MLX (Melbourne Lindy Exchange)

Wow! What a weekend this have been. I had a great time! Vintage Shoping, salt water bathing, picnicing, dancing, hanging with Perthies, Canberans, Melbournites, ect. I was really glad that I did end up in Melbourne when I did... just on time for MLX. There's noting much to say but it was loads of fun and I met a fair amount of people to hang out with.

Studio One

I've been taking some Ballroom dance classes for the past month and it's been quite an experience. Living in Brisbane and not having friends nor curicular activities made me feel a bit lonely so, I decided to take some dance classes. I look up on the net and in the yellow pages for some tango classes. There wasn't many options, I saw one school of ballroom close to work that offered a 20$ try out 2 private classes and one group. I decided to try it out! There was also a Latin dance school not far from my place I was looking at. When I got to Studio One, my teacher (imagin a gay goth kid wearing a shirt and tie) was teaching me some ballroom and not tango as I said I was interested in on the phone. I went to check out the other school in West End but I had so much fun with my teacher from Studio One (Leigh) that I decided to take classes there.


I had a great time at the studio but only because I made it so and had teacher that was loads of fun. Though the teachers seem to get along well (at times) the atmosphere is not great. The owners are very uptight and closed minded when it comes to dances. They are focused on making money (the classes were extremely expensive even with the beginner discount) and don't listen to the customers, when I called I said I wanted to learn some tango but Leigh (the teacher assigned to me) had no clue. They did not tell me that they don't do classes with only one type of dance eventho I told them I was not very interested in ballroom. You pay for private classes and are allowed to attend as many group classes and "parties" as you like. They teach you a variety of ballroom and latin dances (foxtrot, waltz, "swing", quick step, tango, rumba, chacha), which has it's good and bad sides. I wouldn't recomend this school, for the prices and the atmosphere but I might say that some of the teachers are great and lots of fun, I did have a blast but wouldn't have spent more money there than I alwready have.

Wintersun

Hey!
Just been to the wintersun, a huge rockabilly/swing (mostly rockabilly) festival in Coolongata on the Gold Coast. It lasts 10 days and there's hundreds of cars, dance workshops - rockabilly/jive/swing (including some with Dex and Alice), outdoor shows as well as evening shows, a market full of vintage or vintage like clothes, shoes (dance), accessories, car accessories, etc and more. I had the chance to spend the last weekend of the fest down there, from Thursday night 'till the big swing dance Sunday night. It was just awsome to walk around with all the people that have a passion for the 40's and 50's, lots of Elvis fans as well. I know a bunch of you would've loved it so here's a sample of the pix I took during that weekend (for more go to http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p136/lindy_rocks/ under Wintersun in the Australia file).

Poems

Hi,
Here are 2 poems I wrote about swing dancing. I wrote them when I was in Poland and missing it very much. They are not perfect and don't follow any rules, I just spat them out as I felt. Now, I'm posting them for you to read, it's just like putting my heart out there. Here they are :


I need swing.
I need to feel good and appreciated.
I need to glide on a dance floor like on clouds.
I need the feeling of complicity from the lead-follow connection and the satisfaction of a dance well executed.
I need the feeling of fufillment I get when I know I've followed every move perfectly and got to add some of my creation without disturbing the lead.


To dance is to fell free,
to express yourself without words,
to talk with your body,
to exchange heat and movement without taking your clothes off,
to follow the music and let it take over your body and senses,
to feel the beat take over,
to let loose,
to glide across the dance floor,
to be someone else,
to communicate your feelings,
to spread your evergy and happinest,
to be proud and conquer,
to dance is to fly.

Swing dancing in Hawaii!!

Hey,
I've been dancing in Hawaii, tho the scene is small the people are great! They are some of the nicest people I've met. They made me feel comfortable, driven me back to my hostel, helped me with my laptop, got me to try Mochi, suggested Hawaiian dishes and restaurants. They were just great! I'm very glad i came and met these guys. Thanks to all of you for your hospitality!!!

