The Click Heard Round the World

At Cubs Game with Global Kids and Field Museum teens

Yesterday, Global Kids and the Field Museum brought together a group of teens from New York and Chicago for the second of the "I Dig Tanzania" summer camp.  Over the course of the next two days, we'll have them meeting with some of the researchers who were in Tanzania in the flesh, exploring the Field Museum, doing presentations to the public about what the have learned, and getting more information about paleontology, evolution, biology, Tanzanian music and culture, and science in general. 

But to start out, we wanted them to just hang out and have a group bonding experience. What better way to do that in Chicago then seeing a Cubs game at Wrigley Field?

With the very helpful intervention of a friend, we got amazing seats behind homeplate, just twenty-some rows back.  Being there amidst 41,000 Chicagoans rooting for their team was an amazing experience.  And even for a non-baseball person like me, the game was quite thrilling.

Our kids and the Field Museum kids got a big kick out of being there, and seemed to already start to connect with each other over the course of the game and afterwards.  What a great way to start this Chicago trip!

The short video shows the Cubs fans singing their traditional fight song in the 8th inning. Sweet!

Why I love "So You Think You Can Dance" & "America's Best Dance Crew"

I've been catching up on episodes of Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance" and MTV's "America's Best Dance Crew" on this super-hot weekend.  I love that there are all these popular dance-oriented shows on TV right now.  (Heck, I'll even give props to "Dancing with the Stars" even if I can't stand actually watching the show.) 

Both SYTYCD and ABDC are entertaining and inspiring in their own rights.  And they have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Working on my soul basic at the NYC Subway Soul party

Westiegirl, Westie's friend Noelle, the lovely Miss V, and I checked out the monthly Subway Soul dance last night at Fontana on Eldridge Street in the LES. 

The evening did not start out promising as the Shalitas took the stage in the basement bar.  No disrespect to the band, but the music could hardly be called soul.  Described as "the Shangri-Las meet The Ramones," I'd put the emphasis strongly on the Ramones. 

The Shalitas did do a rocking version of "Twistin" as their closer.  Awesome number, great energy from the singers. This however was slightly ruined for us by a couple pushing Westiegirl aside to stand right in front of us to do some arhythmic stomping around that could only loosely be called dancing. I mean, the song is called "Twistin" -- which sorta means that you are meant to Twist to it. Please, please, bend over and shake a tailfeather.  Oh, the humanity.

The evening improved however with the arrival of the DJs on the main floor...

"Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog": Whedon + Fillion + Neil Patrick Harris = Geek Gold!

Yes, this needs no help from me, but I gotta give a shout-out to the latest brilliant and weird creation from the mind of Joss Whedon: "Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog." Who else but Whedon would write and direct a "super-villain musical" and then release it direct-to-internet as a 3-part video short? You can watch it from from the website, or purchase the series for a mere four dollars on iTunes, which is a price well worth paying for.

Joss has assembled his usual quirky cast, starring Neil Patrick Harris in the titular character, Nathan Fillion hamming it up as the superhero Captain Hammer, and Felicia Day as the love interest.  A warning though: the music will infect your brain. "A maaaan's gotta do, what a man's gotta do..."

Acts I-III will only be online until July 20, so watch it NOW!

Me dancing with Voon at Midsummer Nights Swing

Here's a quick clip of me dancing with one of my favorite new lindy hoppers Voon at Midsummer Nights Swing last night.  Taken by my friend Will.

Why it's a good thing to dance with strangers

Midsummer Nights Swing photo by my friend Jerry

Swing dancing at outdoor venues like Midsummer Nights Swing often presents many opportunities to dance with random strangers who are hanging around the sidelines of the dancefloor. As a leader in particular, you often have your pick of ladies clearly itching to dance.  I'm not particularly good about asking strangers to dance at big public venues like this, unlike my buddy Effervescent who really lives for that sort of thing.  But I think it can be useful for a social dancer to do this for a number of reasons:

• It makes you a better leader. (Sorry I can't speak for the followers.) But as a leader, dancing with someone who has probably no background at all in lindy hop or swing really forces me to be as clear and attentive as possible.
• It's a great ego boost. The person is invariably blown away by even the simplest moves that you lead, which helps you feel good about your dancing.
• You might convert someone. The scene always needs new blood to stay vital. So by giving a non-dancer a fun experience dancing with you, you might inspire them to start taking classes or coming out to other swing nights.   
• You might learn something. Just because someone might not be a swing dancer doesn't mean she is therefore a bad dancer.  You could learn a lot by dancing with a hustle, tango, or ballroom dancer.
• It might actually be fun.  If you go in, thinking that you are "doing your duty" you might miss out on a really fun dance.  No, it will not be the ultimate expression of pure lindy, but it can be just two people goofing around and enjoying each other.  Which is awesome.

I'm going to try and keep this in mind as I go to more public dance events this Summer.

Brooklyn Bombshells going to Intl Lindy Hop Championships in DC in August!

I've neglected to mention that I'm going to be competing at the International Lindy Hop Championships this August in DC.  Myself, along with a group of 15 other dancers, will be doing a more competition-friendly version of this award-winning performance at ILHC!  We'll be entering in the Cabaret Division, where a lot of the wackier more eclectic performances take place (i.e. hip-hop, disco, african dance, etc).

I'm not sure exactly why I'm doing this. Perhaps because my friend Lilieblue is the choreographer.  Or maybe it's because I was already planning on going to ILHC.  Or maybe because I'm just a big ham.

The competition at ILHC is expected to be fierce, so winning is not really our goal. I'm not even sure how they judge the cabaret division.  I just want us to do a bad ass, crowd-pleasing performance.

Me solo charlestoning and breaking at Moondance on Pier54

Here's a short video taken by my friend Will of me doing some solo charleston and a little bit of breaking at the Moondance last night at Pier54. Look for my signature "Rusty Dusty" move toward the middle.

Thanks, Will!

Grooving to the Sultans of Swing at Pier 54 this evening

I had a lovely Sunday, starting with Quaker meeting, then brunch with my sister for her birthday, followed by some breaking practice at home. 

In the evening, I headed out to Pier 54 on the Hudson River to catch Dave Berger and the Sultans of Swing playing swing music for the masses, sponsored by Dance Manhattan Studios.  It was simply a gorgeous evening, a cool breeze coming off the Hudson, the light fading into darkness, hundreds of dancers and music fans crammed onto the pier.  I got some really fun dances in with friends and strangers alike, and just enjoyed absorbing the happy vibe in the air.

After the concert, I had a relaxing bike ride home on my roommate Swifty's sweet mountain bike that he has lent to me while he is traveling the next few weeks.  That should give me some time to figure out what I'm going to do about replacing my Brompton.

Alain Wong & crew finish microcredit bike ride from Canada to Tijuana!

Alain Wong posts to his blog that he and his fellow hardy bike riders just completed their epic bike ride from Toronto, Canada to Tijuana, Mexico.  They were riding to promote the cause of microcredit as a way of fighting global poverty. 

I've been following their trip via Alain's blog with a mixture of admiration and envy as they got to see such a beautiful region of the United States up close and personal. I need to do one of these long bike tours one of these days.

Congrats to the team on an amazing achievement!  Enjoy the Mexican hospitality and hope you heal up quick!