You Just Can't Top the Lindy Hop
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You Just Can't Top The Lindy Hop promising, with few street lights danced with more energy than and no evidence that what looked many of us so-called youngsters. like warehouses might be resi One of the nicest things about dences. However, behind the the weekend was how helpful fel ugly facade of the building we low Hoppers were to those of us stopped at was an amazing space not staying in the hotel, letting us complete with its own garden. leave bags in their rooms, freshen We spent the next fournights in a up before the evening dances, and huge studio with a wide, full passing on tips about where to length mirror which we put to shop, eat, or club. good use. It was a full weekend of dances, Friday evening we went to the parties, classes, workshops, panel Roosevelt Hotel to register. discussions and electrifying per Having read our leaflets on New formancesby the teachers, and York City Yellow Cabs, we left fourLadybugs and a sister danced our safe haven and hailed one on until we could dance no more. the street corner. Our driver But there was one last thing to sailed past before squealing to a enjoy - the dance at Wells stop ten yards on. An encourag Restaurant in Harlem. There ing start. were only seventy-five places, so Perhaps the highlight of the many people found alternatives classes for me was Erin Stevens (see box, page 9) and Steve Mitchell's. Steve had Four Ladybugs and a sister choreographed a line dance mix made our way up to Harlem in a ing Lindy and Hip Hop to a Hip taxi. It was only as we Hop tune. There was so much approached that invisible frontier energy and fun in that class, peo of I 06th Street driving down ple came to stare in through the Madison that we realised we were doors and windows - true of Erin entering what the cab driver con and Steve's classes throughout the sidered dangerous territory. He weekend. told us we wouldn't be able to get Watching Frankie dance during a yellow taxi to come back from the weekend, it was hard to 136th Street in Harlem, wound up Steve Mitchell comes to the fore. With Erin Stevens at Can't Top the Lindy believe he had just had a hip his windows, turned offthe radio, Hop in New York, May 1994. Photo courtesy of Roland Stalder. replacement operation - he and applied the (continued p. 8) Tayo Ajibade of London sent us For most of our group it was our her review of Frankie Mannings first time in the US. The strange INSIDE 80th birthday weekend in New ly familiar streets were dark and York, from which we excerpted the threatening, as they'd looked on WHY Do YOU LINDY? following. late-night cop shows we'd seen. A survey (page 3) They were full of night time street Dateline - Memorial Day week noise - the hum of moving traffic, THE SWEDES•TALKED TO AL MlNNS end, New York. On Thursday, 26 the squeal of reluctantly applied And got some o! bis observatfon$ O\l the early days (page 4) May, four Ladybugs and a sister brakes, the occasional strident car SPOTUGHI' arrived at JFK airport. and hit the ON Zoors & SPANGLES horn. We bumped over spine A little bit of recent history (page 6) streets. shattering potholes. We were in New York, city of a At firstglance, the street we LINDY BITS million TV movies come to life. were to stay in did not look Lots of tidbits on happenings around the world and more... ©1994 Dancing Star Productions �xcept where heldb y author (noted). All rights reseived. No part of this newsletter may be °r'epro- -· duced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, with?ut pe�sion in writing fr51m the publisher. =--........l Editorial Hoppin' Summer '94 Letter From the Editor Dear Reader: how to do it. Working on this issue of the newsletter with Great news - the Lincoln Center Library has one of my oldest dance buddies in leafy taken out a subscription to Hoppin', and Hoppin' Amherst, Massachusetts, USA, one of his intends to keep it as part of their permanent friends was looking over our shoulders as I archives, ensuring that there will be that much tried to master QuarkXPress. more documentation of Lindy in the history This friend, Alvin-furn, finally started asking books. And Lindy will now be included in the Publisher and Edjtor questions about what we were working on. upcoming Encyclopedia of New York History. Deborah Huisken His comments reminded me why I'm doing On another note, our sincere apologies to this (against impossible deadlines, with no Elena Ianucci, whose name was inadvertently International Correspondent money, and having to beg, borrow, and finagle