Sunday, August 22, 2010

Andrew and Karen's ILHC 2010 Showcase

The International Lindy Hop Championships 2010 is not even over and there’s already “best event ever” buzz flying around the blogosphere.
I had an amazing time at it’s first two iterations and was really sad to miss out this year. There’s an undeniable energy in the air when so many talented competitors get together and show off their best stuff.

Patrick and Natasha have graciously shared many of the videos already. As of Sunday afternoon, they’ve posted all of the Classic Lindy routines, all of the showcases, and the Pro Strictly Finals. I love that they post videos during the event, providing us with instant nostalgia.

Robert E. White III, err, I mean Bobby White, mentioned Andrew and Karen’s Surprise Showcase piece as a Saturday late-night update.



It’s based on the “evolution of dance” video that was posted online years ago except with lindy hop (they even wear the same shirt). It references several vintage dance clips, “classic” songs and moves from the revival, and memorable choreography from the past 5 years. I’ll try to provide links to these videos as well. Some of the best digital copies of vintage clips can be found on Daniel Newsome’s website: Danceonline.tv

There are at least 25 snippets of clips and music. Here’s what I noticed. (please help me figure out the rest in the comments section).

(ok, I don’t currently have the bandwidth to look up all the clips; I’ll update if I get the chance)
  1. “Shorty” George Snowden in After Seben.
  2. (not sure)
  3. Big Apple Routine from Keep Punchin’
  4. Helzapoppin’ If you recognize anything from this collection, this should be the one.
  5. Dean and Jewel in Buck Privates dancing to the Andrews Sisters singing “Bounce Me Brother with a Solid Four”
  6. Groovie Movie (such a hilarious reference)
  7. (not sure)
  8. The Shim Sham Song - Bill Elliot Swing Orchestra
  9. Jitterbug Stroll - Steven Mitchell (Ryan Francois choreography)
  10. Rhythm Hot Shots dancing to Jumpin’ at the Woodside (not sure which clip)
  11. (not sure)
  12. They do a pretzel to Go Daddy O! - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
  13. Candlestick to Jump, Jive and Wail - Louis Prima
  14. They do Savoy Kicks to Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat. (Not sure if this is from a clip)
  15. The highly influential Minnie’s Moochers choreography to “Love Me or Leave Me” (reprised at Frankie95)
  16. (not sure)
  17. (not sure)
  18. I think this is from another Max and Annie routine, but I don’t remember/can’t find it.
  19. Skye and Frida’s Iconic “Twenty Four Robbers” routine first performed at ULHS 2007 (as far as I know)
  20. Max and Annie’s Lotus with a hat switch from their 1st place ILHC 2008 showcase routine
  21. One2Swing The California Rolls Team Routine from Camp Hollywood 2009
  22. The Silver Shadows’ Frankie Manning Tribute to the song “Shiny Stockings” at Frankie95
  23. (not sure)
  24. (not sure)
  25. Self-reference to the ending to their Lindy Focus 7 (NYE2008) routine to “Bugle Call Rag”
I really enjoyed watching this routine and it was even more fun recognizing most of the references. The beauty of the internet is that we immediately get to watch videos of dancing very soon after they are performed. Andrew and Karen are clearly very aware of the dance world around them; you can see clever nods to other’s routines in their choreography (like Mike and Laura’s Blues Apache number from Lindy Focus reference in their “Everybody Loves My Baby” routine [among several others]).

10 comments:

  1. Great job on the list! You got a bunch of the modern ones I had no idea about. Here's a few more:

    #2 is Whitey's Lindy Hoppers in the Marx Brothers film A Day at the Races.

    #13 is the Gap commercial "Khaki's Swing" (the reason I decided to learn how to do this crazy dance we do)

    Somewhere in the middle of your list is Todd Yannacone and Naomi Uyama's routine to "Who Stole the Lock on the Henhouse Door?"

    The hat switch is Max and Annie, ILHC 2008.

