the dancer who most reminded Frankie of himself! It’s a great routine with more great classic steps, suitable for 12-bar blues structure songs (a lot of Woody Herman’s music, practically everything Basie ever did, etc…!) The cost for the whole shmear is just $25, so make sure to come out and get these routines NAILED.

SHIM SHAM & JITTERBUG STROLL WORKSHOP!
Saturday, July 17th
1:30pm - 4:30pm
$25 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Ave. Kirkland, WA 98035

In case you haven’t noticed, Peter talks a lot. So this is a great chance for him to let some of that out in an appropriate environment, with an appreciative audience. Peter has been a student of the history of the music we all love dancing to, and he has a knack for passing along that history in a lively, anecdotal way. Don’t come to this chat if you’re expecting a long, boring monologue with nothing but names and dates. Peter keeps it moving with amazing tidbits and stories about the music, the players and the world they lived in. PLUS, he’s got a bunch of film clips to share with you, bringing it all to life even MORE! Let’s be honest: we all love the music we dance to, so why wouldn’t you want to know more about it???!

Peter has given Jazz history talks for many years, has been interviewed on the radio several times in this capacity, and even taught a week-long lecture series on Jazz History at the legendary Herrang Dance Camp in Sweden! He really knows his stuff and we’re sure that you will come away from this with a whole NEW appreciation for the music and musicians!

And don’t worry, what with talking about swing music and playing examples of swing music in the class, Peter will take several breaks to give everyone a chance to dance it off as well. It’s also going to be just two hours long, and therefore CHEAPER! Only $15 for this quality experience!!!

FOR THIS FIRST TALK, Peter is putting the focus on the incredible Count Basie and his Orchestra. Taking us from Basie’s youth in New Jersey, through his seminal time in Kansas City and on through to leading one of the longest-lived bands in swing history, Basie’s story is RICH with tales and tidbits that will fascinate you. Don’t miss this…

JAZZ HISTORY: COUNT BASIE with Peter Flahiff!
Saturday, July 10th
1:30pm - 3:30pm
$15 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Ave. Kirkland, WA 98035

Kerry is a world-renowned aerials instructor and coach who has worked with some of the top lindy performance teams and dancers in the world. He has studied with some incredible teachers (including Lindy Hop world champions and actual circus acrobats) and has brought YEARS of experience, learning and innovations to his aerials technique. Now, he’s coming to Seattle and YOU get to work with him!

Kerry has been an active part of the lindy hop community for many, many years and has a genuine passion for making aerials accessible to darned near anyone who wants to do them. He has a knack for making them as easy as possible, with underlying technique that minimizes strain and injury potential. On top of all this, he’s a terrific lindy hopper and just about one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.

THIS WILL BE AWESOME. Mark your calendar NOW to spend the afternoon working with one of the absolute TOP aerialists in the world today.

AERIALS & AERIAL TECHNIQUE with Kerry Ward!
Saturday, July 3rd
1:30pm - 4:30pm
$25 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Ave. Kirkland, WA 98035

It’s MUSICALITY AND IMPROVISATION this time around, and if you’ve ever seen these two on the dance floor, you know how incredible they are at all that. Don’t miss this chance to study and learn from two of the very best in the world during their limited stay here in Seattle.

We are particularly excited to have them teaching this workshop as it will be Emelie’s triumphant return to dancing after a month-long lay-off due to a broken foot. Please come down and take this class and support these wonderful people as they share with us what they do best…

MUSICALITY & IMPROVISATION WORKSHOP WITH EMELIE & REBECKA DECAVITA

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010
1pm - 4pm
$25 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Avenue
Kirkland, WA 98035

In honor of Armed Forces Day (actually Saturday, May 15th), ALL MEMBERS OF THE U.S. ARMED FORCES (Any branch; active, reserves or retired) will receive FREE ADMISSION to the Friday Night Stomp dance.  It’s our little way of saying “Thank you for all you do” to everyone who serves our nation.

We couldn’t dance in freedom without you!