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Sylvia Sykes
Sylvia Sykes is an American swing dancer, instructor, judge, and choreographer. She is known for reviving the swing dance style balboa. Career Sykes and her dance partner Jonathan Bixby started dancing together when she was fourteen years old. They were staff dancers for the television show ''Shebang'' during the 1960s. From 1981 to 1984, they studied with Dean Collins, who recommended Maxi Dorf for learning balboa. They were students of Dorf from 1984 to 1987. Sykes has performed with Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, and Les Brown. She has appeared on the television shows ''American Bandstand'' and ''Gotta Dance''. She and Bixby represented the U.S. in the World Boogie Woogie Championships in Grenoble, France. She has been head judge for many national swing events as well as being a teacher on how to judge. Following the retirement of Bixby, Sykes taught in Santa Barbara, California, and at workshops around the world including Herräng Dance Camp. In August 2008, she joi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swing (dance)
Swing dance is a group of social dances that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s–1940s, with the origins of each dance predating the popular "swing era". Hundreds of styles of swing dancing were developed; those that have survived beyond that era include Lindy Hop, Balboa, Collegiate Shag, and Charleston. Today, the best-known of these dances is the Lindy Hop, which originated in Harlem in the early 1930s. While the majority of swing dances began in African American communities as vernacular African American dances, some influenced swing-era dances, like Balboa, developed outside of these communities. "Swing dance" was not commonly used to identify a group of dances until the latter half of the 20th century. Historically, the term "Swing" referred to the style of jazz music, which inspired the evolution of the dance. Jitterbug is any form of swing dance, though it is often used as a synonym for the six-count derivative of Lindy Hop called "East Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balboa (dance)
The Balboa is a swing dance that originated in Southern California during the 1920s and enjoyed huge popularity during the 1930s and 1940s. History Balboa came from Southern California during the 1920s. ''Balboa'' is named after the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, California, where the dance was invented. The Balboa Pavilion, and the Rendezvous Ballroom are credited as the birthplaces of Balboa when dance floors became so crowded that dancers invented a dance to swing music that could be danced in place. Balboa dancing continued in California throughout the twentieth century and spread around the world to the present day. In 1978, two long-time Balboa dancers, Hal and Marge Takier, started a twice-a-month Balboa dance at a Bobby McGee's restaurant in Newport Beach. Dancers who danced at the Bobby McGee's Balboa nights and video footage from there became highly influential in informing the Balboa dance as it is done today. Two styles of modern Balboa dance developed, "Pure Bal" i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dean Collins (dancer)
Dean Collins (born Sol Ruddosky; May 29, 1917–June 1, 1984) was an American dancer, instructor, choreographer, and innovator of swing dance. He is often credited with bringing the Lindy Hop from New York to southern California. Collins worked in over thirty films and performed live and on television. Biography Collins grew up in Newark, New Jersey, and at age 13 learned to dance from his two older sisters. He participated in amateur dance contests in New Jersey. He danced at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, New York. In 1935, he was named Dancer of the Year by ''The New Yorker'' magazine. Collins moved to Los Angeles in 1936. During the day he worked as a janitor at Simon's Drive-In Diner, and at night he danced at the Diana Ballroom and Casino Gardens. Worried that his Jewish name would hinder his career, he adopted the name "Dean Collins" from a wallet he found. He won his first major dance contest in California at the Palomar Ballroom with his Savoy dance style. The Savoy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and their first recording. He led the group for almost 50 years, creating innovations like the use of two "split" tenor saxophones, emphasizing the rhythm section, riffing with a big band, using arrangers to broaden their sound, and others. Many musicians came to prominence under his direction, including the tenor saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel Evans, the guitarist Freddie Green, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison, plunger trombonist Al Grey, and singers Jimmy Rushing, Helen Humes, Thelma Carpenter, and Joe Williams. Biography Early life and education William Basie was born to Lillian and Harvey Lee Basie in Red Bank, New Jersey. His father worked as a coachman and caretaker for a wealthy judge. After automobiles re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glenn Miller
Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the US Army Air Forces. Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was one of the most popular and successful bands of the 20th century and the big band era. His military group, the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra, was also popular and successful. Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was the best-selling recording band from 1939 to 1942. It did not have a string section, but did have a slap bass in the rhythm section. It was also a touring band that played multiple radio broadcasts nearly every day. Their best-selling records include Miller's iconic theme song" Moonlight Serenade"and the first gold record ever made, " Chattanooga Choo Choo". The following tunes are also on that best-seller list: " In the Mood", "PEnnsylvania 6-5000" (printed as "Pennsylvan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led one of the United States' most popular big bands in the late 1930s through the early 1940s. Though he had numerous hit records, he was perhaps best known for his 1938 recording of Cole Porter's " Begin the Beguine." Before the release of "Beguine," Shaw and his fledgling band had languished in relative obscurity for over two years and, after its release, he became a major pop artist within short order. The record eventually became one of the era's defining recordings. Musically restless, Shaw was also an early proponent of what became known much later as Third Stream music, which blended elements of classical and jazz forms and traditions. His music influenced other musicians, such as Monty Norman in England, with the vamp of the James ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Brown (bandleader)