omitted from the caption under the photo of stories, photos, ads, etc.) the Big Apple Lindy Hoppers on page 6 in the Rob van Haaren "Look at that face", he said, looking at some Spring issue. She's the one with the big grin of this issue's photos which we were in the leaning on Michael Clancey's shoulder, far Writers process of scanning in. "That woman is into it, right. As a penance, we have printed her blurb Tayo Ajibade, Becky Crane, Freddie Haugan, and look at this one, his heart is looking out at about Dance Manhattan's newest business Deborah Huisken, Judy Martin, Porl Smith, you through his eyes. Look at the life in these endeavour below, thinly disguised as a Letter Eva-Maria Schmid. people - this is amazing". to the Editor. Numerous people who have expressed to me A very special thanks to Will for letting me Additional Contributions their awe that Frankie is still dancing like a spend hours on his machine converting this teenager at 80 years old. My non-dance issue to QuarkXPress, including literally Carol Clark, Tim Flack, Rob van Haaren, friends and roommates tell stories of him in breaking his door down to work on it. Once Nonna Miller, Roland Stalder, Valerie Wilson. my presence - "show them that Life Magazine we get all the kinks out, the conversion will be Joyce Page at Cleare Communications, Mark you have, can you believe this guy?" And a big improvement - something to look for at CatfordCopy Centre. Norma Miller, in her late 70's, has embarked ward to! on yet another phase of her career, as a dramat Editorial Assistance ic actress! Life is for living, and dancers know [me, myself, and I, hoping you don't notice!] MAC and Quark Consultant Will McNaughten Distributors Managers: Lennart Westerlund, Sweden; Nancy Sandburg, USA. Master: Craig Hutchinson, Sing Lim, Porl Smith, Rob van Haaren. Commercial: Dance Books Ltd., Books Etc. Subscription: Patricia Brennan, Caroline Cole, Melinda Comeau, Freddie Haugan, Fred Hunt, Marcus Koch, Beckie Menckhoff, Erin Stevens, Chester Whitmore, Tim the DJ. Submissions: Submissions to Hoppin',c/o Dancing Star Letters To the Editor Productions, at our NEW ADDRESS! P.O. Box 6008, London W2 5ZY UK. phone +44 Dear Hoppin' publication of the [US] Association of Carolina 71 221 8331. Deadline for Autumn issue: You might find this interesting. Dance Shag Clubs. ACSC represents over 100 local November l, 1994. Manhattan has joined forces with Travel clubs and over 50,000 dancers. Coordinator Elaine Platt. A series of journeys, We don't do Lindy Hop ... down here it is Advertising: designed to attractthose who want to travel called the Shag (in the Carolinas), the Beach with dancing in mind, has been scheduled for Bop (Florida, Alabama, Tennessee), the Push Angela Andrew, Simon Bell, Deborah the 1994-95 season. or Whip in the Midwest, and the Swing out Huisken, Judy Martin, Nancy Sandburg. These tripsinclude Lindy in London 18-25 west. Editorial calendar, rates, and deadlines avail September 1994, and Boogie in Stockholm 2-9 "CarefreeTimes" is now produced twice a able on request from Hoppin'. May 1995. For more info on the Dance/Travel year, soon to be six times a year. program, readers can call (212) 532-5274. Michael Payne Elena Ianucci Florida, USA ©1994 Dancing Star Productions except whereindi New York, USA Michael - Thanks for writing - we'd love to cated as held by author. All rightsreserved. Responsibility for veracity of information within the see Lindy Hop generate the kind of enthusiasm articles is the author'salone - Hoppin' and Dancing Dear Hoppin' the numbers you quote represent. Yes, we'd StarProductions accepts no liability. I am the Editor of the "Carefree Times", a love to exchange relevant articles, etc. Ed. Page2 Article Hoppin' Summer '94 Why Do YOU Lindy? Our rovingreporter (me! Ed.) graduate to Lindy. I do Lindy, LeeAnn, USA: I dance Bill, USA: Cuz it's great social asked around the circles she trav and I've never felt the desire to do because it makes me feel good fun, exercise, and a personal satis els in, "Why do you dance, and anything else. It's got it all; what- physically, emotionally, and psy- faction doing these moves with more specifically, why do you ever "it" is, Lindy's got it all. chologically. It's a real upbeat, somebody else, with coordina Lindy?" These are some of the Lara, UK: Why? Cuz I like to positive, social thing, there's a tion. Lindy is my favorite dance replies... flash my knickers around. And I fabulous community involved, I cuz it's the original dance, it's got like to Lindy cuz you can flash can go anywhere and meet a lot of bounce, it's wild.