teachers and researchers of traditional jazz dance
Announcements of upcoming dances and other special events.
| May 2, 2010 | to | May 3, 2010 |
We are thrilled to be invited by the Tokyo Swing Dance Society to teach workshops at Seta-Chiku-Kaikan in Setagaya-ku during Golden Week. These are our first workshops since moving to Japan, so it is very exciting. We’ll be teaching the Peabody, Charleston and Lindy Hop. Stay tuned for more information.
DAY-1 | DAY-2
Sunday May 2 Monday May 3 National Holiday
13:30-18:00pm 13:30-17:00pm
Posted on March 24th, 2010 by chad
| July 25, 2009 | to | July 26, 2009 |
“New York, New York, it’s a helluva town…” begins the lyrics of a famous song about the Big Apple. We couldn’t agree more. Both Midori and I arrived well over a decade ago with limited budgets, few prospects, but dreams to make a life in the City that Never Sleeps. It’s really hard to believe it, but we did it. We found Lindy Hop, Tap, Charleston, Peabody and many other dances. We found great friends and mentors. We had too many special nights to count from the eras of Elixir and Hi-Life to Bubble Lounge and the Supper Club to Louisiana and Swing 46 to Jack’s and Frim Fram. Most memorably, we found each other and our son was born here—so we now have a native New Yorker in the family. But to pile on the cliches, nothing lasts forever. We had an opportunity to move to Japan and we took it. It is bittersweet. We say goodbye to a place we have called home for 15 years, almost as many as we lived in our childhood homes. But we are also excited to see what life is like in the Land of the Rising Sun. I have always marveled at Tokyo during our annual visits to see Midori’s family and friends. Now I get a chance to experience it as an insider (kind of). It may take awhile to resettle as I will be a high school teacher and Indigo will be starting school. But we are excited to see what dancing in Tokyo will be like.
We wish that things weren’t so hectic. We had only a little more than a month notice that I had been accepted into the national teaching program. We wish we could see all our friends, dance a bit, and enjoy our favorite haunts before heading out. Unfortunately, we didn’t get much time to packed up and gear up for the big move. So we’ll have to save it for a return voyage. So fond farewell, New York. Meanwhile, hello Tokyo!
We will be in touch, once things get settled. And look forward to representing the Big Apple in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Thanks again!
Chad, Midori and Indigo
Posted on July 22nd, 2009 by chad
| October 28, 2008 10:00 pm | to | October 31, 2008 10:00 pm |
We’ll be in Stamford, Connecticut for the American Lindy Hop Championships. It is exciting to participate in the 10th annual edition of Lindy’s Fall Classic. We are honored to be judges at the event, which always features great dancing.
Posted on October 24th, 2008 by chad
| September 19, 2008 | to | September 21, 2008 |
Oh Canada! I’ll be flying north soon to Toronto for a weekend of Peabody, Charleston and Lindy Hop workshops. Easily one of our favorite places to dance (and perhaps the coldest locale we’ve ever taught in—New Year’s weekend a few years back), Toronto is diverse, has a lot of good dancers, and is home to Tim Hudson (as in Timothy’s donuts and coffee).
For full details about the workshops, visit OddSocks.org.
Posted on September 15th, 2008 by chad
| June 6, 2008 | to | June 8, 2008 |
Jam Cellar has invited us back to Washington, D.C. for their Big, Big Event (BBE) to teach a little Peabody. We are absolutely thrilled, particularly because the dance is in June. When we traveled there to teach in March, last year, we drove in near blizzard conditions (4.5 hour drive=11 hour drive). It’s unlikely, though with global warming you never know, that we will have to deal with these conditions. (But now that I’ve opened my mouth, we’ll probably have a tropical storm, instead.) If you haven’t been to DC for dancing, then you are missing out. It is truly one of the top places in the country with a great community and one of the world’s best venues (Glen Echo). We were sad that we missed last year’s BBE, but we were already traveling in June to celebrate Indy’s 1st birthday. For us, personally, this year’s event will be a big, big event. It will likely mark Midori’s return to dancing following much needed bunion surgery in November. They say it’s 6-weeks to recover, but they mean bear weight on your foot. It’s really like 6 months to return to dancing. Yikes! She has recovered as well as we could have possibly hoped and now has a nice incentive on her calendar. I’ll post more details about the BBE when I have them.
Posted on February 10th, 2008 by chad
We perform and teach popular and historical social dances of the Jazz Age and Swing Era and have appeared on local and national media. Though we do not regularly compete, we have placed in competitions, including 1st in the 2004 American Lindy Hop Championships, Fast Dance division.