Hello there folks!

LaB will be throwing Rittenhop again this week to help kick off the Lindy Hop Crash Course afterward!
So bring your friends who have yet to become addicted to this thing we all share and love so much so they can see how amazing and fun it is BEFORE going to attend the crash course (at the Ethical Society) and learning how to begin their dancing as a lindy hopper!

Rittenhop will begin at Noon and go til 2pm. The Crash Course will follow Rittenhop…so throw on your favorite pair of cement friendly flats and come hop to the boogie with us!

Until then,

Seth

In honor of So You Think You Can Dance’s National Dance Day, LaB is throwing a National Dance Day Swing Dance Extravaganza.

On Saturday July 31st, 2010, LaB will hold a free swing dance 9PM-12AM with a novice Lindy hop lesson at 8PM. Come out and share in the love of dancing!

The Ethical Society Building
1906 South Rittenhouse Square
Philadelphia, PA 19103

FREE!

8PM-9PM
Free novice Lindy hop lesson (1st floor), Big Apple refresher (2nd floor), Tranky Doo refresher (basement)

9PM-midnight
Dance to DJed swing music and watch spectacular performances!

Don’t spend National Dance Day alone!

Can’t get enough dancing? See http://phillydancefitness.com/philadelphia-dance-day/ for info on free classes in salsa, hip-hop, belly dancing and more!

We have opened registration for Hot Mess, our uptempo Lindy and Charleston workshop weekend. We have two live bands, four amazing instructors, and eight counts to our swingout, all for just $90. Be sure to hurry, the early registration price will only last until June 26th29th. After that, the weekend registration price balloons to $105.

Register now!

OH BOY!

lindyandblues.com/lablove

It is my pleasure to announce our 3rd Anniversary Party LaBLove 2010 coming to you anuary 29th-31st, 2010!

Registration is now open and for the low, low price of $90, you can have an entire weekend of Joe DeMers & Nelle Hatley, and Philly favorite Gordon Webster!!

Joe & Nelle are world famous dancers and instructors from Denver, CO, and they are some of our favorite youtube dancers to watch! They are extraordinary (and organized!) instructors, and we’re excited for both their Lindy hop and blues classes.

Our very special treat this year will be having Gordon Webster for two whole nights. “Why would we have Gordon for both nights?” you ask. Well, Gordon is doing us the favor of recording his very first LIVE PERFORMANCE ALBUM over the course of LaBLove. We LOVE the energy he gives us at our events and are incredibly excited to bottle it up for the rest of the world to enjoy.

Register to get your spot today!

You can get all the details and more information at http://lindyandblues.com/lablove/.

Dancers,

Paul Salter has been running Thursday-night dancing in Philadelphia for over a decade! He is now handing off the organizing torch to Kerry, Adam, Emily, Nelle, Sascha, myself, and probably a few others. But never fear, he will be dancing, teaching, DJing, and playing live music with Drew Nugent at Jazz Attack regularly.

Paul told me that the best way to thank him for his years of service is simply to ask him for a dance. He won’t be around tonight because he has another gig with Drew, but he’ll be around next week and in the future. Be sure to show him some dance love when you see him.

See Paul’s note below.

Jon

A note from Paul about Jazz Attack:

I am very excited about the new venue, Jazz Attack, starting in Philly this week at the Ukrainian Hall on 23rd St. The venue is cool and has a great location in the art museum area.

The swing dance scene in Philly looks great right now with a lot of talented young dancers. I’ve seen many changes and dancers go through the scene over the past 11 years that I have been dancing and teaching in Philadelphia and I think things look really promising right now. People are dancing to fast and slow music with great ability and the scene has a great opportunity to grow into an impressive dance community. The Philly scene is turning into something that people should be excited about and proud of.

I hope as many dancers as possible will support this new venue. This venue provides a wonderful opportunity to host live music which will be a great way of combining the arts in the city. I’m looking forward to a lot of great dancing and live music at Jazz Attack.

Paul

(more…)

LaB and the Jazz Attic have joined forces to present to you the new Thursday nights in Philadelphia bringing you the great vintage jazz dancing you know and love! Thursdays are now Jazz Attack! We’re starting everything off this Thursday, October 29th, so get yourself out dancing!
Here’s the shimmy for our kickoff night:

• 7-8pm will be a Balboa taster class “Mmm…balboa” by Adam and Nelle
• 8-9pm will be the Shimsham taught by Stuart Collins
• 9-11:30pm will be djed music: DJs Nelle and Kerry!!

The new venue is the lovely Ukrainian League Hall at
800 N 23rd St
(23rd St & Brown St)
Philadelphia, PA 19130

There is FREE PARKING at the Martin-Bache School parking lot. Don’t worry, we have permission to park there during non-school hours. The lot is located on Beechwood St (bet 21st & 22nd Sts) just north of Brown St.

