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Yale Swing & Blues Recent NewsApril 22, 2010
The Good Parts Version: 1. Boot Camp Sat & Sun, 1-2 May; Register Here!
2. Practicum this Sun, 25 Apr
3. CSDS Dance in Branford this Sat, 24 Apr!
4. Registration for CTLX is open w/Early Bird Discount Dear Dancers, Not entirely recycled news this week! (We should get green points for being environmentally conscious, we recycle as much of our weekly news as we can! Saving electrons day by day.) And speaking of environmentalism, I would also like to point out that you are all amateur litterbugs, leaving your stuff at my place, Practicum, or wherever. I say you are amateurs not because you are unskilled at leaving your stuff at my place, etc., but because I am unwilling to pay you for the act of leaving your stuff at my place, etc. While I mean this in the kindest way, I think this means we need to start a Lost & Found box. Details to be worked out. There are still a number of lost items which have not, to my knowledge, been claimed (teal fleece jacket, reddish umbrella).
In any case, before I go on, I want to extend a warm Thank You Very Much to everyone who turned out for Tin Pan — there was some fantastic crazy energy at that dance, and at the ensuing AFTERPARTY when I kicked most of you out at 4 AM and still had some crash-overs. Good times! And of course Cherry Blossom, Blues lessons and Practicum.
1. Boot Camp Sat & Sun, 1-2 May; Register Here! First of all, get off your metaphorical duff and sign up for our upcoming Boot Camp! Which, if you're not familiar, is where we corral all you people and hold eight hours of fun-intensive dance instruction, giving you all you need to know to have fun out there dancing Swing and/or Blues! Some of you got a taste of this at the Bulldog Days gig (which I will add was a lot of fun), but there's so much more to experience we couldn't squeeze it all in one two-hour session.
The Boot Camp will be the first weekend in May. It'll be held from 2pm-6pm on Sat, 1 May and Sun, 2 May, in the
Christ Church Undercroft (84 Broadway, New Haven – same space as the Monthly Dance above). 2. Practicum this Sun, 25 Apr That's right folks! It's Weekly Practicum once again! This Sunday, 8-11 PM, on the ground floor of Yale's Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. Included: professional amateur DJs complete with music; friendly faces and feet to dance with and to provide guidance to those seeking it; relaxed & intimate setting for social dancing, hanging out, whatever. The FREE part is still in effect, no small thing in these economic hard times and right after Tax Reckoning days.
3. CSDS Dance in Branford this Sat, 24 Apr!
We're also proud to give a shout-out to our kind friends in the Connecticut Swing Dance Society, who have promoted and attended our dances these many years. They're having their own dance the weekend after our Boot Camp, that is to say, Sat, May 8, and since you will have just learned all this great stuff, you'll have a place to try it out! Details below:
Venue: Let's Dance In Rhythm, 19 S Main St, Branford (carpool! bring your friends!)
Time: Beginner's lesson 7:30-8:30pm, social dance 8:30-11:30pm Price: (from their website) $5 students, $8 CSDS members, $12 non-members
Music: Our long time friend in good standing, band planner, rabble rouser and CTLX organizer DJ Dhruv Bhargava will be playing.
4. Registration for CTLX is open w/Early Bird Discount Finally, in our last email we promoted the Early Early Bird discount for the Connecticut Lindy Exchange (CTLX 2010). We're proud to say those sold out the day registration opened, so there's no more Early Early Bird price available, but there is still an Early Bird price (with only one "Early") available. For the still highly competitive price of $50, you get:
It's still a fantastic deal, folks! I've been to plenty of Lindy exchanges where the registration was twice as expensive for comparable real-world value. CTLX: the dance weekend made of 100% WIN. (NB: Unofficial catch phrase (c) 2010 by me. Repeat infringers will be thrown under a camel.)
Since I am making less sense by the minute, I'm going to go ahead and hit "Send" here. But everyone enjoy the spring weather and do some serious dancing for me, and when I get back from all my travels in the coming couple of weeks I shall
See you on the floor! RS
April 16, 2010
The Good Parts Version: 1. Yale Monthly Dance w/Tin Pan Blues Band upcoming Sat, 17 Apr
2. Boot Camp Sat & Sun, 1-2 May; Register Here!
3. YS&B at the Cherry Blossom Festival on Sun, 18 Apr
4. Bulldog Days Dance on Mon, 19 Apr 5. Practicum this Sun, 18 Apr
6. Registration for CTLX opens this Sat, 17 Apr @ 11 AM w/Early Early Bird Discount Dear Dancers,
First of all, our most heartfelt apologies to those of you who, inadvertently through our email list, may recently have received in your inbox some amorphous, squishy, off-pink, mystery-meat-like substance. You know what I’m talking about… SPAM spam SPAM spam SPAM spam SPAM spam LOVELY SPAAAAAM
(ahem. @#$% Vikings.) It’s important to us that, however wacky, each email you get from our panlist is, at least symbolically (by your having signed up), solicited. Our Weekly Email Show has won acclaim from the critics, and we’d like to stay in their good graces (and yours!). We’ve taken steps to prevent spam of the sort some of you may recently have received. The price for that is that you can’t unsubscribe yourself from the panlist through the Yale authentication portal, but as always, you can email if you decide for any reason that you don’t want to receive the weekly email show in your email box.
1. Yale Monthly Dance this upcoming Sat, 17 Apr All right folks. The day draws near… the time has almost come for our APRIL MONTHLY DANCE
(In cheery — cheesy? — spring colors where available. Or, if you’re color-blind, it makes a great Hangman puzzle.) Anyway! We’ll have the all-hands-on-deck level of incredible
Tin Pan Blues Band playing for us! Come one, come all, and give them a hand and your two jelly-roll-stompin’ feet. No doubt if you don’t come, the people who did come will hunt you down and tease you relentlessly about it, but we’re a peace-loving bunch and would rather not resort to such tactics.
Venue: Christ Church Undercroft (84 Broadway, New Haven; enter on Elm, don’t park in the bank’s parking lot or you’ll be towed)
Music:
(and our professional amateur DJs during the band breaks) Time: Intro. lesson from 8-9pm; dance from 9-12pm; late-night AFTERPARTY from 12-4am <— (the best part in my opinion) Admission: $7 for students, $10 for non-students
Volunteering: Email Sarah Larsson () for more info. We could still use the help here! 2. Boot Camp Sat & Sun, 1-2 May; Register Here! If your reason for not attending the Tin Pan dance is because for whatever reason you are embarrassed of your near-total inexperience with swing dancing, I’d like to take away your excuse for not attending future dances by announcing the details of our upcoming Boot Camp! Which, if you’re not familiar, is where we corral all you people and hold eight hours of fun-intensive dance instruction, giving you all you need to know to have fun out there dancing Swing and/or Blues!
The Boot Camp will be the first weekend in May. It’ll be held from 2pm-6pm on Sat, 1 May and Sun, 2 May, in the
Christ Church Undercroft (84 Broadway, New Haven – same space as the Monthly Dance above). 3. YS&B at the Cherry Blossom Festival on Sun, 18 Apr With all the other trees in bloom lately, you might (not definitely, of course, but you might) forget that there is an especially festive Cherry Blossom Festival coming up, and it’s my job to make sure you don’t forget. It’s being held in Historic Wooster Square, New Haven, the day after our April Monthly Dance. The reason you should attend is that YS&B will be present there, with a little lesson, a little demo, a little show for y’all. We’re gonna do the Jitterbug Stroll, a fun and easy form of line dance second in popularity only to the almighty Shim Sham, which we will also do! There might be demos of other styles of dance. There will definitely be wild and crazy social dancing. Please come and kick up your heels!
4. Bulldog Days Dance on Mon, 19 Apr And the day after all that, a crop of hungry prospective pre-freshmen — hungry for awesomeness, with which we are uniquely poised to provide them — will descend on New Haven for Bulldog Days. It is our solemnly sworn duty to get them to come to Yale and become part of the big ball of awesome, like, I dunno, a big Dance Katamari, only less creepy and with better music. Everyone turn out and welcome the prospectives on Monday, April 19 from 10pm-midnight!
Venue: Christ Church Undercroft (84 Broadway, New Haven; enter on Elm, don’t park in the bank’s parking lot or you’ll be towed)
Music: Live Yale student musicians!
(and our professional amateur DJs during the band breaks) Refreshments: Awww yeah!!!
5. Practicum this Sun, 18 Apr Weekly Practicum is such a mainstay of our community, it hardly needs an introduction at this point. But! that’s what I get paid the big bu– um, that’s what I volunteer to do out of the goodness of my heart. Anyway, it’ll be taking place this Sunday 8-11 PM on the ground floor of Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. Dance to the expert picks of our professional amateur DJs! If you’re working on something and you desperately need some friendly outside eyes to make sure that flailing X is steady, that loose Y tucked in, etc., you can get feedback from experienced dancers. That, or you can just dance socially if you don’t feel like working on anything. Relaxed & intimate setting. Come experience the FREEDOM from worries, FREEDOM from expectations… and FREEDOM from the price of admission.
6. Registration for CTLX opens this Sat, 17 Apr @ 11 AM w/Early Early Bird Discount Lastly! This one is a big deal, folks! Just letting you know that registration for the Connecticut Lindy Exchange (CTLX 2010) opens this Saturday, 18 April, at 11 AM. Why am I making such a precise statement of the time at which it opens? Because the first twenty (20) people to register qualify as "Early Early Birds" and get the whole weekend for only $40! That’s right, and it includes:
Take it from us, you do not want to miss out on this opportunity to get this LOW price, so make sure to register as close to 11 AM THIS SATURDAY as possible so you save. Even if you are not one of the first 20 to register, you still are saving money with the Early Bird Special of $50. No matter how you look at it you are going to WIN by registering for a WINNING dance weekend made of 100% WIN! You can’t go wrong!
Aaand… I’m sending this after Happy Hour. So if this one seems unreasonably campy, I blame it on the beer. Once I sober up, however, I hope very much to
See you on the floor! RS
April 10, 2010
The Good Parts Version: 1. Blues Lessons and Practicum in GPSCY tomorrow, Sun 11 Apr 2. CSDS Dance in Branford tonight, Sat 10 Apr! Dear Dancers, Oops! I had a few things pointed out to me, regarding my earlier email, which I feel compelled to address collectively. Please forgive the intrusion on your inboxes, but here's the situation:
1. Blues Lessons and Practicum in GPSCY tomorrow, Sun 11 Apr First of all, because of a conflict with the Yale Tango Club (they're having their Tango Fest this weekend), we will NOT in fact be in AfAm tomorrow evening, but in GPSCY (204 York St., New Haven). It will still be absolutely just as much fun! Come find us!
2. CSDS Dance in Branford tonight, Sat 10 Apr!
organized by our friends in the Connecticut Swing Dance Society! Details below:
Venue: Let's Dance In Rhythm, 19 S Main St, Branford (carpool! bring your friends!)
