This page is just to help me keep track of this years's Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown goodness.
Note that I've updated the ULHS 2009 Round Up with three additional blogs I've found about the event this year.
ULHS 2009 Videos: The Fun Stuff
Here are some random miscellaneous various clips that people have put up to give you a little flavor of the sights and sounds of ULHS 2009. Baseball game between Musicians and Dancers
Chazz Young leads the Shim Sham at House of Blues
Tap & Craziness at the Wax museum
Meschiya Lake sings Backyard Blues with Luke Winslow King
Sister Kate & Friends
This Little Light of Mine - Preservation Hall Jazz Band
The Loose Marbles
Street Swing Dance Contest
Preliminary Round
Finals
ALHC Results & Other Contest Notes
ULHS 2009 Videos: Sunday Evening Competitions
Solo Blues Music played by: The Loose Marbles
Preliminary Round
Final
Dancers in order of appearance:
- Dax Hock
- Nikki Marvin
- Sara Deckard
- ??? (Anyone know?)
Preliminary Round Heat 2
Final
Dancers in order of appearance
- Michale Darigol & Sara Deckard
- Giselle Anguizola & Chance Bushman
- Tommy Blacharz & Annie Trudeau
- Todd Yannacone & Alice Mei
- Ramona Staffeld & Peter Strom
Winners: Ramona Staffeld & Peter Strom
AIR pt. 13: Give It Up, Turn It Loose
The most important creative decision concerning the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown had nothing to do with the format of the competitions. The event director, Amy Johnson, not only allowed people to film the contests with their own cameras, but also to let them distribute their footage freely. It was probably the most significant marketing idea in modern Lindy Hop history.
Q & A with Skye Humphries pt. 2
What are some of the “core moves” of the Lindy Hop?
The basic of the Lindy Hop is the Swing Out: a circular step done in eight beats in which the partners come together and then move apart. I have never seen anything so perfectly put together, there is no more versatile or meaningful basic in any dance I’ve seen.
ULHS 2009: More Impressions From Not That Much Closer
Just a few more thoughts on the ULHS footage that's currently online. I don’t have much to add to my initial reactions to the Choreography Showcase, Solo Jazz, and Jack n Jill.
But I should mention how impressed I was with the Ultimate Lindy Hop Combo and the job they did for the Choreography Showcase. They played the diversity of material they were asked to do incredibly well given the time constraints.
I’m also glad that the New Mexico team, Groove Juice Special, won the Showcase. They had a great energy to their performance that still comes across pretty well over video.
ULHS 2009 Videos: Saturday Evening Competitions-Solo Jazz and J & J
All contests music by Uncle Jack's New Orleans Dance Orchestra. Solo Jazz
Preliminary Round
Final
Dancers in order of appearance
- Hurley François
- Vincenzo Fesi
- Sarah Decker
- Jana Grulichova
- Bobby Bonsey
- Ramona Staffeld
Heat 2
Winners: Vincenzo Fesi & Alice Mei
ULHS 2009 Videos-Friday Choreography Showcase
The Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown Choreography Showcase Live music for all performance provided by a special band put together for ULHS, appropriately known as the Ultimate Lindy Hop Combo.
All performers had to submit a sample of their music and a video of their performance about a month before the event to give the musicians time to create and rehearse a complimentary arrangement. All performers were given time to rehearse with the musicians on Thursday and Friday of the event.
Winners: Groove Juice Special
Cats In The Corner
Laura Glaess & Mike Roberts
Sister Kate
Alain Wong & Marie N'diaye
Philly Bloomers
Q & A with Skye Humphries Pt.1
How were you introduced to dancing in general? Were you a trained dancer before going into swing? If swing was your first exposure to dance, what drew you to it/ made you want to become a dancer.
I always had an interest in movement- though not necessarily dancing.
I used to want to be a clown. I loved the old movies of Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. My brothers and I would recreate slapstick scenes, walks, and a million other little motions we watched in those old movies. I loved the way those guys moved, I loved the way their specific movements felt when I watched them and later when I tried them myself.