All the details can be found at http://lindyandblues.com/jazzattack
Hope to see you out there!

We are at the threshold of a blues adventure.

Registration for classes may be closed, but the social dances are open to all. Come check out the schedule and join us (and over 150 other dancers)!

Blues Muse this weekend.

This Monday, August 31st, we’re putting on a blues-only social dance! We LABtechs have been scheming for months to start a weekly blues dance, and our plans will be unfurled later this fall. For now, we are doing a trial-run of a potential dance venue, the Power Plant in Old City. I hope you’ll join us for a couple hours of blues, and help us name our new dance!

Monday, August 31st

Blues at The Power Plant

230 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia 19106

9pm-11pm, $8

September is packed with joyful learning opportunities! Click any of the links below for more information and to register.

September Beginner/Intermediate Blues Series (starts 9/1 at 8PM)
Prepare for Blues Muse with Carsie and Jon’s September Beginner/Intermediate Blues Series at 8PM-9PM for 4 weeks starting 9/1/09. For dancers who have attended several blues series or by permission of the instructors.

September Novice Lindy Hop Series (starts 9/8 at 9PM)
The September Novice Lindy Hop Series with Mike and Jon 9PM-10PM starts 9/8/09 for 4 weeks. Open to all levels, but aimed at people who have taken fewer than 8 hours of Lindy classes including people who have never danced before.

September Blues Crash Course (9/19 2:30PM – 8:30PM)
There is a Blues Crash Course taught by Mike on 9/19/09 at 2:30PM-8:30PM.

Mike Legett (classes start Wednesday, 9/23)
Also, keep an eye out for top notch classes starting in mid-September taught outside of LaB by our resident teaching professional, Mike Legett!

Jon

Howdy,

Tomorrow night is the big one. Here’s all the info you could want on the eve of such an occasion.

Classes:

7-8 Downstairs – Learn the Shim Sham with Lexi Keeton from Denver and our own Mr. Stuart Collins

Upstairs – Jazz Dance History with Graham Hunter

8-9 Downstairs – Beginner Lindy Hop with Jon and Kerry

Upstairs – Intermediate Charleston with Lexi Keeton and Stuart

Remember, the Jack and Jill kicks off at 9:30 sharp so get here early!

See you all tomorrow night

Hello Errrrybody,

Registration for the Herrang or Bust dance (Sat, June 20th) is now open! Hooray! You can register for the dance and for the Jack and Jill at 

www.lindyandblues.com/herrangorbust

There will be a Private Lesson Auction and some great classes as well. Check back for info as it comes out.

Hope to see you all there!

As you may have heard, Frankie Manning, one of the originators of what we know as Lindy Hop, passed away peacefully on April 27th, weeks before his 95th birthday. Among other things, Frankie was known for his work with performance group Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, his dancing in Hellzapoppin and other films, and his live performances with jazz greats Ethel Waters, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Cab Calloway.

New York city Lindy Hoppers had been planning a birthday festival for Frankie’s 95th, known as ‘Frankie Week’. The event runs for five days, from May 21st-25th. Because Frankie loved a celebration, the event is still on. In fact, organizers have just re-opened registration, and expanded the weekend to include several new events, in memory of Frankie:

• A memorial service will be held with details to be announced. This service will be open to the public.
• In honor of Frankie, we are going to attempt to set the Guinness World Record for most couples dancing at once. This will take place Friday afternoon in Central Park, and is open to the public. On the same afternoon, we will set the world record for largest Shim Sham.
• We will take a photograph of the largest gathering of Lindy Hoppers ever.
• The sold out Frankie Show on Sunday will be a tribute to Frankie’s life and will be broadcasted via a live feed into the adjourning ballroom so that all Festival attendees can view it live. There may be a modest fee to defer the cost of setting up this live feed.

Over a thousand Lindy Hoppers from all around the world will be attending this event. There will be five days of classes with the best instructors in the world, five nights of dancing to live bands, as well as competitions and performances.

Plus, all your favorite LABtechs will be there! ; )

Rhythmic and Percussive Movement: An Intemediate/Advanced Blues Workshop

With: Mike Legett (Philly) and Cid Galicia (Northern CA)

What (from Mike): Cid’s dancing is rhythmic, dynamic, and full of energy. True to anyone who can teach 8th graders all day, his classes are well-planned, creative, and a lot of fun. I’m honored to be teaching with him again, and hope you guys are are as excited as I am about this.

When: Monday (4/13) 8-10pm.

Where: Jon and Carsie’s House (2822 Poplar St. Apt 1F)

How: Class costs $25 at the door, $20 for pre-payed. To sign up, send an email to immaculateconnection(at)gmail(dot)com with your name and you dance role (lead or follow). For the pre-registration price of $20, you must also pay ahead of time (so I know when we reach capacity).