Winnie's

Hey,
this was a great night! Thanks to all that showed up. There was some dancing and thanks to the band and dancers for the Jam circle. You guys are great! Take care and gimme some news!

My last Petit Medley for a while!!

Well, that's it for the Petit Med until I come back to Montreal! It was a great night, I somehow ended up in the middle of a "sandwich" with 3 guys, really don't know how that happened! And had a blast seeing everyone so here's a peek of the people I saw. For those who goofed, well as Nelson would say (The Simpsons), HA HA!!!!

QSRV #2

Just got back from the QSRV and it took me almost a week to recuperate from all the fun I had. It was AWWWWSOME!!!! I had so much fun dancing and go to dance more Bal in 2 days than I have in the past 4 months (at lease!). I got to dance with my 2 favorite advance (really advance) leads not only for how fun it is to dance with them but also for how genuin and nice they are. Thanks to all the organisers of the even. Great weekend!!

p.s. Forgot my camera so this is a pic from last year!

The Highlander Pub

I just spent my last days in Ottawa for a very long time. So I took the opportunity to organise a gathering with my favorite people in Ottawa, swing dancers. We went for food and beer at the Highlander Pub and then headed to Le Petit Chicago where a Jazz band was playing, it was good (tho not always dansable!). Well it was a great evening, thanks to all that showed up! Keep in touch!!

Johnny Cash Show Tribute at le Sofa

Well, I don't have a good revue to give this band that seem to be trying too hard and not hard enough. Ok, these guys are obviously not rockabilly at all and don't know anything about the time period in which Johnny Cash was born. Lets just say that I won't be going to another one of their shows. On a good note, I was there with Steve (a jiver) and Sylvain (a swing dancer) and the DJ played a lot of rock'n roll as well as swing so we danced a lot. It was a memorable night eventho I was tired up by 2 leads (which is actually a good thing). It was such a great night, all 3 of us had fun.

OSDS anniversary - Ottawa Swing Dance Society

Great night at the Aviation Museum!!! Gotta luv Ottawa, it's one of my favorite cities in Canada. The Swing dancers are really fun and great! After the nice evening at the museum, t'was time for the late night at Olivier's place which I didn't get to attend for long as I had to get back to Montreal early in the morning for work :(

Tip Tap TOE

The Toronto Exchange no. 4 may be the best exchanges I've been to. I loooove going to a TOE! It's an exchange so there's no competitions or workshops only dancing all day and night from one venue to another. It's soooo much fun and it's another event where I get to see people I don't see often. I was hosted by a nice girl that recently moved to TO from Calgary, she also hosted 2 Christophe/r we really had a blast! Christophe that is originally from France tasted his first hot dog! Way to go Christophe! We danced on the glass floor at the CN tower but the most memorable venue was the Palace were big jazz legends (Ella, Count basie, Benny Goodman, just to name a few) once performed for dancers just like us.

Jazz Fest!

Well, this was a nice week of shows and dance! It was just soo much fun to get to dance at the free outdoor shows and Jocelyn the official swing dancer's paparazzi. He even followed us to the best poutine in Montreal at the Montreal Pool Room. Here's some examples :

CSC - Canadian Swing Championship

Yes, it's the 5th Canadian Swing Championship this year and tho I'm not doing the entire weekend, I couldn't miss out on it. I was there saturday and suday for a weekend of fun. This weekend is about, well first of all dancing then competitions, workshops, the party room, bands, and most important to me, seeing people from all over Canada and the States I don't get to see often. It's a great gathering of dancers all with the same passion!

QSRV - Quebec Swing Rendez-Vous

Ouf! Quel fin de semaine! Je reviens de Quebec ou j'ai passe la fin de semaine a prendre des ateliers et a danser. C'etait tripant mais la, j'ai pu d'energie. Que du bon temps, ca s'est passe en meme temps que le carnaval j'ai donc profite de l'occasion pour faire un tour du carnaval puisque je l'ai jamais vue. L'evenement incluait de la danse au palais des glaces ainsi qu'a la Citadelle. C'est un evenement a ne pas manquer l'annee prochaine.

www.qsrv.net