Time: Beginner's lesson 7:30-8:30pm, social dance 8:30-11:30pm
Price: (from their website) $5 students, $8 CSDS members, $12 non-members
Music: Our excellent friend DJ Wil Reed will be playing.
That's all for this week, so close to the end thereof, so sometime tomorrow if you come to practicum (and really, why shouldn't you?), I shall furthermore, heretofore, triumphantly/abundantly
See you on the floor!
RS
April 9, 2010
The Good Parts Version: 1. Blues Lessons Start This Week! Register Here!
2. Practicum this Sun, 11 Apr
3. Yale Monthly Dance upcoming Sat, 17 Apr
4. YS&B at the Cherry Blossom Festival on Sun, 18 Apr
5. Bulldog Days Dance on Mon, 19 Apr 6. Boot Camp Sat & Sun, 1-2 May, stay tuned for details Dear Dancers, Time to send out… that emaily thing. You know it's special 'cause you only get one a week, unless I am undone by my dissolute cutting-and-pasting ways. Anyways here's the next week, or few, in our increasingly-not-so-little dance world.
1. Blues Lessons Start This Week! Register Here!
So swing classes started last week, but you're definitely not too late for blues classes which start this week, specifically Sunday, April 11. (That's for both Intro and Intermediate, in case you were wondering.) Classes are open to everyone, and you don’t have to bring a partner. No special shoes are required. Don't forget to
SWING CLASSES: Thursdays 4/1, 4/8, 4/15, 4/22
Given the continuing recession, we want to acknowledge that students are not the only members of our community who might need discounts in order to be able to keep up their dancing. In order to be sensitive to the unemployed (and under-employed) in our community, we are instituting a sliding scale for class series prices which we will maintain entirely on an honor system. Minimum suggested prices are as follows:
Oh yeah, and
Or should I say, "
" heh. yeah. that's what I meant. 2. Practicum this Sun, 11 Apr Weekly Practicum is out in style! woohoo! It'll be taking place this Sunday 8-11 PM on the ground floor of Yale's Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. Dance to the expert picks of our professional amateur DJs! If you're working on something and you desperately need some friendly outside eyes to make sure that flailing X is steady, that loose Y tucked in, etc., you can get feedback from experienced dancers. That, or you can just dance socially if you don't feel like working on anything. Relaxed & intimate setting. The price, the price is small… just FREE.
3. Yale Monthly Dance this upcoming Sat, 17 Apr So folks! You know how you love our live bands! Well, we've got news for you! Or a reminder, rather! That is to say, Tin Pan Blues Band will be playing for our next monthly dance, so come make them feel welcome! (You're only fooling yourself if you think you can run and/or hide, since after all we do have your email address.)Venue: Christ Church Undercroft (84 Broadway, New Haven; enter on Elm, don't park in the bank's parking lot or you'll be towed)
Music:
(and our professional amateur DJs during the band breaks) Time: Intro. lesson from 8-9pm; dance from 9-12pm; late-night AFTERPARTY from 12-4am Admission: $7 for students, $10 for non-students
Volunteering: Email Sarah Larsson () for more info. 4. YS&B at the Cherry Blossom Festival on Sun, 18 Apr With all the other trees in bloom lately, you might (not definitely, of course, but you might) forget that there is an especially festive Cherry Blossom Festival coming up, and it's my job to make sure you don't forget. It's being held in Historic Wooster Square, New Haven, the day after our April Monthly Dance. The reason you should attend is that YS&B will be present there, with a little lesson, a little demo, a little show for y'all. Rumor has it that the Shim Sham will make an appearance, and you'd hate to disappoint the Shim Sham, right?
5. Bulldog Days Dance on Mon, 19 Apr Speaking of disappointing people, or traditional line dances to jazz music (to the extent they can be disappointed), it's right about time for Yale to admit a new crop of students for the coming four years — oh wait, they already did! Quick, now we have to get them to come to Yale, and our chosen strategy for doing that is to get them to come dance with us. (Because then, you see, they'll already be having fun and they'll just have to dance with us some more.) Everyone turn out and welcome the new prospective freshmen on Monday, April 19 from 10pm-midnight!
Venue: Christ Church Undercroft (84 Broadway, New Haven; enter on Elm, don't park in the bank's parking lot or you'll be towed)
Music: Live Yale student musicians!
(and our professional amateur DJs during the band breaks) Refreshments: Yes!
6. Boot Camp Sat & Sun, 1-2 May, stay tuned for details
Lastly! Those of you who are just learning to dance! Or have friends who want to learn to dance! Or want to polish your dancing skills! Or who want to come help out and dance with new people and help them improve! Our next Boot Camp is coming soon, first weekend in May. Watch out for details in future emails. (Because, you know, a detail might fall and hit you on the head if you're not careful. Wear protective headgear. Even if people laugh at you.)
That's the news for this week, and so until next week I'll
See you on the floor! RS
April 1, 2010
The Good Parts Version: 0. ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR APRIL CLASS SERIES LINK HERE 1. Floorboard Blues @ Vinnie's this Fri, 2 Apr 2. Solomon Douglas Quartet @ Vinnie's this Sat, 3 Apr 3. Solomon Douglas & Calico Goodrich Workshops this Sun, 4 Apr
Dear Dancers,
My apologies, I made two HUGE omissions in my most recent email. The first of the omissions is being corrected in a HUGE font, with size proportional to the magnitude of the omission: I screwed up two weeks in a row and forgot to add the link to the
All of the details of the class series can be found in the previous email, or here. Since Lindy classes started TONIGHT (past tense! ow!), we really hope those of you who have been dying to register can now do so forthwith and without further ado. (And in case you were wondering, this is not a joke.)
The other omission I will proceed to rectify in a smaller font, but it takes up several parts and proportionally more space: Wesleyan is having a CRAZY dance weekend starting TOMORROW (FRIDAY) NIGHT, full of awesome stuff, and we should all carpool up to Middletown and show them some serious love. Call anyone you know, beg or borrow transportation (we don't advocate stealing), but get up there and get your dance on! Details below.
1. Floorboard Blues @ Vinnie's this Fri, 2 Apr Time: Bluesin' starts at 10 PM and ends at 2 AM. Price: $5 suggested donation; all proceeds go to bring awesome live bands and instructors to Connecticut. Facebook page: Here.
2. Solomon Douglas Quartet @ Vinnie's this Sat, 3 Apr
Time: 7:30-8:30 PM beginner lesson, 8:30-11:30 PM DANCE DANCE DANCE!!! Price: (this is slightly more complicated than above)
Facebook page: Here. 3. Solomon Douglas & Calico Goodrich Workshops this Sun, 4 Apr
Finally, WESwing & Blues is proud to present: Crossing Over, Lindy/Blues Crossover Workshops. Solomon Douglas and Calico Goodrich are coming to us from as far as Seattle to help us learn how to fuse two wonderful styles into one beautiful dance.
The Facebook page for the workshops is here, they run from noon to 5:45 PM at Wesleyan's Beckham Hall, and my fingers are getting rather tired so I'll let you work out the details if you're interested but really, if you're going to everything else at Wesleyan this year (and you should!), you might as well go to this!
And. Sooo. Okay, I think it's all good. Which means that if you drive up to Middletown tomorrow night, I will at that time with bells on most definitely
See you on the floor! RS
March 31, 2010
The Good Parts Version: 1. April Lesson Series Starts This Week!
2. Yale Monthly Dance upcoming Sat, 17 Apr
3. Practicum this Sun, 4 Apr
4. YS&B at the Cherry Blossom Festival on Sun, 18 Apr Dear Dancers, I'm a little behind the curve again, but tonight is my Night for Taking Care of Random Things, and since you're well aware that my email updates are more than a little random, I think the YS&B Newsletter for this week fits hiply (as opposed to squarely) into this category. Some old friends on the item list, some new, all 100% vitally important for you to attend, as usual:
1. April Lesson Series Starts This Week! SWING CLASSES: Thursdays 4/1, 4/8, 4/15, 4/22
Given the continuing recession, we want to acknowledge that students are not the only members of our community who might need discounts in order to be able to keep up their dancing. In order to be sensitive to the unemployed (and under-employed) in our community, we are instituting a sliding scale for class series prices which we will maintain entirely on an honor system. Minimum suggested prices are as follows:
2. Yale Monthly Dance this upcoming Sat, 17 Apr Okay, so you came to our March Monthly Dance this past weekend. Good for you! — then you know what kind of party we can throw, and we don't have to talk you into coming to our April Monthly Dance in a few weeks. We have an extra special treat for you, our first Live Band of the spring!Venue: Christ Church Undercroft (84 Broadway, New Haven; enter on Elm, don't park in the bank's parking lot or you'll be towed)
Music:
(and our professional amateur DJs during the band breaks) Time: Intro. lesson from 8-9pm; dance from 9-12pm; late-night AFTERPARTY from 12-4am Admission: $7 for students, $10 for non-students
Volunteering: Email Sarah Larsson ( ) for more info. 3. Practicum this Sun, 4 Apr If you can't wait that long to get your dance on, please grace our perennial cyclical Weekly Practicum with your extra-spiffy dance presence. Yes, all of you! It'll be taking place this Sunday 8-11 PM on the ground floor of Yale's Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. Dance to the expert picks of our professional amateur DJs! If you're working on something and you desperately need some friendly outside eyes to make sure that flailing X is steady, that loose Y tucked in, etc., you can get feedback from experienced dancers. That, or you can just dance socially if you don't feel like working on anything. Relaxed & intimate setting. Still FREE, believe it or not.
4. YS&B at the Cherry Blossom Festival on Sun, 18 Apr Lastly but not leastly, wildly but not beastly, there is a Cherry Blossom Festival being held in Historic Wooster Square, New Haven, later the same weekend as our April Monthly Dance. The reason you should attend is that YS&B will be present there, with a little lesson, a little demo, a little show for y'all. Rumor has it that the Shim Sham will make an appearance. We'd love to have a great turnout here, so everyone can see how much you love us!… you do love us, right?… right?…
<crickets> Seriously folks, it'll be awesome, and hopefully by then the spring weather will be more consistent than it is right now (I'm dismayed at how cold it's been this week). Dancing under the cherry blossoms is really all my little heart desires right now (except maybe a nice MLT where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomatoes are ripe, mmm, so perky)… maybe you feel the same way.
That's all for now, and this time I actually will, for reals and for true,
See you on the floor! RS
March 26, 2010
The Good Parts Version: 1. Yale Monthly Dance TONIGHT, Fri, 26 Mar
2. Dance Pedagogy Workshops w/Mary Christensen THIS WEEKEND, 27-28 Mar 3. Lesson Series will run Thu & Sun in April
4. Practicum this Sun, 28 Mar Dear Dancers, Whhhoooaaa! My sincere apologies that this is going out so late — this week has just been one thing after another, talking to reporters, meeting prospective grad students, doing taxes, etc., and I'm only now starting to catch my breath. It's a darn good thing y'all have had so much warning about each of the events I'm about to list here; you've all had more than adequate time to plan so we'd better see you there!