Prerequisite: Minimum 3 months blues lessons at LaB, or permission from an instructor.

Well, you sure did a fantastic job getting all your friends and relatives to our Lindy Crash Course last weekend. We had over 70 people, most of whom were totally new dancers! We were delighted for the chance to bring so many fresh faces into the wonderful world of Lindy.

And now, true to our name, we hope to do the same thing for blues.

On Sunday, March 29th, LaB will host a Blues Crash Course Workshop. In this workshop, students will learn the fundamental techniques of blues dance through fun exercises, some cool moves, and lots of dancing! This workshop is for total beginners or dancers who just want to brush up on the fundamentals. Our goal is to get everyone social dancing by the end of the day.

As with our previous Crash Course: No partner or experience required! Workshop includes four hours of instruction and a social dance. Cost is $40 ($25 for students).

Go here to register.

How often, when you go out dancing, do your friends and family lament, “I wish I could swing dance. It looks like so much fun.” Well, good news.

We at LaB have decided to throw a Lindy Hop Crash Course! This will be a one-day introduction to Lindy for total beginners. And better yet: if you’re already a seasoned Lindy Hopper, bring a beginner and get in free.

What: Lindy Hop Crash Course with Mike “The Girl” Legett
When: Saturday, February 28th
Where: The Ethical Society Building
How Much: $40/$25 for students (with ID)/free for LaBgoers who bring a beginner

Pre-register now!

LAB is turning 2! We’ll be celebrating this glorious achievement in style, with LaBLove: a weekend of blues and Lindy workshops and dances at the Ethical Society Building on Rittenhouse Square.

All day Saturday and Sunday, we’ll have classes with Austin-based rockstar instructors Laura Glaess and Mike Roberts. Saturday classes will be all Lindy, and Sunday all blues. Classes are appropriate for beginner/intermediate level dancers and above (ask a LaBtech if you’re not sure).

On Friday night, we’ll have The Gordon Webster Quintet.
On Saturday night, we’ll hear from the Barbone Street Jazz Band.
On Sunday night, we’ll be dancing out weariness from the weekend away to your favorite local DJs.

For details, go here.

Worried about parking near Rittenhouse Sq? Well, worry not! We have a parking deal with EZ Park at 40 S. 21st, 19103. It’s just a couple of blocks away from the Ethical Society Building.

On regular Tuesday LaB evenings: $6 evening parking with LaB validation, starting at 6PM until late. They’re open all night, so you should just keep dancing. Remember, if you drive, pay for parking, and carpool with at least one other paying person, you get in to for free.

On LaBLove Weekend (Jan. 9-11): $6 parking all night Friday after 6PM, $6 parking all day Saturday (incl. evening) starting at 11AM, and $6 parking all day Sunday starting at 11AM. All prices only valid with validation!

See our pretty little map:

View Larger Map

Important Change: New Location! Details Below.

On November 14th-16th, local hero Erin Kroll is hosting a workshop with Philly favorite, former dance resident, and Muse Mike Legett from Knoxville TN. She’s bringing her dance partner Reuel Ries, who comes with highest recommendations. Here’s the deets:

Philly Lindy and Blues Workshop Weekend
with instructors Mike Legett and Reuel Reis
November 14-16
Friday: Dance from 8-12
Saturday: Lindy Workshops from 11-5pm, Dance 8-12, plus late night
Sunday: Blues Workshops from 11-5pm

NEW LOCATION:
Old Pine Community Center
401 Lombard St
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Prices below. Sign up now!

** This is not a LAB event, we’re just promoting it for Erin. If you have any questions, please email Erin Kroll: erin.kroll(at)gmail(dot)com.

Passes

2 Days Beg OR Int Workshops + All Dances $72.33 1 Day Beg OR Int Workshops + Main Dance $41.46

Name:

Email address:

Class Schedule:

Saturday:
Class 1 (Beginning Lindy) 11:15 – 12:15
Class 2 (Intermediate Lindy) 12:30 – 1:30
Lunch 1:30 – 2:30
Class 3 (Intermediate Lindy) 2:30 – 3:30
Class 4 (Int/Advanced Lindy) 3:45 – 4:45
*Take either classes 1-3 or 2-4

Dance 8-12:00pm
Late Night at the Lindy Lounge midnight – ?
Here’s the info for the late night:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=45401245350&ref=mf

Sunday:
Class 1 (Beginning Blues) 11:15 – 12:15
Class 2 (Intermediate Blues) 12:30 – 1:30
Lunch 1:30 – 2:30
Class 3 (Intermediate Blues) 2:30 – 3:30
Class 4 (Int/Advanced Blues) 3:45 – 4:45
*Take either classes 1-3 or 2-4

Class descriptions available here .