    Woot! Fun routine. :)

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  2. 7. Mama Lu's Parkets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yP8DSpmosI

    14. Erik and Syvlia, ALHC 1998: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSJO7zDXZzs

    15.5 (you missed this one). Todd and Jo, ALHC 2001: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOuT5-5exNk

    16. MAD DOG!!!, ALHC 2002: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh_wJZ-kNAM

    17. Kevin and Carla, 2003: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5MfjuhYbXc

    18. Todd Naomi, ULHS 2005: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs9gN0M8XlY

    18.5 (you missed this one). Todd and Naomi, ULHS 2005 Fast Strictly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHlf6zAKNcM

    23. Silver Shadows, ULHS 2005: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSeSvxSWKS4

    24. Silver Shadows, ALHC 2006: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPDns7BhjLo

    -Brooks

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  3. From Yehoodi:

    http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B7CEEE2982035F1C

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  4. LS,

    Oh! Day at the Races! How the heck did I miss that one?

    Ah, and the Gap Khaki commercial, right. They made a reference to that in the Strictly Finals at Camp Jitterbug this year. Andrew jumped over her head while Karen had her arms crossed around her shoulders, just like in the commercial. Sharon mentions in her blog here: http://www.sharondavis.com.au/page985/985

    Brooks! (I didn't even know you read this thing). Thanks for filling all the ones I missed, especially all the routines before 2006. That was the year I started dancing, so I had very little knowledge of all those classic routines. I'm looking forward to watching them all.

    I really enjoyed this routine, but I imagine that people who've been dancing since the revival enjoyed it even more. It's like looking at a photo album of our most memorable, embarrassing and triumphant moments of the lindy hop scene.

    I can think of a couple other routines I would have included (like a couple Stefan and Bethany routines), but it was probably exhausting at that length anyway. Plus, I know that every dancer has their own favorite and influential clips and moments. When I first started dancing, I watched the ULHS 2006 Fast "Revolution" finals over and over, showing it off to everyone I could. I definitely watched Skye and Frida's "Twenty-four Robbers" routine over and over.

    What would you put in your own "Evolution of Lindy Hop" sequence?
    What would an "Evolution of Balboa" or "Evolution of Blues" look like?

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  5. Yes! This is what I was looking for. I caught about 10 of the references, and I was hoping someone would do the research so I could find out the rest. Thanks!
    - Mike H

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  6. Reuben Brown put together a playlist on YouTube with some feedback from Andrew:

    http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B7CEEE2982035F1C

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  7. Here's my (along with my friends) part of the work :))) We have two blank spots left.


    0:35 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di5eYAtf0f0
    0:45 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzpVeJodMSo
    0:55 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49ocW71YPfs
    1:06 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTg5V2oA_hY#t=01m23s
    1:17 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdTO5sEwk0c#t=01m55s
    1:33 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbaNYWkQYYA#t=01m00s
    (???) 1:47 - (first stops but which particular clip?) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCR6X5uiXas
    2:05 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hubzPVG3f28
    2:08 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8eLMUGhN-E
    2:15 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqSyDtwFWQI (trhs)
    (???) 2:25 -
    2:31 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw2NYpZsyX0#t=02m40s
    2:49 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knW1hGwmEXQ
    3:11 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSJO7zDXZzs
    3:23 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOuT5-5exNk
    3:46 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh_wJZ-kNAM
    3:52 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF56Yt5Kl8Y
    4:00 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs9gN0M8XlY
    4:14 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYYI9WUGgok
    4:26 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEtG4F4JWOo
    4:40 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F81Zf9Ysfog#t=01m30s
    4:54 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5cx_Z1O-sU#t=03m20s
    5:05 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BbkQP92C-c
    5:16 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNJTVVMzoHk
    5:45 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPDns7BhjLo
    5:57 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcmHCtNFRKo :)

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  8. That was very good test for lindy addiction :)

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  9. Didn't see this one listed but at 3:50 is Kevin & Carla - North Atlantic Dance Championships Showcase 2003 I think it was same cheoreography was mentioned in murrdance list @ 3:46 but a different competition & song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_4B2w90cNA
    Andrew and Karen did a fantastic job!! Loved it.

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  10. Thanks for the help, everyone!

    Yeah, Reuben Brown's youtube list has it all.

    @Murrdance no kidding! We're clearly very addicted.

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