Nevertheless, I could understand if you were caught up in some really riveting political discussion about the new health care bill, or maybe stopped to smell the new flowers just a little bit too deeply. Or maybe your new spring dance shoes came untied but you have five distinct shoelaces on each shoe and the act of concentration to get them all tied properly again was so intense that you got distracted and just plumb forgot about our awesome events this weekend. While none of these are justification for not showing up at all our awesome events, I could understand them as explanations for why you might not be there, with varying levels of plausibility. Which is why I'm now sending you reminders about the
1. Yale Monthly Dance TONIGHT Fri, 26 Mar That's right folks, Friday, March 26 is the date of our upcoming YS&B Monthly Dance! That's TONIGHT for those of you who haven't consulted your calendars. Shake the mud off your shoes and come kick up your heels! Further details:Venue: Christ Church Undercroft (84 Broadway, New Haven; enter on Elm, don't park in the bank's parking lot or you'll be towed)
Music: DJed (ah, but such DJs! don't turn away from us!) Time: Intro. lesson from 8-9pm; dance from 9-12pm; late-night AFTERPARTY from 12-4am Admission: $5 for students, $7 for non-students
Volunteering: Email Sarah Larsson (
2. Dance Pedagogy Workshops w/Mary Christensen 27-28 Mar The schedule:
Saturday, 2:30-7 With Dinner Sunday, 1-5 With a Picnic and Games Cost is $20 for the weekend, for everyone. Email Mary () with your name and teaching experience to reserve a spot. You can also register online here. 3. Lesson Series will run Thu & Sun in April SWING CLASSES: Thursdays 4/1, 4/8, 4/15, 4/22
Given the continuing recession, we want to acknowledge that students are not the only members of our community who might need discounts in order to be able to keep up their dancing. In order to be sensitive to the unemployed (and under-employed) in our community, we are instituting a sliding scale for class series prices which we will maintain entirely on an honor system. Minimum suggested prices are as follows:
4. Practicum this Sun, 28 Mar Aaaand can you guess what's next, folks? Wait for it…… waaaiiit for it … … … (if you peeked at the subject header, this totally doesn't count) …
… keep waiting … oh I can't keep a lid on it any longer! It's our unconditionally fantastic Weekly Practicum, which will, once again, be taking place this Sunday 8-11 PM in one of the two spacious, inviting ground-floor rooms of Yale's Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. Come to dance, dance, dance, watch others dance, dance, dance some more, dance, make request of our professional amateur DJs to play that crazy creative mix of music to keep you dancing, dance, dance, dance, get feedback from experienced dancers on specific aspects of your dancing, dance, and dance some more… all in a relaxed & intimate setting. Price is still a big fat FREE for all our beloved fans.
And with that, it's once more into the breach but don't worry 'cause I'll
See you on the floor! RS
March 17, 2010
The Good Parts Version: 1. Next Yale Monthly Dance on Fri, 26 Mar
2. Dance Pedagogy Workshops w/Mary Christensen 27-28 Mar 3. Hartford Underground's LindyFeast Potluck on Fri, 19 Mar
4. Lesson Series will run Thu & Sun in April
5. Practicum this Sun, 21 Mar Dear Dancers, Happy St. Patrick's Day! Please don't pinch me yet, not even Mother Nature is wearing green right now. But if the sun keeps shining one can hope that will change soon… so it sounds like a great time to encourage you all to come to the
1. Next Yale Monthly Dance on Fri, 26 Mar Coming up on Friday, March 26, we've got our next YS&B Monthly Dance! We want to see all your smiling faces and happy feet there, so make sure you don't pick that evening for spring cleaning or any such non-dancing activities. Further details:Venue: Christ Church Undercroft (84 Broadway, New Haven; enter on Elm, don't park in the bank's parking lot or you'll be towed)
Music: DJed Time: Intro. lesson from 7:30-9pm; dance from 9-12pm; late-night AFTERPARTY from 12-4am Admission: $5 for students, $7 for non-students Volunteering: Email Sarah Larsson () for more info.
2. Dance Pedagogy Workshops w/Mary Christensen 27-28 Mar The schedule:
Saturday, 2:30-7 With Dinner Sunday, 1-5 With a Picnic and Games Cost is $20 for the weekend, for everyone. Email Mary () with your name and teaching experience to reserve a spot. Online registration coming soon! 3. Hartford Underground's LindyFeast Potluck on Fri, 19 Mar Sooo, for those of you who don't want to wait for next weekend to have a little fun, I've got a surprise, well, not exactly a surprise seeing as I advertised it last week too, but definitely a tasty morsel. Coming up THIS FRIDAY! with food and fun, allow me to advertise to you… a dance! And, not just any dance, but a dance that is also a potluck dinner that, moreover, is in Hartford! Check out LindyFeast with the Hartford Underground, a thoroughly fabulous organization just a little ways to the north of our fair home. 8:00-11:30 pm, $10/$6 general/student admission, 50% off if you bring something to eat! Beginner lesson on request.
4. Lesson Series will run Thu & Sun in April 5. Practicum this Sun, 21 Mar And finally, near the end of the newsletter, I'm trying to imagine how many more creative ways I can find to tell you that our Weekly Practicum will, entirely as usual, be taking place this Sunday 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room (or Multipurpose Room, whichever tickles our fancy) of Yale's Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. Dance! Watch others dance! Raid our professional amateur DJs' playlists for your new musical obsessions! And of course, get feedback from experienced dancers on specific aspects of your dancing in a relaxed & intimate setting. Pretty sure admission is still FREE, folks!And with that, I'm probably gonna go to sleep and hope I'm more efficient getting work done tomorrow than I was today, ugh. But if I can just get all this stuff done then at some point in the really not too distant future I shall definitely
See you on the floor! RS
March 11, 2010
The Good Parts Version:
1. Next Yale Monthly Dance on Fri, 26 Mar
2. Dance Pedagogy Workshops w/Mary Christensen 27-28 Mar 3. CSDS's Swing Into Spring THIS Sat, 13 Mar! 4. Hartford Underground's LindyFeast Potluck on Fri, 19 Mar 5. Lesson Series will run Thu & Sun in April
6. Practicum this Sun, 14 Mar Dear Dancers, My crazy travel schedule has me in a luxury suite in Salt Lake City, with mountains out the window that look like they were airlifted straight out of Gondor. I've been dealing with a bunch of physicists all week so far, but no worries, I'll be back in PLENTY of time for the 1. Next Yale Monthly Dance on Fri, 26 Mar Coming up on Friday, March 26, we've got our next YS&B Monthly Dance! We want to see all your smiling faces and happy feet there, so make sure you don't pick that evening for spring cleaning or any such non-dancing activities. Further details:Venue: Christ Church Undercroft (84 Broadway, New Haven; enter on Elm, don't park in the bank's parking lot or you'll be towed)
Music: DJed Time: Intro. lesson from 7:30-9pm; dance from 9-12pm; late-night AFTERPARTY from 12-4am Admission: $5 for students, $7 for non-students Volunteering: Email Sarah Larsson at for more info.
2. Dance Pedagogy Workshops w/Mary Christensen 27-28 Mar Exciting news! On March 27 and 28, our former illustrious single-handed dance instructor Mary Christensen will be leading a teacher training workshop at Yale. More information to come! This is for people who currently teach dance or are interested in teaching. We'd like to get a sense of who's coming and of their level of experience. Those interested should email Mary at , with a short statement about previous experience.
3. CSDS's Swing Into Spring THIS Sat, 13 Mar! Now despite the deferred excitement taking place near the end of the month, the place to be this weekend will be Branford, where the Connecticut Swing Dance Society is putting on their Swing Into Spring awesomeness (click here for details)! Afternoon workshops with the utterly fabulous Shawn Hershey and Amanda Gruhl from Boston, evening dance lit by the incandescent music of the well-nigh unstoppable Gordon Webster afterwards, and late-nite DJed AFTERPARTY to follow. Don't say we didn't warn you, 'cause y'know, well, we did. Last weekend too. So there.4. Hartford Underground's LindyFeast Potluck on Fri, 19 Mar Sooo, then we kick off the following weekend with food and fun, specifically a dance that is also a potluck dinner that is also in Hartford! Check out LindyFeast with the Hartford Underground, a thoroughly fabulous organization just a little ways to the north of our fair home. 8:00-11:30 pm, $10/$6 general/student admission, 50% off if you bring something to eat! Beginner lesson on request.
5. Lesson Series will run Thu & Sun in April 6. Practicum this Sun, 14 Mar In the middle of all this danceliciousness, make sure you come back for our Weekly Practicum this Sunday 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room (or Multipurpose Room, whichever tickles our fancy) of Yale's Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. Dance! Watch others dance! Raid our professional amateur DJs' playlists for your new musical obsessions! And of course, get feedback from experienced dancers on specific aspects of your dancing in a relaxed & intimate setting. Pretty sure admission is still FREE, folks!And with that, I'm gonna run off and catch a plane back to New Haven, so those of you who were wondering where I was at practicum last week, relax 'cause I'll be there this week. So I'll be able at that time to make good on my promise to
See you on the floor! RS
February 24, 2010
The Good Parts Version:
1. Haiti Benefit Dance with FREE Admission for YS&B this Fri, 26 Feb
2. Practicum this Sunday, 28 Feb; Int. Blues CANCELLED this week only 3. Next Monthly Dance on Fri, 26 Mar; Lesson Series will run Thu & Sat in April 4. Lost & Found: Turquoise fleece jacket? Dear Dancers, Sometimes it's a challenge to remain enthusiastic after a climactic and fabulous dance weekend, but let me assure you, I'm up to the challenge. A few exciting offerings include: 1. Haiti Benefit Dance with FREE Admission for YS&B this Fri, 26 Feb This just in: the Bob Lamothe Blues Band will be playing swing & blues tunes for the upcoming Friday Night Caribbean Party at GPSCY this weekend (that's 204 York St., New Haven). As the name suggests, that's going down this Friday, February 26, starting at 8:30 PM with those swingin', bluesin' and entirely crowd-pleasin' sounds. In between sets and after 10:30 PM, they'll have a DJ playing an impressive variety of island-based dance music: konpa, merengue, salsa, reggae, bachata, calypso and soka. Wow! The good news is it's absolutely FREE if you say at the door that you're with Yale Swing & Blues! Of course, we encourage you to be good citizens and make donations for earthquake relief in Haiti. The bad news is this isn't an all-ages venue — you have to be 21 to get in. But if you're 21 or over, by all means, attend! 2. Practicum this Sunday, 28 Feb; Int. Blues CANCELLED this week only Once again our infamous Weekly Practicum is BACK! this Sunday 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room of Yale's Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. Where else can you dance, hang out and watch us dance, listen to music, ask
questions or get feedback from experienced dancers on specific aspects
of your dancing in a relaxed & intimate setting, all for FREE!? Such a deal!The only sad part is that the Intermediate Blues class which would normally take place starting at 5:30 PM this Sunday will be CANCELLED — but just this week. Class will resume as usual next week, and the Beginning Blues class will be held as usual. 3. Next Monthly Dance on Fri, 26 Mar; Lesson Series will run Thu & Sat in April Save the date, folks! The next Monthly Dance will be coming up on Friday, March 26, in the Christ Church Undercroft (84 Broadway, New Haven), and we want to see all your smiling faces and happy feet there, so make sure you don't pick that evening for spring cleaning or any such non-dancing activities.Moreover, our fantastic lesson series will be back in April, and while we're not yet sure of all the particulars, we do know that we plan to hold the classes on Thursdays and Sundays of that month. So make sure you keep those blocked out on the calendar. 4. Lost & Found: Turquoise fleece jacket? One last thing which I feel compelled to mention, though it is not strictly YS&B business: Someone left a turquoise jacket over at my place from one of the January AFTER PARTIES. I was secretly hoping the guilty party would come back to this past weekend's AFTER PARTY to pick it up, but alas, no such thing occurred. So, if you're feeling C-C-C-COOOOOLLLD-D-D-D because you left your favorite fleece at my place, please email me sometime soon! If it goes unclaimed by mid-March I'm probably going to hand it off to Goodwill, hopefully to be used profitably by someone who is undoubtedly colder than you are if you've survived this long.And I thiiiiink that's it, so I'll hit the "Send" button on this puppy and send the electrons speeding to YOUR MAILBOX. Please share and enjoy this weekly update and I shall inevitably See you on the floor! RS
February 16, 2010
The Good Parts Version:
1. WESwing&Blues's Floorboard Blues at Vinnie's coming up Fri, 19 Feb
2. Next Yale Monthly Dance w/Blue Vipers of Brooklyn coming up Sat, 20 Feb 3. Volunteers still needed for Yale Monthly Dance! 4. Practicum this Sunday, 21 Feb with Jazz Trio! Dear Dancers, So pleased to be back on the email train! and in town! except maybe for all this crazy snow. It's kind of exhausting to be tromping around in all this stuff, and I had to cancel dinner plans tonight because I was snowed in. But you know, when life hands you lemons you FIND A NEW LIFE. One which involves events like 1. WESwing&Blues's Floorboard Blues at Vinnie's coming up Fri, 19 Feb I'm telling you guys, I'd better see you at FLOORBOARD BLUES this very Friday night! "A blues dance event with an after-hours feel that won't make you miss your bedtime." The last time the Wesleyan crowd put this on it had FABULOUS guest DJs (and musicians!) with a GREAT vibe, so we really encourage you all to carpool your way by hook or crook up to Vinnie's in Middletown for the occasion. Don't be shy! Check out more details at the Facebook page (click here!).
