Last night we went down to Austin Swing Syndicate’s Thursday night dance at the Fed. At 8:15 we took the introduction to Balboa lesson as given by 4 on the floor directors Matt Jones and Laura Malloy. Laura has a fantastic way of explaining dances physically. She and Matt did a great bit where she said something like: “You all know Charleston ( big exaggerated moves ) well, people liked it. But they made the music faster and more people came so the moves got faster, smaller, and closer ( same moves, but just tighter and faster ) and it got faster, and faster, and ( they start dancing Balboa ).

We saw a band last night that should get your bass-thumping self to seeing ASAP: Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies. Their bassist was phenomenal (actually they all were). Every third Saturday this place called the Engine Room in Austin has a great act set (http://www.engineroomjazz.org/), Aunt Ruby’s were there last night. It’s a really small venue, lotta dancers, talk to the act if ya like. Even a few kids running about, so if Knox wants to try to bust that Lindy aerial he’s got a shot. Third week of July the Jitterbug Vipers are playing, and on August’s get-together Aunt Ruby’s guys will be back.

I’m learning golf. I’m also learning tango. It’s fascinating that both of them have, at heart, the creation of a coil via twisting. Lindy Hop is much more focused on creating springy compression, but coil isn’t something I often did (was I doing it wrong?). Golf’s coil is the famous backswing. You guide that left arm backward and around as your torso coils above your waist. Then the release: the torso swings forward, the arms follow, the wrists propel and the follow through digs the ball up and into the air (when you do it right). Tango coils in its most basic pattern.

http://www.920special.com/news/kimnalley091610.php Live music for Thursday-night swing in SF.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iANRO3I30nM I love this so much….Coreography by Cleary and Harding (“Up and Over It”).

One group activity that we’ve long wanted to do, but our schedules or memories never quite lined up, was the Jazz Age Lawn Party. After the Plague Year where we couldn’t, we were lucky that Lauren caught a reminder for this year where we could and did.