For those interested in historical texts related to the Big Apple, here’s one of two pamphlets that I know of about the dance. You’ll really need to zoom in to read.
Posted on March 13th, 2008 by chad
Research
When we began our dance careers, we cared mainly about dancing and getting better. In the last four years, however, our concern has shifted toward helping preserve our nation’s rich social jazz dance heritage by keeping older jazz dances alive and interviewing dancers from the Jazz Age and Swing Era. We collect footage of early jazz dancing for the purposes of breaking down the material to perform, teach and preserve for future generations. If you can help in our research, either by sharing footage of a family member’s dancing or putting us in touch with a family member who dances, we would greatly appreciate it.
And don’t forget to check out our latest addition to this site, periodic writings on the traditional jazz dance history dubbed Footnotes in Dance History. In our first issue, I discussed the mysteries surrounding one of our favorite dances, the Peabody.
How to Dance the Big Apple (1938 manual)
Where Feet Once Sang: Fazil’s is Closed
Another piece of dance history will face the wrecking ball: Fazil’s has closed Thursday to make way for another luxury hotel in New York. (We really need another one?) I called to book the space for a private lesson and learned the terrible news. Personally, Midori and I have great memories of rehearsing at the dance studio over the years. Midori learned from tap legend Chuck Green at Fazil’s. We choreographed some of our best routine and had most of our tap rehearsals there. For those who are not familiar, Fazil’s was the unofficial home of tap and flamenco dancers. You would walk up several flights of stairs from its street access point on Eighth Avenue between 46th and 47th Streets and enter a home of happy feet. In some of its lower level rental studios, the ceiling would quake with the stomping of dancers above. The floor was not as polished as other rental studios. OK, the floor may have last been polished decades ago. But we never got tired on it. Perhaps I reasoned this was because the floor was hardwood layered over years of hardwood. But I also loved to tell folks that the ghosts of the studio’s past lightened the impact of its floor—a version of dancing on the shoulders of giants. While I knew the studio space as Fazil’s, the studio’s story merely ends there. The beginning dates back to the 1920s. A few years ago, the New York Times posted an article on the studio, which touched on this past. They have several other articles from 1989 to 2005. I guess that we drew inspiration from this rich dance history. We felt like rehearsing at Fazil’s carried a story forward that has started long before us. I couldn’t wait for us to start tapping for fun with our son, Indigo, at Fazil’s. Unfortunately, we won’t get the chance. Fazil’s may move on. The staff said they are working on finding a new space. But those ghosts will be lost, however. I’m still in shock. A piece of my neighborhood and my New York will just disappear. I guess that’s life in the Big Apple.
Posted on February 9th, 2008 by chad
Savoy 80 Tribute Video
More than a year after the Savoy 80th anniversary celebration at the Alhambra Ballroom, I have finally managed to post (thanks to iMovie ‘08) the video tribute I put together as part of the festivities. The music video features Ella Fitzgerald (probably the Savoy’s most famous musical export) and Louis Armstrong singing Stompin’ at the Savoy. To their lively rendition, I’ve matched a number of clips showing many of the Savoy’s great dancers from Shorty George to Frankie Manning to Sugar Sullivan and more scorching the floor (and air). When I get a moment, I hope to draw up a list of folks. One notable missing from the final piece is Dawn Hampton. I deeply regret not including a clip of her, an oversight born largely because I turned this around in less than a week. One of the reasons I did not get around to posting this video after the event was my desire to correct the omission. But it proved hard to tinker with, especially the further I got away from the project. After 18 months on the shelf, I’ve decided to post it. I plan on adding a bonus clip of Dawn after the end. I will republish it then.
Posted on October 19th, 2007 by chad
Peabody Article published in Jersey Jazz
For Jersey Jazz Magazine, I wrote an article on the Peabody–the mystery and our love affair. Check out the article, reprinted via iPaper below.
Posted on May 18th, 2007 by chad
Frim Fram Djing on April 26
| April 26, 2007 | ||
| 9:00 pm |
I’ll be spinning tunes at Yehoodi’s weekly Frim Fram Jam on Thursday, April 26. Expect some hot music, including stuff you can Peabody to, as well as your standard compliment of groove and jump.
Posted on March 20th, 2007 by chad
We perform and teach popular and historical social dances of the Jazz Age and Swing Era and have appeared on stage, independent film, and local and national television. Known for our performance and our research of social dancing, we also consult and choreograph for period productions, particularly those set in the Roaring Twenties. Though we do not regularly compete, we have placed in a number of competitions, including 1st in the 2004 American Lindy Hop Championships Fast Dance division.