2. Next Yale Monthly Dance w/Blue Vipers of Brooklyn coming up Sat, 20 Feb If the excuse you would otherwise have given us is that you don't know how to dance, I should let you know that there's a Beginner's Lesson from 7:30-8:30 PM that evening to help you get a move on! The Vipers go on at 8:30 PM and play till midnight, with our most excellent and right honorable DJs filling in the breaks. AFTER PARTY to follow. Admission: $10 regular, $7 with a student ID. Worth every single penny. 3. Volunteers still needed for Yale Monthly Dance! Y'know, these dances do involve a non-trivial staff presence… we remain committed to bringing you the absolute best dance experience we can manage, but we certainly won't complain if you happen to be interested in giving us a hand with that! Admission is FREE to whoever helps out. Contact Ben Lash (lash.ben@gmail.com) to volunteer today! 4. Practicum this Sunday, 14 Feb; Jazz Trio playing 21 Feb Aaaand right after that we'll be back with our fabulous Weekly Practicum, same bat time, same bat belfry: 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room of Yale's Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. For the low low price of absolutely FREE,
you can: dance, hang out and watch us dance, listen to music, ask
questions or get feedback from experienced dancers on specific aspects
of your dancing in a relaxed & intimate setting.Remember that this week we have a special treat, a Live Jazz Trio of Yale-affiliated musicians! Please come out and support them! Of course, we love our professional amateur DJs, who will be playing swing and blues dance music for your ambidancetrous delectation during the band breaks. And I think that's about it! Not much to say except that I'll be looking for each of you personally at all of the following events. It's going to be a great weekend for dancing!
See you on the floor! RS
February 11, 2010
The Good Parts Version: 1. SWING SERIES STARTS this Thu, 11 Feb 2. Practicum this Sunday, 14 Feb; Jazz Trio playing 21 Feb3. WESwing&Blues's Floorboard Blues at Vinnie's coming up Fri, 19 Feb 4. Next Yale Monthly Dance w/Blue Vipers of Brooklyn coming up Sat, 20 Feb
Dear Dancers, So as I type I'm still trying to sober up after Astronomy Happy Hour downstairs; some of you might remember that I'm kind of a one-beer wonder.  Rest assured that I will proofread this in a few hours' time before it goes out!
1. SWING SERIES STARTS this Thu, 11 Feb That's today folks, in fact it just ended… whoops! Probably this should've gotten out last night, but I was in the Hartford airport grumbling about how the internet sucked and the limo service abandoned me due to snow. So hopefully you all took heed of our previous announcements… just in case you missed 'em, here's what's going on one more time:SWING CLASSES: Thursdays 2/11, 2/18, 2/25, 3/4
All classes meet at the Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St, New Haven.
Open to everyone! No partner needed! No special shoes required! Wear comfortable clothes! And most importantly, once again, click here to register! 2. Practicum this Sunday, 14 Feb; Jazz Trio playing 21 Feb You've seen it before, now see it again for the first time and not for the last: 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room of Yale's Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. For the low low price of absolutely FREE,
you can: dance, hang out and watch us dance, listen to music, ask
questions or get feedback from experienced dancers on specific aspects
of your dancing in a relaxed & intimate setting.The hearsay about the Live Jazz Trio of enterprising Yale-affiliated musicians has mutated from hearsay to fact! They are scheduled to play at next week's Practicum, Sun, 21 Feb. Please come out and support them! Of course, we love our professional amateur DJs, who will be playing swing and blues dance music for your ambidancetrous delectation during the band breaks. 3. WESwing&Blues's Floorboard Blues at Vinnie's coming up Fri, 19 Feb OMIGOSH IT'S COMING RIGHT FOR US! IT'S… FLOORBOARD BLUES, which is coming up NEXT WEEK! "A blues dance event with an after-hours feel that won't make you miss your bedtime." The last time the Wesleyan crowd put this on it had FABULOUS guest DJs (and musicians!) with a GREAT vibe, so we really encourage you all to carpool your way by hook or crook up to Vinnie's in Middletown for the occasion. Check out more details at the Facebook page (click here!).
4. Next Yale Monthly Dance w/Blue Vipers of Brooklyn coming up Sat, 20 Feb If you've never heard 'em before, well heck, take my word for it for now so you won't have to later. You've come to trust me as your friendly neighborhood email purveyor. Right? They're that good. If you've never even danced with us before, fear not, there is a Beginner's Lesson from 7:30-8:30 PM that evening to help you get a move on! The Vipers go on at 8:30 PM and play till midnight, with our most excellent and right honorable DJs filling in the breaks. And don't forget… the AFTER PARTY. Admission: $10 regular, $7 with a student ID. Worth every single penny. That's it for now, but I look forward to the day in the very near future when I will See you on the floor! RS
January 30, 2010
The Good Parts Version: 1. NEW 4-WEEK CLASS SERIES STARTS next Sun, 7 Feb 2. Practicum this Sunday, 31 Jan; look for future Jazz Trio-ness3. WESwing&Blues’s Floorboard Blues at Vinnie’s coming up Fri, 19 Feb 4. Next Yale Monthly Dance w/Blue Vipers of Brooklyn coming up Sat, 20 Feb Dear Dancers, After a long hiatus, your friendly neighborhood emailer is BAAAaaack, which means of course more hilarity and non-sequiturs to keep your dance-related edutainment amusing, not to say confusing. I’m headed south for the weekend to Philadelphia shortly, but you’ll hopefully see more of me on the dance floor in coming months, so save up some good times for me, mmm’kay? Now then. 1. NEW 4-WEEK CLASS SERIES STARTS next Sun, 7 Feb Most Urgent and Important things first. Can we have a big fat YAY from the captive audience for the return of our 4-Week Lesson Series? Which, I might add, are going to start NEXT SUNDAY (7 Feb) shortly before our Weekly Practicum! We’ve picked up a lot of New People lately (hello New People!) as well as some tried ‘n true friends returning from places both local and remote, so we want to make sure y’all are on the same page and feel comfy going out there to tear up the floor (metaphorically). Click here to register!SWING CLASSES: Thursdays 2/11, 2/18, 2/25, 3/4
All classes meet at the Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St, New Haven.
Open to everyone! No partner needed! No special shoes required! Wear comfortable clothes! And most importantly, once again, click here to register! 2. Practicum this Sunday, 31 Jan; look for future Jazz Trio-ness Come get your exercise/music/social gig on with us Sunday night! Usual details: 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room of Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. For the low low price of absolutely FREE, you can: dance, hang out and watch us dance, listen to music, ask questions or get feedback from experienced dancers on specific aspects of your dancing in a relaxed & intimate setting. Our professional amateur DJs will be playing swing and blues dance music for us. There is also a well-founded rumor from knowledgeable sources that there will be a Live Jazz Trio played by some enterprising Yale-affiliated musicians at some upcoming practica. We’re very excited to be able to up the ante in this way and to provide a venue for emerging local talent, so stay tuned for more info! 3. WESwing&Blues’s Floorboard Blues at Vinnie’s coming up Fri, 19 Feb Looking farther into our bright, bright future, we can just glimpse the outline on the horizon of the next reiteration of Floorboard Blues, "a blues dance event with an after-hours feel that won’t make you miss your bedtime." The last time the Wesleyan crowd put this on it had FABULOUS guest DJs (and musicians!) with a GREAT vibe, so we really encourage you all to carpool your way by hook or crook up to Vinnie’s in Middletown for the occasion. Check out more details at the Facebook page (click here!). 4. Next Yale Monthly Dance w/Blue Vipers of Brooklyn coming up Sat, 20 FebAnd that very same weekend, on Saturday as opposed to Friday, we’re going to welcome the Blue Vipers of Brooklyn back to our favorite Monthly Dance Space, the Undercroft of Christ Church, 84 Broadway, New Haven. If you’ve heard this hoppin’ dance band before, and many of you have, you realize without me saying anything more that there is no excuse for not dropping everything you are doing that Saturday evening and coming out to shake a tail feather. The Vipers have a dancer-friendly, upbeat, energetic sound, and they are top-notch performers with great crowd appeal for both swing and blues. I for one especially enjoy their rendition of "St. James InFORMary". If you’ve never heard this band before, well heck, take my word for it for now so you won’t have to later. You’ve come to trust me as your friendly neighborhood email purveyor. Right? They’re that good. If you’ve never even danced with us before, fear not, there is a Beginner’s Lesson from 7:30-8:30 PM that evening to help you get a move on! The Vipers go on at 8:30 PM and play till midnight, with our most excellent and right honorable DJs filling in the breaks. And don’t forget… the AFTER PARTY. Admission: $10 regular, $7 with a student ID. Worth every single penny. See you on the floor! RS
January 20, 2010
The Good Parts Version:
1. Friday’s Swing Dance now Haiti Relief Fundraiser
2. Check Out YS&B’s New Website!
3. YES Practicum Sunday
4. 4-Week Lesson Series beginning first week in February 1. Dance for Haiti This Friday, January 22!