Lester Raymond Brown (March 14, 1912 – January 4, 2001) was an American jazz musician who led the big band Les Brown and His Band of Renown for nearly seven decades from 1938 to 2000. Biography Brown was born in Reinerton, Pennsylvania. He enrolled in the Conway Military Band School (later part of Ithaca College) in 1926, studying with famous bandleader Patrick Conway for three years before receiving a music scholarship to the New York Military Academy, where he graduated in 1932. Brown attended college at Duke University from 1932 to 1936. There he led the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils, who performed regularly on Duke's campus and up and down the east coast. Brown took the band on an extensive summer tour in 1936. At the end of the tour, while some of the band members returned to Duke to continue their education, others stayed on with Brown and continued to tour, becoming in 1938 the Band of Renown. The band's original drummer, Don Kramer, became the acting manager an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Bandstand
''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the program's producer. It featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 music introduced by Clark; at least one popular musical act—over the decades, running the gamut from Jerry Lee Lewis to Run–D.M.C.—usually appeared in person to lip-sync one of their latest singles. Freddy Cannon holds the record for most appearances, at 110. The show's popularity helped Dick Clark become an American media mogul and inspired similar long-running music programs, such as ''Soul Train'' and British series ''Top of the Pops''. Clark eventually assumed ownership of the program through his Dick Clark Productions company. Background ''American Bandstand'' premiered locally in late March 1952 as ''Bandstand'' on Philadelphia television station WFIL-TV Channel 6 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint-André, jardin de ville, banks of the Isère , arrondissement = Grenoble , canton = Grenoble-1, 2, 3 and 4 , INSEE = 38185 , postal code = 38000, 38100 , mayor = Éric Piolle , term = 2020–2026 , party = EELV , image flag = Flag of Grenoble.svg , image coat of arms = Coat of Arms of Grenoble.svg , intercommunality = Grenoble-Alpes Métropole , coordinates = , elevation min m = 212 , elevation m = 398 , elevation max m = 500 , area km2 = 18.13 , population = , population date = , population footnotes = , urban pop = 451096 , urban area km2 = 358.1 , ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herräng Dance Camp
Herräng Dance Camp (commonly abbreviated HDC, officially Herräng Dance Camp Aktiebolag) is the largest annual dance camp that focuses on Lindy Hop, boogie woogie, Tap dance, jazz dance, and balboa. It is held for 5 weeks annually from late June through July in Herräng, Sweden and focuses both on instruction and dancing. Swing era dancers including Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, Chazz Young, and Dawn Hampton presented at the camp. With over 750 people attending each week compared to a population of the village of Herräng of between 400 and 600, the camp assembles a significant amount of infrastructure each summer to meet the needs of the large number of dancers. Some of the most noticeable additions to Herräng during Herräng Dance Camp includes several cafes; a full cafeteria serving buffet-style meals; a shop for dance supplies, accessories and daily essentials; bicycle rental; housing of various standards; and nightly entertainment. The camp is owned and run by Lor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American dance which was born in the Black communities of Harlem, New York City, in 1928 and has evolved since then. It was very popular during the swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Lindy is a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based on jazz, tap, breakaway, and Charleston. It is frequently described as a jazz dance and is a member of the swing dance family. In its development, the Lindy Hop combined elements of both partnered and solo dancing by using the movements and improvisation of African-American dances along with the formal eight-count structure of European partner dances – most clearly illustrated in the Lindy's basic step, the swingout. In this step's open position, each dancer is generally connected hand-to-hand; in its closed position, leads and follows are connected as though in an embrace on one side and holding hands on the other. There was renewed interest in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Coast Swing
West Coast Swing is a partner dance with roots in the Lindy Hop. It is characterized by an elastic look that results from its extension-compression technique of partner connection and is danced primarily in a slotted area on the dance floor. The dance allows for both partners to improvise steps while dancing together, putting West Coast Swing in a short list of dances that emphasize improvisation. Typically the follower is led forward into new patterns traveling forward on counts "1" and "2" of each basic pattern, rather than rocking back. Traditional figures include 6-count and 8-count patterns of one of the four basic varieties: (1) Starter Step, (2) Side Pass, (3) Push Break / Sugar Push, (4) Whip. The Anchor Step is a common ending pattern of many West Coast Swing figures.Skippy Blair on Contemporary Social Dance. Skippy Blair. 1978. page 113. Alternatively the basic patterns in West Coast Swing are defined as: Push Break (or Sugar Push); Left Side Pass; Right Side Pass; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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