Adam H. posted to FaceBook this picture of a bus stop ad featuring my friend Nina Galicheva and I dancing at Lincoln Center. Apparently this is an advertisement for their "Midsummer Night Swing" concert series. (You will recall they also used a pic of us for their 2011 banner.)
I'm flattered beyond words.
Check out all 12 of his fabulous outfits , and the stories behind them, on the Chic Index. You work it, Voon!
[Previously profiled: My friend's Heidi and Joe. What can I say? I have stylish friends.]
My friend Swifty sent me the exciting news that the "grey lady" of journalism, the New York Times, has done a great writeup of the local swing scene in New York, with prominent mentions of Yehoodi.com and our Frim Fram Jam Thursday night dance! This is definitely one of the most prominent media mentions of Yehoodi ever in our history!
I love this description of Fram and quote from Swifty:
At the intergenerational Frim Fram Jam in early December, energy surged through the room when Gordon Walker’s cover of the Andrews Sisters’ hit “Bei Mir Bist Du Schön” went on the turntable at 10:25 p.m., by which time people had been dancing strenuously for more than two hours. From his booth, the D.J. and Yehoodi music organizer Ryan Swift noted the fresh excitement. “Man, I feel old,” said Mr. Swift, who is 34. “There are plenty of kids here, but look at some of these old folks dance.”
Head here to read the whole story, from the December 23, 2011 Edition of the Times, in the Dance section!
I'm happy to spread the word that my friend Heidi Rosenau (aka "Frick & Frack" on Yehoodi) is the featured style maven on "The Chic Index" blog this month.
Heidi is a vintage swing dancer from New York City who dances lindy, balboa, collegiate shag and charleston. And by day, she works at one of the most prestigious museums in the city. Whether at work, at play or on the dancefloor, Heidi brings her fashion sensibility and style wherever she goes. She is simply one of the most stylish people that I know, and very sweet and fun to boot.
Check out the amazing pics of Heidi and her descriptions of her outfits that go along with it. Each one is more stunning than the last, but these are my faves....
Continue reading "Check out swing dancer Heidi's 13 vintage outfits on The Chic Index! (pics)" »
I'm excited to announce that Global Kids , a pioneering nonprofit that transforms the lives of thousands of urban teens into global leaders, is in the running for $1 million in the American Giving Awards sponsored by Chase. If you think that all young people deserve a chance to express themselves on important global issues, serve their communities, and expand their minds, I encourage you to vote for Global Kids now.
Voting ends in just a couple of days, October 5, so please vote now. Right this instant. Seriously. And tell your friends about it.
Thanks!
Right now as I post this, I believe there is a drunken celebration / roast for the 10 year anniversary of the PMT House of Dance, the place that made me the b-boy I am today. Hopefully there is a lot of good natured roasting of Pavan Thimmaiah, owner and lead teacher of the best hip-hop dance studio in New York. It's killing me a little that I can't be there.
Pavan has been a constant inspiration to me as a dancer and a teacher, someone who pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me achieve things that have impacted my life well beyond dancing. It was his vision that led to this nurturing and welcoming environment, open to anyone who has ever watched "America's Best Dance Crew" or LXD and said, "I want to do THAT."
So congrats on ten years to Pavan and the rest of his team. Here's to ten more year's of funky hip-hop science dropping!
Ten years ago, I was lying in bed with a cold.
I was living in a group house in lower Manhattan in a closet sized room with barely space for a twin mattress and an iMac. I had forgotten to turn off my radio alarm clock, which went off at 7:45am. I let the radio play ("1010WINS, you give us 10 minutes, we give you the world...") as I half dozed.
Around 8:50am, the anchorman says that some kind of accident has happened at the World Trade Center and smoke is pouring from it. In my half-asleep stupor my mind registered that something serious bad was about to happen.
Question: So say you had access to a ginormous banner depicting yourself dancing with one of your favorite dance partners. What would you do with it?
Answer: put it on the ground on dance on it!
As you may recall, Lincoln Center a couple of months ago contacted my friend Nina and I about being on their promotional materials for their Midsummer Night Swing outdoor concert series. We happily agreed, resulting in posters of us going up all over the place. I sadly was not in town to take advantage of all the photo opportunities of myself with myself.
But on Monday I happened to have a layover in New York, and had heard from Lincoln Center that the gigantic banner for Midsummer Night Swing was in storage and perhaps was going to be thrown out. Would I want it, they asked? Oh hell yeah.
I coordinated with Nina and our friend Brad Kellogg, and we met up on Monday afternoon outside of Lincoln Center to take a bunch of fun photos of us on our banner. It was a weird experience dancing on a giant image of yourself.
More fun pics below.
Thanks to Lincoln Center, especially Bill Bragin and Jill Sternheimer, for being such cool people, and to Brad Kellogg for agreeing at the last second to come and shoot us on a rainy day.
During a brief stopover in New York City yesterday, I had a really lovely time hanging with my friend Nina at Tea and Sympathy in the West Village. It was one of those timeless moments -- enjoying the very British ambiance, sipping a perfectly brew pot of tea, snacking on English desserts, and just talking about our lives.
I can not think of anything nicer to do on a rainy day then to wile away the hours sharing a pot of tea with a friend. I must do this more often.
My swing dance video talk show: SwingNation
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