In just two days, the Undercroft of Christ Church will be swinging to the tunes of our fabulous djs, with a late night Blues house party not far behind. Due to recent events, the organizers of Yale Swing & Blues have decided to make this month’s Swing Dance & House Party event into a fundraiser for the relief work in Haiti. All profits from Friday’s dance will go to Doctors Without Borders for their work to address this disaster. Come and join us to make a difference with music and dancing! It will be a fabulous night–be ready to let your hair down and shake it all out. We have a fabulous mix of DJs spinning tunes over the course of the night, and a fabulous mix of lovely local and regional dancers on the floor waiting to ask YOU to dance!
What: YS&B Haiti Fundraiser Swing Dance & Blues Late Night
When: Friday, January 22; Intro Lesson, 8:45, DJed music & dancing 9:30-midnight, Late Night, midnight–3 am
Where: Dance at the Undercroft of Christ Church, at the intersection of Park and Elm Streets; Late Night info available at the dance
$: Entrance to dance $8, $5 for students, Free for volunteers; Intro lesson & late night FREE to all with entrance to the dance
If you’re interested in volunteering, bringing food, or otherwise totally making our day (and getting into the dance for FREE), please email Sarah Larsson, our volunteer coordinator, at !
2. YS&B Has a New Website!
If you haven’t yet, check out our pretty new face on the web! Some pages are not yet complete, but for your convenience we have included new features like a full calendar of events, an updated list of contacts, and an online store where you can buy our famous YS&B t-shirts and buttons! We’d love to hear what you think; just reply to this email with any feedback.
Design by our own beloved Tom Regner (of popular t-shirt fame), with input from Mary and Molly and the YS&B organizing crew. 3. Practicum this Sunday, January 24
Yes, we’re having a dance on Friday night, and Yes, there are other exciting dancing opportunities in Connecticut on Saturday (check out the Blue Moon Ball going on in West Hartford!), and Yes, Sunday is the superbowl, but WE WANNA DANCE on Sunday nights and nothing is going to stand in our way! So come out to Park Street on Sunday evening as usual to fortify yourself against the imminent Monday morning blues. Practicum is FREE and open to the public, and runs from 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room of Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St, EVERY SUNDAY. Our favorite New Haven DJs artfully spin us from Lindy into Blues over the course of the evening as we chill, eat, work on our dancing or just take to the floor with the great dancers of New Haven & CT.
4. Mark your Calendars: Lesson Series in February
Our next four-week Lesson Series will be running the four weeks of February. Like last semester, Intro classes in both Blues and Swing will run on Thursday nights (Intro Blues 6-7:30, Intro Swing 7:30-9), with intermediate workshops on Sunday afternoon before practicum. Prices are being (belatedly) adjusted in view of the ongoing economic downturn, so hopefully no one will be left out for reasons of pocket! Stay tuned for more details about classes, schedule, and prices.
January 10, 2010
The Good Parts Version:
1. Practicum Tonight! Sunday, January 10
2. LindyBomb! Christabel & The Jons at Cafe 9, Wed, Jan 13
3. MeetingParty Thursday, Jan 14
4. Bootcamp January 16 & 17
Dear Dancers,
Here we go! Yale Swing & Blues is back and ready to go–come out tonight for Practicum and keep up with our events all week! As always, we want to know what you want to see–reply to this email if there’s anything you want us to plan that you don’t see happening. In the meantime,
See you on the floor!
1. Big Bad Back-to-school Practicum Tonight, January 10
I don’t know about you, but I miss Practicum! Luckily, tonight ends our Sunday night music and dancing fast in New Haven. Come celebrate the new year where no one cares what resolutions you’re breaking! Our Big Bad Back-to-School Practicum is the perfect place to fortify yourself against the imminent Monday morning blues. Practicum is FREE and open to the public, and runs from 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room of Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St, EVERY SUNDAY. Our favorite New Haven DJs artfully spin us from Lindy into Blues over the course of the evening as we chill, eat, work on our dancing or just take to the floor with the great dancers of New Haven & CT.
2. LindyBomb Alert! Live music at Cafe 9, Wednesday 1/13
Join the YS&B regulars as we descend upon Cafe 9 to dance to the folksy swing tunes of Christabel & the Jons! Cafe 9 is at 250 State St, between Chapel & Crown. $5 cover, 21+
3. Making plans for the New Year–Meetingparty Thursday, 1/14
The organizers of Yale Swing & Blues will be meeting, eating, and most likely dancing a week from Thursday as we take stock of the organization and see where we want to go in 2010. These meetings are open to anyone who wants to be involved, or even just to give us feedback–if you’re interested, or can’t make it but want to let us know what you’ve most liked and most want to see in the coming year from us, contact Rosalind at !
4. Mark your Calendars: next beginner BOOTCAMP Jan 16-17
More information now available about Bootcamp! See the details below; registration will be posted online in the next couple of days.
Beginner Bootcamp
Saturday 1/16, 3-6pm + Sunday 1/17, 1-5pm
$35 registration/ $25 with student ID (Yale Swing & Blues T-shirt included!)
Broadway Rehearsal Lofts, 294 Broadway
Bootcamp is a two-afternoon immersive dance-class experience. Three hours of class each day Saturday and Sunday with YS&B instructor Molly Rubenstein brings you the basics of partnered dance connection and movement that will start you out on the right foot, whether you’re looking to impress on a Blues or Swing dance floor or both. Finish the weekend with your debut at Sunday night Practicum, entry FREE!
Feel free to email Molly at with any questions.
January 3, 2010
The Good Parts Version:
1. No Practicum Tonight; Back again next Sunday, January 10
2. LindyBomb! Christabel & The Jons at Cafe 9, Wed, Jan 13
3. MeetingParty Thursday, Jan 14
4. Bootcamp (Tentatively) Scheduled for January 16 & 17
5. January Monthly Dance Friday, 1/22
Dear Dancers,
Yale Swing & Blues has been underground since final exams and holidays hit, but get ready; 2010 is looking to be a big year, and we’ll be coming back with a bang. Mark your calendars now–January 10 is our Big Bad Back-to-School Practicum, starting us off for a month jam-packed with great music and dancing. So happy New Years to all from the organizers of YS&B, and here’s to seeing you on the floor in the new year!
1. Big Bad Back-to-school Practicum next Sunday, January 10
I don’t know about you, but I miss Practicum! Luckily, tonight marks the last cold empty Sunday night without music and dancing in New Haven. Next Sunday, come celebrate the new year where no one cares what resolutions you’re breaking! Our Big Bad Back-to-School Practicum is the perfect place to fortify yourself against the imminent Monday morning blues. Practicum is FREE and open to the public, and runs from 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room of Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St, EVERY SUNDAY. Our favorite New Haven DJs artfully spin us from Lindy into Blues over the course of the evening as we chill, eat, work on our dancing or just take to the floor with the great dancers of New Haven & CT.
2. LindyBomb Alert! Live music at Cafe 9, Wednesday 1/13
Join the YS&B regulars as we descend upon Cafe 9 to dance to the folksy swing tunes of Christabel & the Jons! Cafe 9 is at 250 State St, between Chapel & Crown. $5 cover, 21+
3. Making plans for the New Year–Meetingparty Thursday, 1/14
The organizers of Yale Swing & Blues will be meeting, eating, and most likely dancing a week from Thursday as we take stock of the organization and see where we want to go in 2010. These meetings are open to anyone who wants to be involved, or even just to give us feedback–if you’re interested, or can’t make it but want to let us know what you’ve most liked and most want to see in the coming year from us, contact Rosalind at !
4. Mark your Calendars: next beginner BOOTCAMP Jan 16-17
Just found us and want to learn more? Hoping to brush up rusty basics before weekly classes begin? Keep meaning to learn to dance, but never have time during the week? Experienced dancer wanting to learn the other role? The beginner bootcamp is for you!
Bootcamp is a two-afternoon immersive dance-class experience. Three hours of class each day Saturday and Sunday with YS&B instructor Molly Rubenstein brings you the basics of partnered dance connection and movement that will start you out on the right foot, whether you’re looking to impress on a Blues or Swing dance floor or both. Finish the weekend with your debut at Sunday night Practicum, entry FREE!
Due to spacial conflicts and Yale University facilities still being closed for the holidays, time and location have still not been finalized, but mark the 16 and 17 of January on your calendars if you think Bootcamp is for you! Feel free to email Molly at with any questions.
5. Next Monthly Dance Friday, January 22!
The fourth Friday of this month, the Undercroft of Christ Church will be swinging to the tunes of our fabulous djs, with a late night Blues house party not far behind. Come join us for a fabulous night–be ready to let your hair down and shake it all out, whether you’re coming as study break or to escape from the 9-5 grind. We have a fabulous mix of DJs spinning tunes over the course of the night, and a fabulous mix of lovely local and regional dancers on the floor waiting to ask YOU to dance!
What: YS&B Monthly Swing Dance & Blues Late Night
When: Friday, December 11; Intro Lesson, 8:45, DJed music & dancing 9:30-midnight, Late Night, midnight–3 am
Where: Dance at the Undercroft of Christ Church, at the intersection of Park and Elm Streets; Late Night info available at the dance
$: Entrance to dance $8, $5 for students; Intro lesson & late night FREE with entrance to the dance
If you’re interested in volunteering, bringing food, or otherwise totally making our day (and getting into the dance for FREE), please email Sarah Larsson, our volunteer coordinator! ()
December 6, 2009
1. Practicum Tonight, No Classes
Feeling the cold today? Come warm up at your favorite FREE New Haven dance event to the sweet tunes of New Haven’s favorite DJs! Practicum runs from 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room of Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St, EVERY SUNDAY. We now offer a (very rough) practicum SCHEDULE: Mostly Swing: 8-9pm; Mixed/fusion/whatever DJ wants: 9-10pm; Mostly Blues: 10-11pm. ***Music selection still at the discretion of our experienced DJs.
2. December Monthly Dance this Friday!
Missing the music, dancing, and vibe of Yale Swing & Blues? Then don’t miss this month’s Swing Dance & Blues Late Night coming up this Friday! We have a fabulous mix of local and regional DJs spinning tunes over the course of the night, including Dhruv Bhargava, Chris Oksanen, Julie Brown, Hether Samuels, Gui Cavalcanti, and Richard Scalzo, and a fabulous mix of lovely local and regional dancers on the floor waiting to ask YOU to dance!
