Authentic Jazz Weekend - Drop In Classes

Level A as in "Al Minns" 

The Al level is for new solo jazzers. The level is for those of you who have just now found the world of dancing and are a new member at WCJ. Welcome! Maybe you have just tried the Shim Sham or tasted some solo jazz dancing in classes for Lindy Hop.

The pace of classes will be slow, focusing on learning several jazz steps and fundamental techniques. You will have external teachers in solo jazz, afro, and house and internal WCJ teachers.

facts about…

Al “Rubberlegs” Minns was an energetic dancer with a wild, crazy-leg style that reminds a bit of "Long-Legged George" Grenidge. Minns was in Whitey's top group, known as The Harlem Congaroos, and appeared in the feature film Hellzapoppin' and the popular soundie Hot Chocolates.

As the youngest dancer in this group, he was particularly fit and flexible. He formed a striking horizontal plane on the initial backstep of his swing out. Minns continued to perform Lindy Hop and jazz dance with Leon James through the fifties and sixties. Minns also played a part in the revival of Lindy Hop in the 1980s, when he was invited to Stockholm in 1984 by The Rhythm Hot Shots dance company to teach the dance the way he knew it.

Al Minns rockstepping in the shape of a plane.

 

Level B as in "Josephine Baker" 

The Baker level is for dancers who have danced some solo jazz before, either at WCJ or workshops elsewhere. You feel comfortable dancing many common jazz steps, even though you might not remember their names. You know the Shim Sham and maybe tried other famous jazz routines.

The classes will focus more on diving into technique, finding variations of steps, working with improvisation, and discovering musicality. You will have external teachers in solo jazz, afro, and house and internal WCJ teachers. 

facts about…

Josephine Baker was an American French dancer, singer, and variety artist. She is often referred to as the first Afro-American artist who became a true star. Baker won her first dance contest at 14 and debuted on Broadway the year after. Her most known costume is the one she had in La Folie du jour (1926), where she danced in almost nothing but a skirt with yellow plush bananas covered in rhinestones.

A few years later, she moved to France, where she continued to get a lot of attention for her erotic dance almost without clothing. Baker could not have any children of her own, but she adopted children from all over the world. In the end, she had 12 adopted children. She called them her rainbow family and wanted to show the world that people of different races can live together as brothers and sisters. During the Second World War, Baker worked as a spy, for which she got an officer rank after the war.

Josephine Baker in the banana skirt.

 

Level C as in "Dean Collins"

The Collins level is for dancers with a greater experience in solo jazz dancing. You already know lots of jazz steps and can perform them with some variations. You have tried and learned many famous jazz routines. You have worked on using jazz steps in improvisation, and you use musicality in your dancing.

Maybe you have already started regularly practicing solo jazz, taking workshops, choreographing a routine, performing, or competing. You will have external teachers in solo jazz, afro, and house and internal WCJ teachers. 

facts about…

Dean Collins was born in Columbus, Ohio, and then moved to Newark, New Jersey. Collins started dancing at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, New York City, at 14. By 18, he received the Dancer of the Year award from the New Yorker Magazine. He left New York for New Orleans and finally arrived in Los Angeles (Venice, Ca.) in 1936 to get into the movies.

He won his first dance contest in California at the Palomar Ballroom and started teaching his version of Savoy Style Lindy, leading the way for what is today called West Coast Swing. Dean was very active in the swing dance community until he passed away in 1984 at the age of 67.

Dean Collins & Jewel Mcgowan

 

Level D as in "Dawn Hampton" 

The Dawn level is for dancers who have danced solo jazz for many years and very likely also taught it. You have choreographed routines, performed, maybe competed, and/or been to many solo jazz workshops, most probably some of them outside WCJ.

You are always looking for new dance challenges and enjoy working on small technical details. You can imagine working with improvisation in front of a whole class. You will only have external teachers. 

facts about…

Dawn was an American cabaret and jazz singer, saxophonist, dancer and songwriter. She was one of twelve children born and raised in a traveling carnival. Her career started at the age of three in the family band. When Dawn moved to New York City in 1958, she began her solo career, including work in off-Broadway theater performances and swing dancing in Hollywood films.

Dawn continued to perform as a dancer and teacher during the renewed interest in swing dancing during the 2000s and traveled worldwide to share her spirit. “To dance, you need to feel the beat”. Dawn passed away in 2016, and many of us met her during her stays at Herräng Dance Camp, where she visited for many years until the last years of her life. The light is on!

Dawn Hampton.

 

 

 

Planned occasions

1.

v.07

Fre 14/2

18:00 - 19:00

(1t)