What: YS&B Monthly Swing Dance & Blues Late Night
When: Friday, December 11; Intro Lesson, 8:45, DJed music & dancing 9:30-midnight, Late Night, midnight–3 am
Where: Dance at the Undercroft of Christ Church, at the intersection of Park and Elm Streets; Late Night at Richard’s (directions available at the dance)
$: Entrance to dance $8, $5 for students; Intro lesson & late night FREE with entrance to the dance
If you’re interested in volunteering, bringing food, or otherwise totally making our day (and getting into the dance for FREE), please email Sarah Larsson, our volunteer coordinator! (sarah.larsson[AT]yale[DoT]edu)
3. Next Swing & Blues BootCamp postponed to January
Want to learn how to impress on the dance floor? Don’t despair! We’ll be running another Swing & Blues bootcamp in January, when we come back from winter break. Cover a whole 4-week series’ worth of material in a two-day crash course and come out on the other side ready to hit the floor in style! Great for total beginners, for dancers who want to brush up on their basics, and for anyone interested in working on their dancing in the other role. More information and registration available soon!
4. Want to get more involved in Yale Swing & Blues?
There’s a lot of work that goes into making the events you love happen, all done by a wonderful group of volunteer djs, teachers, and organizers from the local scene. If you want be a part of the behind-the-scenes work, and get to not only hang out with all of us but have the satisfaction of creating a dance scene you can love, let us know! Email Rosalind Diaz, rosalind.diaz[AT]yale[DoT]edu.
November 12, 2009 Exciting regional events coming up! Don’t forget to sign up for our new travelers’ list! Email molly.rubenstein[AT]gmail[DoT]com with “YS&B Travelers’ List” in the subject line. 1. Swing & Blues Dances, Workshops, Live Music + DJs, Outreach and exploration in CT this weekend!
The first ever Connecticut Melting Pot swing/blues fusion weekend is upon us! This very weekend, Yale Swing & Blues, WeSwing&Blues, and the Connecticut Swing Dance Society are bringing you music, teachers and dancers from all across the Northeast to see what we can cook up.
For all the details and to register for the weekend for a super-affordable price, visit the Melting Pot website! Events mostly in New Haven, Saturday night in Milford. Line-up summary below.
Not local? Not a problem! There’s a spot for YOU on a couch in New Haven. Register and request housing here.
Need help getting here? Start a conversation on the Melting Pot – Let’s go! event on the Northeastern Blues Traveler’s group page.
2. Volunteer/ Offer to Host/ Drive
Local, and willing to offer housing/ rides? Offer housing here. Please do! We get to house all of our exciting out of town dancers and make them feel welcome so they come back and dance with us again!
Want to save money on the weekend/ an event? Offer to volunteer! Our volunteer coordinator will get back to you with more information.
3. Find us on Facebook! (and tell your friends
)Attend Friday Night’s Swing & Choose
THIS WEEKEND’S EVENTS:
Friday: SWING & CHOOSE Outreach Dance with Gordon Webster
This incredible weekend starts off with Gordon playing our second annual Swing & Choose Outreach Dance. Yale Swing & Choose congratulates men who follow and women who lead, and welcomes the LGBTQ communities of Yale and New Haven. We’ll be bringing back favorite features of last year’s dance, like the “ambidancetrous” t-shirts, the “ask me to lead/follow” buttons and the Jill & Jack role-reversed social dance competition. Dancers in the Jill & Jack will compete for free weekend passes to Boston’s Sweet Molasses Blues and Philly’s LaBLove!
Whether you come to enjoy the live music, to strut your stuff, or to try on a new role, join us in celebrating that social dancing is for EVERYONE!
What: Swing & Choose Outreach Dance with Gordon Webster
When: Friday, November 13: FREE Intro Lesson 8-9, band plays 9-12
Where: African-American Cultural House, 211 Park St
$12, $6 for students, FREE for first-time dancers!
Blues late-night to follow, only two blocks away from the dance.
Visit us on Facebook! (http://www.facebook.com/home.php/event.php?eid=161694167242&ref=ts)
Saturday: Blues/Swing/Fusion Workshops!
We have two tracks of exciting innovative partner dance workshops running Saturday afternoon! Classes will be taught by Emilio Estevez & Jackie Stahl from Philly and Gui Cavalcanti & Jenn Martinez from Boston and run from 1-5:15pm. There will be a beginner-oriented track and an intermediate-oriented one: the intermediate classes will be at the AfAm House, the Friday night dance venue, and the the beginner classes will be just down the path at GPSCY, at 204 York St. Check out the full class descriptions and register on the Melting Pot website.
Saturday Night: Solomon Douglas in Milford with CSDS, Blues house party to follow in New Haven
Saturday night, the festivities continue! The Connecticut Swing Dance Society is having Solomon Douglas and his band to play on Saturday Night at the Ballroom Experience in Milford, just a 15-20 minute drive from New Haven. For transportation from New Haven, email us at ctmeltingpot@gmail.com.
Intro lesson: 7:30-8:30 pm, Dance: 8:30-11:30 pm
$15, $10 for CSDS members, $6 for students.
For Directions to the Ballroom Experience, visit the CSDS website.
Latenight back in New Haven starting at midnight chez our beloved Chris Oksanen–more information available at the dance! If you won’t be coming to the dance but want to come to the latenight, email Chris for more information.
Sunday: Brunch, Special Class with Mary and Practicum
We’re going to finish the weekend out family style–big happy exhausted dance family style! So after sleeping in late after the late night goodness at Chris’ on Saturday, we’ll be having a pot-luck Brunch in New Haven. We want everyone who wants to to come, but in order to make sure we have enough food, we will make the following requests from Brunch attendees: Either 1) register for the whole weekend, 2) bring food with you (enough for 2-3 people) or 3) let us know by Saturday afternoon that you’ll be coming and be prepared to donate $5 when you arrive.
After the early afternoon chilling and eating, we’ll have our last classes of the weekend, where we’ll be building on and responding to all the things we learned on Saturday, including a special class with Mary Christensen (who, sadly, had prior obligations during the workshops on Saturday but is thankfully staying to teach us Sunday afternoon!). Details soon.
And finally, finish up with your favorite FREE weekly chilled-out New Haven dance event! Practicum runs from 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room of Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St, EVERY SUNDAY. There is a (very rough) practicum music schedule: Mostly Swing: 8-9pm; Mixed/fusion/whatever DJ wants: 9-10pm; Mostly Blues: 10-11pm. Music selection, however, is still at the discretion of our all-star DJs.
October 30, 2009 Exciting regional events coming up! Don’t forget to sign up for our new travelers’ list! Email molly.rubenstein[AT]gmail[DoT]com with “YS&B Travelers’ List” in the subject line. 1. New Classes Series Started 10/25……but it’s still not too late to jump in on the action! This month, we’ve rearranged the class schedule slightly; now both intro classes will be offered on Thursday evenings, and both intermediate classes will be offered before the practicum on Sunday afternoons/evenings. We particularly encourage intro-level dancers to sign up for both! The connection focus in blues class will help your lindy lead and follow, and learning lindy basics will help diversify your blues. Classes, as always, are open to everyone–no Yale affiliation, partner, or special shoes required. All classes meet at the African-American Cultural Center, 211 Park Street New Haven Intro classes on four Thursdays: 10/29, 11/5, 11/12, 11/19 INTRO to BLUES 6-7:30 p.m. Welcome to the meta-partner dance: blues dancing boils it down to the essentials. How do we communicate with a partner and dance to wonderful music at the same time? Intro to Blues gives you the tools you need. Work on connection, musicality, and basic moves you can use in your dancing. Be introduced to swing’s free, flexible, late-night sister. Guaranteed to improve your partner dancing in any tradition! INTRO to SWING 7:30-9 p.m. New to swing dance/ lindy hop? Have some swing experience but never learned your way around a swingout? Been leading/following and want to learn the other role? This is the class for you!! Intermediate classes on four Sundays: 10/25, 11/1, 11/8, 11/15 INTERMEDIATE BLUES 5:30-6:45 p.m. Already have some experience with blues? Come in on Sunday afternoons and take your pick from a smorgasbord of delicious developments for your dancing. Dips, turns, advanced connection workshops and more! The Intermediate Blues workshop format has been such a success that we decided not to limit it to a 4-week series! Payment for the month and willingness to contribute get you in every Sunday till the end of the semester. Note: Intermediate Blues starts at 5:30 PM, not 5:00 as printed on our flyers. INTERMEDIATE SWING 6:45-8 p.m. This is a class for dancers looking to refine their lindy. Smooth out your swingout, tweak your transitions, and vivify your dancing with musicality and variations. Familiarity with the swingout expected. Something new every week–drop-ins welcome!
Class series prices – learn more and save! 2. Gordon Webster at Swing & Choose to Kick Off the First Annual Melting Pot weekend! Nov 13-15!Yale Swing & Blues, WESwing & Blues, and the Connecticut Swing Dance Society are coming together this fall to host the first ever Connecticut Melting Pot swing/blues fusion weekend. We will be bringing music, teachers and dancers from all across the Northeast to run ideas together in Connecticut and see what we can cook up. We have fantastic live music: Gordon Webster playing at Yale on Friday, Solomon Douglas in Milford on Saturday. We have exciting innovative partner dance workshops taught by Emilio Estevez from Philly, Mary Christensen from New York, and Gui Cavalcanti & Jenn Martinez from Boston. We have dancers and djs coming from far and near and a spot for YOU on a couch in New Haven. Check out the full schedule and register on the Melting Pot website. Housing and volunteer opportunities available! This incredible weekend starts off with Gordon playing our second annual Swing & Choose Outreach Dance, Friday, November 13. Yale Swing & Choose congratulates men who follow and women who lead, and welcomes the LGBTQ communities of Yale and New Haven. We’ll be bringing back favorite features of last year’s dance, like the “ask me to lead/follow” buttons and the Jill & Jack role-reversed social dance competition, with exciting new prizes! Whether you come to enjoy the live music, to strut your stuff, or to try on a new role, join us in celebrating that social dancing is for EVERYONE! What: Swing & Choose Outreach Dance with Gordon Webster
3. Halloween Swing/Blues Dance in Middletown Saturday, 10/31!We helped them raise money for it, now it’s happening! Our sister scene at Wesleyan is throwing a Swingin’ Halloween Costume Ball with live music from Josh Fialkoff and the J-Street Band. The band will be playing Saturday, from 8-11pm, with breaks DJed by CT’s beloved Wil Reed. There’ll be a free beginner lesson from 7-8pm and a costume contest with prizes! Facebook event here. In case you were worried, the dancing won’t stop at 11! Walk down the street to Vinnie’s Jump & Jive for Dancing in the Dark, a blackout blues bash to bring us into the wee hours. 424 Main St (corner of Wash & Main, across from New World Laser Tag), donations go to the DJs. Facebook event here. Need a ride? Contact WESwingandBlues@gmail.com — we’ll hook you up! 4. Practicum this and every Sunday!Come back from Middletown for your favorite FREE chilled-out New Haven dance event! Practicum runs from 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room of Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park Street EVERY SUNDAY. For those of you who want to know something about when what music will be playing at practicum, we now offer you a (very rough*) practicum SCHEDULE:
Mostly Swing: 8-9 pm;
*Music selection still at the discretion of our experienced DJs. October 22, 2009 Exciting regional events coming up! Don’t forget to sign up for our new travelers’ list! Email molly.rubenstein[AT]gmail[DoT]com with “YS&B Travelers’ List” in the subject line. 1. New Classes Series to start 10/25: Register Now!This month, we’ve rearranged the class schedule slightly; now both intro classes will be offered on Thursday evenings, and both intermediate classes will be offered before the practicum on Sunday afternoons/evenings. We particularly encourage intro-level dancers to sign up for both! The connection focus in blues class will help your lindy lead and follow, and learning lindy basics will help diversify your blues. Classes, as always, are open to everyone–no Yale affiliation, partner, or special shoes required. All classes meet at the African-American Cultural Center, 211 Park Street New Haven Intro classes on four Thursdays: 10/29, 11/5, 11/12, 11/19 INTRO to BLUES 6-7:30 p.m. Sign Me Up! Welcome to the meta-partner dance: blues dancing boils it down to the essentials. How do we communicate with a partner and dance to wonderful music at the same time? Intro to Blues gives you the tools you need. Work on connection, musicality, and basic moves you can use in your dancing. Be introduced to swing’s free, flexible, late-night sister. Guaranteed to improve your partner dancing in any tradition! INTRO to SWING 7:30-9 p.m. Sign Me Up! New to swing dance/ lindy hop? Have some swing experience but never learned your way around a swingout? Been leading/following and want to learn the other role? This is the class for you!! Intermediate classes on four Sundays: 10/25, 11/1, 11/8, 11/15 INTERMEDIATE BLUES 5:30-6:45 p.m. Sign Me Up! Already have some experience with blues? Come in on Sunday afternoons and take your pick from a smorgasbord of delicious developments for your dancing. Dips, turns, advanced connection workshops and more! The Intermediate Blues workshop format has been such a success that we decided not to limit it to a 4-week series! Payment for the month and willingness to contribute get you in every Sunday till the end of the semester. Note: Intermediate Blues starts at 5:30 PM, not 5:00 as printed on our flyers. INTERMEDIATE SWING 6:45-8 p.m. Sign Me Up! This is a class for dancers looking to refine their lindy. Smooth out your swingout, tweak your transitions, and vivify your dancing with musicality and variations. Familiarity with the swingout expected. Something new every week–drop-ins welcome!
Class series prices – learn more and save! 2. Lindy-Bomb the Women’s Table TODAY Thursday, 10/22!We’re having a lindy bomb TODAY to get the word out about the dance TOMORROW – come dance with us in the nice weather from 5:30-6:15pm at the Women’s Table in front of Sterling Memorial Library! If you think you’ll be attending, please email sarah.larsson[AT]yale[DoT]edu — but if you haven’t emailed, come along anyway! 3. October Monthly Dance is TOMORROW Friday 10/23!Don’t miss this month’s Yale Swing & Blues headliner event! The usual great music and good times are coming up Friday, October 23. Our fabulous DJs Wil Reed, Chris Oksanen, and Rosalind Diaz will be spinning swing tunes from 9:30 to midnight, at which point we’ll head to Chris’ apartment for our famous AFTER PARTY: food, blues dancing, and sweet, sweet music till the wee hours of the morning. What: Monthly Dance with hopping DJs Wil, Chris, & Rosalind If you’re interested in volunteering, bringing food, or otherwise totally making our day (and getting into the dance for FREE), please email Sarah Larsson, our new volunteer coordinator! (sarah.larsson[AT]yale[DoT]edu) 4. New, Improved Practicum this and every Sunday!Our practicum has become so popular that we’ve decided not to let it go dark once a month! Your favorite FREE chilled-out New Haven dance event will be running from 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room of Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park Street EVERY SUNDAY. We’ve heard your feedback! For those of you who want to know something about when what music will be playing at practicum, we now offer you a (very rough*) practicum SCHEDULE:
Mostly Swing: 8-9 pm;
*Music selection still at the discretion of our experienced DJs. If no one’s dancing, they get to change the music 5. Gordon Webster at Swing & Choose 13 NovWe are so excited to have Gordon Webster bringing his music for our annual gender-bending queer-friendly outreach dance and have Solomon Douglas playing in Milford the very next night that we’re thinking about filling in the blanks. Expect a melting pot of blues & swing and everything in between to welcome new people to our dance community and give regulars from all over the northeast a chance to mingle, exchange, and experiment (think classes, think late-nights, think mm-mm goodness). Details in the works–stay tuned! October 16, 2009
1. New Classes Series to start 10/25: Register Now!This month, we’ve rearranged the class schedule slightly; now both intro classes will be offered on Thursday evenings, and both intermediate classes will be offered before the practicum on Sunday afternoons/evenings. We particularly encourage intro-level dancers to sign up for both! The connection focus in blues class will help your lindy lead and follow, and learning lindy basics will help diversify your blues. Classes, as always, are open to everyone–no Yale affiliation, partner, or special shoes required. Intro classes on four Thursdays: 10/29, 11/5, 11/12, 11/19 INTRO to BLUES 6-7:30 p.m. Welcome to the meta-partner dance: blues dancing boils it down to the essentials. How do we communicate with a partner and dance to wonderful music at the same time? Intro to Blues gives you the tools you need. Work on connection, musicality, and basic moves you can use in your dancing. Be introduced to swing’s free, flexible, late-night sister. Guaranteed to improve your partner dancing in any tradition! INTRO to SWING 7:30-9 p.m. New to swing dance/ lindy hop? Have some swing experience but never learned your way around a swingout? Been leading/following and want to learn the other role? This is the class for you!! Intermediate classes on four Sundays: 10/25, 11/1, 11/8, 11/15 INTERMEDIATE BLUES 5:30-6:45 p.m. Already have some experience with blues? Come in on Sunday afternoons and take your pick from a smorgasbord of delicious developments for your dancing. Dips, turns, advanced connection workshops and more! The Intermediate Blues workshop format has been such a success that we decided not to limit it to a 4-week series! Payment for the month and willingness to contribute get you in every Sunday till the end of the semester. Note: Intermediate Blues starts at 5:30 PM, not 5:00 as printed on our flyers. INTERMEDIATE SWING 6:45-8 p.m. This is a class for dancers looking to refine their lindy. Smooth out your swingout, tweak your transitions, and vivify your dancing with musicality and variations. Familiarity with the swingout expected. Something new every week–drop-ins welcome! All classes meet at the African-American Cultural Center, 211 Park Street New Haven
Class series prices – learn more and save! 2. October Monthly Dance is next Friday 10/23!Don’t miss this month’s Yale Swing & Blues headliner event! The usual great music and good times are coming up next Friday, October 23. Our fabulous DJs Wil Reed, Chris Oksanen, and Rosalind Diaz will be spinning swing tunes from 9:30 to midnight, at which point we’ll head to Chris’ apartment for our famous AFTER PARTY: food, blues dancing, and sweet, sweet music till the wee hours of the morning. What: Monthly Dance with hopping DJs Wil, Chris, & Rosalind If you’re interested in volunteering, bringing food, or otherwise totally making our day (and getting into the dance for FREE), please email Sarah Larsson, our new volunteer coordinator! (sarah.larsson[AT]yale[DoT]edu) 3. New Email List for Dance Event Travelers!We’ve been struggling with the fact that there are tons of dance events that we want to go to and that we want our community to know about that are outside of New Haven, but we don’t want to load down our weekly email with too much information. So we’ve devised a plan. Anyone who gets our weekly emails who would be interested in receiving more information about events in other parts of Connecticut, in New York, Philly, Boston (even Montreal), and who might want to coordinate travel to those events with other Yale Swing & Blues dancers, email molly.rubenstein[AT]gmail[DoT]com with “YS&B Travelers’ List” in the subject line, and we’ll add you to the new panlist! We’ll send out lists of regional events we’re going to, and people can email the list to coordinate travel plans. 4. New, Improved Practicum this and every Sunday! (New Location Just This Week)Our practicum has become so popular that we’ve decided not to let it go dark once a month! Your favorite FREE chilled-out New Haven dance event will be running from 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room of Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park Street EVERY SUNDAY. We’ve heard your feedback! For those of you who want to know something about when what music will be playing at practicum, we now offer you a (very rough*) practicum SCHEDULE:
Mostly Swing: 8-9 pm;
*Music selection still at the discretion of our experienced DJs. If no one’s dancing, they get to change the music This Sunday, we have a scheduling conflict with AfAm, so we’ll be holding Blues classes and Practicum at GPSCY, 204 York St (just down the alley from AfAm), on the third floor. The sign outside says “Gryphon’s Pub”. October 11, 2009
1. MeetingParty Tomorrow October 12!Because we have SO MANY AWESOME NEW PEOPLE coming in and wanting to get more involved, we’re going to throw ourselves a party! This is the party where we hang out and plan what we’re going to do in the coming year — discuss what worked, what didn’t work, what we want to stop, start, or keep. For some of you, this is routine already, but with the addition of exciting new faces and energy. For others, who’ve just started getting involved (or communicating interest in getting involved), this will be a great opportunity to get to know who’s on the team and see how we work! (Generally, with lots of music and food and possibly — no, definitely — backrubs). If you’re interested there’s still time to email Molly (miriam.rubenstein[AT]yale[DoT]edu) for more details. 2. October Monthly Dance is Friday 10/23!
Friday, October 23rd; free beginner lesson 8:45-9:30, DJed dance 9:30-12 If you’re interested in volunteering, bringing food, or otherwise totally making our day, please email Rosalind Diaz (rosalind.diaz[AT]yale[DoT[edu) 3. Save the Date: Gordon Webster / Brianna Thomas to Play Swing & Choose Fri, Nov 13Last month we had the intergalactic swing/blues dance celebrity Solomon Douglas and his Quartet play for us. Next month we have the intergalactic swing/blues dance celebrity Gordon Webster and his band, including impossibly amazingly talented vocalist Brianna Thomas (featured on the album Blues Till Dawn), playing for us on Sunday, November 13. This will be our next Monthly Dance, and it’ll be a special one — our 2nd Annual Swing & Choose Dance, where we encourage everyone to switch roles! Last year we had follows leading, leads following, and the first “Jill & Jack” dance contest I ever heard of or participated in. It was an all around fabulous time. October 02, 2009
1. Practicum this Sun, Oct 4; NO BLUES LESSONSAs you may or may not know, this weekend is Blues Blaze in NYC, where Steven and Virginie are giving what will no doubt be a fantastic workshop. Many of our most experienced blues dancers are going. Because of the attendance drain we seriously considered cancelling Practicum. But, last week’s practicum was sooooo much fun, with so many people present, and we talked to you all and you were all like, “I’ll totally come if you have it!” SO, you talked us into it. By popular demand, esteemed local dancer and YS&B weekly newsletter author Richard Scalzo will personally run Practicum this weekend, 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room of Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. For the low low price of absolutely FREE, you can: dance, hang out and watch us dance, listen to music, and/or ask questions in a relaxed & intimate setting. Richard will be playing swing and blues dance music for y’all, and offering feedback on blues and Lindy and we may have one or more additional guest DJs. 2. Lindy Lessons are STILL ON for THIS SATURDAY, Oct 3Despite the slight shortage of blues this week, Lindy lessons are STILL ON this Saturday, October 3, 1-4 PM in the usual location! 3. Wanna Volunteer? Email Molly about MeetingParty!Because we have SO MANY AWESOME NEW PEOPLE coming in and wanting to get more involved, we’re going to throw ourselves a party! This is the party where we hang out and plan what we’re going to do in the coming year — discuss what worked, what didn’t work, what we want to stop, start, or keep. For some of you, this is routine already, but with the addition of exciting new faces and energy. For others, who’ve just started getting involved (or communicating interest in getting involved), this will be a great opportunity to get to know who’s on the team and see how we work! (Generally, with lots of music and food and possibly — no, definitely — backrubs). The details of this MeetingParty are still being planned, but we look forward to it being very productive and fun, so if you’re interested email Molly for more details. 4. Save the Date: Gordon Webster / Brianna Thomas to Play Swing & Choose Fri, Nov 13Last month we had the intergalactic swing/blues dance celebrity Solomon Douglas and his Quartet play for us. Next month we have the intergalactic swing/blues dance celebrity Gordon Webster and his band, including impossibly amazingly talented vocalist Brianna Thomas (featured on the album Blues Till Dawn), playing for us on Sunday, November 13. This will be our next Monthly Dance, and it’ll be a special one — our 2nd Annual Swing & Choose Dance, where we encourage everyone to switch roles! Last year we had follows leading, leads following, and the first “Jill & Jack” dance contest I ever heard of or participated in. It was an all around fabulous time. September 17, 2009
1. Four-Week Lesson Series Start THIS Sat & Sun, Sept 19 & 20Yale Swing & Blues four-week class series start THIS weekend! We have the amazing and talented Kaitlin Ainsworth bringing her years of professional dance instruction to both levels of our swing classes, and everyone’s favorite practicum organizer Jenn Santiago will be leading Intro to Blues. Intermediate Blues will be team-taught by the best and brightest of the Yale/ New Haven blues scene. Sign up today to reserve your spot! All of our classes are open to everyone–no Yale affiliation, partner, or special shoes required. INTRO to SWING 1:00-2:30 p.m. INTERMEDIATE SWING 2:30-4:00 p.m.
INTRO to BLUES 7:00-8:30 p.m. INTERMEDIATE BLUES 5:30-7:00 p.m.
Lesson prices – learn more and save!
2. Registration Open for Solomon Douglas Musicality WorkshopIntergalactic swing/blues dance celebrity Solomon Douglas has agreed to teach a special Workshop on Musicality for Dancers on Saturday September 26 from 6:00 to 7:30 PM. For those of you unfamiliar with Solomon, this is a great way to BECOME familiar with him, a course of action which we can heartily endorse. The workshop is open to dancers of all levels, and will be followed later that evening by our Monthly Dance in the same venue, featuring … the Solomon Douglas Quartet! (See below for details.)
Musicality Workshop with Solomon Douglas 6:00-7:30 p.m.
3. Lindy Bomb Sterling Memorial Library TODAY 9/17For the uninitiated, no animals are harmed by Lindy Bombs; they are best described as only slightly planned outdoor dances, mostly intended as promotional events for our club, where we hang out and dance with each other and dance at passersby and sometimes even dance with passersby if they want to dance. They’re informal, low-pressure and totally fun, especially given the really nice early fall weather we’ve been having lately. Tomorrow’s Bomb will be held at 5:30 PM in front of Sterling Memorial Library, near the Women’s Table (approximate location here). 4. Practicum Sunday September 20Join us for our (almost)weekly Practicum, which runs this Sunday 9/20 from 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room of Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. For the low low price of absolutely FREE, you can: dance, hang out and watch us dance, listen to music, ask questions or get feedback from experienced dancers on specific aspects of your dancing in a relaxed & intimate setting. Our professional amateur DJs will be playing swing and blues dance music for us… come experience the swing, the blues… the swing and blues. 5. Upcoming Monthly Dance Saturday, September 26The amazing Solomon Douglas and his Quartet will be playing for us once again at the Christ Church Undercroft at Broadway and Elm here in New Haven. A free intro swing lesson will run from 8:00 to 9:00 pm, followed by live music from 9:00 to midnight, followed in turn by a Blues Afterparty. (Directions to the afterparty will be available at the dance.) Admission is $10, $6 for students. August 30, 2009
1. Fall 2009 Swing Bootcamp Registration Now Open!Now’s your chance to register for the Fall ‘09 edition of our fabulous SWING BOOTCAMP! Learn everything you need to get out on the social dance floor, in a single weekend! The basics of six-count, swing-out, blues connection and Charleston will be taught by fabulous YS&B instructors. Each day includes 3 hours of lessons with a one hour break. All participants receive a free Yale Swing & Blues t-shirt! All of our classes are open to everyone – no Yale affiliation required. However, space is limited, so register today! SWING BOOTCAMP Saturday 9/12 and Sunday 9/13 from 1:00 to 5:00 pm 2. Practicum TODAY, Sunday August 30As is the case (almost) every Sunday, our (almost) weekly Practicum runs TODAY from 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room of Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. (Air-conditioned! come chill!) For those of you who haven’t been before, this is a FREE anything-goes event where you show up and can do (but don’t have to do) any of the following: dance, hang out and watch us dance, listen to music, ask questions or get feedback from experienced dancers on specific aspects of your dancing in a relaxed & intimate setting. Our “professional amateur” DJs, whom we don’t pay but who very frankly speaking are AWESOME, will be playing both swing and blues dance music for us, so if you’ve never danced swing before or you’ve never danced blues before, you can come experience it. 3. Upcoming Kickoff Dance on Fri, Sept 4Our next Monthly Dance will be our Kickoff Dance where we welcome all those new grad students and, not coincidentally, undergrads into our fold. It’ll be on Friday, September 4th, in the Enormous Room of Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. $5 general admission, $3 students. FREE for the incoming Yale (undergraduate) Class of ‘13 and also incoming grad/professional students. 8-9 PM: Beginner’s (as in, “I just came in off the street ’cause I heard the music and what’s that super awesome move you just did?”) lesson. If you’re all like worried ’cause you don’t feel like you know what you’re doing, we’ve got you covered! If you do feel like you know what you’re doing, consider coming anyway to brush up, or to be a fabulous helpful dance partner for the new people and show them how much we love them! 9-12 PM: Music from our DJs, whose splendor and majesty must be heard to be believed. After 12 PM: AFTER PARTY (details to follow) Email Rosalind Diaz (rosalind.diaz[AT]yale[DoT]edu) for more info or to volunteer to help out at the dance, which we might add gets you in for FREE. 4. Stay Tuned for Instruction: Lesson Series Etc.We’re working hard to make this semester brim with opportunities for dance instruction! Our tried and true four-week lesson series in Lindy Hop and Blues Dance is coming soon. Check back for more information, or email Richard Scalzo to get on our mailing list! August 14, 2009
1. Monthly Dance TONIGHT, Friday Aug 14That’s right, the Yale Monthly Dance for August will be Friday 14 August, at the Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park Street! (Still air-conditioned!) On this occasion we’re also wishing a very happy birthday to Wesleyan dance organizer Jan Marie Olownia! There’ll be a beginner lesson from 8-9 PM, followed from 9-12 with live music featuring our esteemed musician friends Josh Fialkoff and Eric Heveron-Smith (plus drummer Ben Bilello). DJed music in the breaks. Blues afterparty to follow, in the same space. Admission is $10, $7 for students, lesson and afterparty included with admission to the dance. 2. NO Practicum this Sunday, August 16As is customary for weekends on which we have a monthly dance. So please come out tonight (Friday) instead and show your love! 3. YS&B is planning for next semester, and we want your help!Our Fall Planning MeetingParty is happening Thursday, August 20! The meeting will officially begin at 8pm, but for anyone free and interested, we’ll be having a potluck dinner at 7pm, with dessert to coincide with the meeting at 8. When not eating or planning, there’ll be music and dancing for all! Please let us know if you’ll be coming to the meeting or to dinner or both, and if coming to the dinner, what you’ll be bringing! RSVP to Molly at miriam.rubenstein[AT]yale.EdU or by phone at 917-543-9074. Come prepared with feedback, ideas, and an appreciation for good food, music, and dancing! Call with any questions, or if you want to put anything on the agenda for the night. About the MeetingParty: When we met last August to plan the fall semester, we got a lot of people from our community into a room for food, talk and dancing, and great ideas like the “ask me to dance” shirt and the first ever YS&B bootcamp came out of it. Our reprise in January planning for the spring was a similar success. We want to make the same magic for this coming semester, and we want you to be a part of it! Thursday night we are all going to get together to put in our two cents about the upcoming YS&B events and schedule, volunteer for which bits of stuff we’re going to do for the next semester, and eat and dance and catch up (maybe even exchange shoulder rubs, if we’re lucky). If you can’t come, please get back to us with any feedback you might have from the past semester, or ideas for the next one! Contact Molly at miriam.rubenstein[AT]yale.EdU to pass on your great ideas. August 09, 2009
1. Practicum TODAY Sun, Aug 9Awww yeah, Practicum is BACK in STYLE this Sunday, 8-11 PM in the Enormous Room in Yale's Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St. (Air-conditioned! come chill!)
What: YS&B Practicum, a wonderful place to play and practice! 2. Upcoming Monthly Dance on Fri, Aug 14Our August Monthly Dance takes place Friday, August 14 at the Afro-American Cultural Center, 211 Park St! (Yes, still air-conditioned!) There'll be a beginner lesson from 8-9 PM, followed from 9-12 with live music featuring our esteemed musician friends Josh Fialkoff and Eric Heveron-Smith (plus drummer TBD). DJed music in the breaks of course with the same signature DJ fun you've come to know and love. Blues afterparty to follow. Admission is $10, $7 for students, afterparty included with admission to the dance. July 20, 2009
1. CTLX Coming This Weekend! July 24-26CTLX is only THE best Lindy Exchange ever ’cause it’s HERE IN NEW HAVEN! No excuse for not coming! Click for schedule, fabulous bands playing including the Blue Vipers and Fried Bananas, and of course click here right away to register!Also please click here to sign up to host at least one very nice, quiet, clean, agreeable (or raucous, wild and endlessly entertaining if you prefer), and yet despite all this still presently homeless out-of-town dancer. My very reliable sources inform me that there is a bit of a housing crunch, so if you can fit even one more person please let CTLX know! The good karma will come around to you next time you travel for dance! Couch, futon, air mattress, floor space, whatever you can spare. Thanks! Previously mentioned reliable sources also wish it to be known that there are still volunteer spaces left. Volunteers get paid $10/hour and those volunteer for the maximum of 5 hours, they get paid $55. If you find this at all remotely enticing, please send an email to volunteer@ctlx.org.
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