LIVE MUSIC THIS FRIDAY NIGHT: THE SOLOMON DOUGLAS TRIO!
We are so proud and excited to announce that we have the SOLOMON DOUGLAS TRIO performing at Eastside Stomp on Friday, November 26th (the day after Thanksgiving)!
Solomon Douglas is a phenomenal pianist, bandleader AND swing dancer. His band (in all its configurations) is one of the most beloved and sought-after groups for swing dancing in the entire WORLD, and we’re lucky to have him living locally, and as a friend. If you’ve danced to his band before, you already know how AWESOME they are. If you haven’t yet, don’t miss this night…
We are always happy to have live swing music to dance to, and to finally get Solomon Douglas in the room is a particular joy for us, so please make your plans now to join us for what promises to be a downright SPECTACULAR evening of swing music and dancing. (Plus: dance off the Thanksgiving dinner…)
See you there…
DEAN COLLINS SHIM SHAM WORKSHOP: THIS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20th!
The response to this workshop is always AMAZING, so…
We are once again offering a three-hour class/refresher on this excellent routine! Based on the original Shim Sham, this is a classic choreographed number created by legendary lindy hopper Dean Collins back in the original swing era.
Dean Collins started out lindy hopping in New York City, dancing at the Savoy Ballroom during its heyday, and he became one of the top dancers in the city, even being named “Dancer of the Year” in 1935 by The New Yorker magazine! Dean moved to Los Angeles in 1936 and became one of the most in-demand dancers and choreographers for swing dancing in Hollywood for many years.
Dean Collins created his Shim Sham to be a performance piece for himself and two other dancers and it is AMAZING. It’s built off of the original Shim Sham, but with his own twist and styling on every single part of it… then he set a whole second chorus that is completely different and will BLOW YOUR MIND.
The routine is full of amazing moves and bits of styling that will help you learn to move more like a swing dancer than ever before! We are offering this workshop for the same bargain rate of just $25!
THE DEAN COLLINS SHIM SHAM
Saturday, November 20th
1:30pm - 4:30pm
$25 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Ave. Kirkland, WA 98035
Tranky Doo!
Saturday, November 6, I’ll be teaching the classic Jazz choreography, the Tranky Doo, as choreographed by Pepsi Bethel. The workshop will go from 1:30-4:30 at KDC and we’ll be emphasizing the vintage jazz vocabulary, and working our way through the whole routine. $25 for the whole workshop!
THRILLER WITH BOBBY BONSEY JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN!!!
This Saturday, October 30th we are bringing in one of the country’s foremost experts on Michael Jackson-esque dancing, Bobby Bonsey. Just in time to show off at all the Halloween parties, come learn the full original Thriller choreography, as well as a collection of MJ’s other signature moves. $25 for 3 hours and a TON of fun material, and we promise you’ll have a better moonwalk than any of your friends!
1:30-4:30 at Kirkland Dance Center
CATCH PETER THIS WEEK AT THE RUSSIAN CENTER + COME TO THE AERIALS WORKSHOP ON SATURDAY!!
Peter is honored to be the guest DJ this week at Seattle’s beloved Russian Center Dance on Thursday night. Chris Chapman presents this terrific dance every week and it’s GREAT. Come out this week and dance to Peter’s own selection of tunes and have great evening of social dancing! THEN on Saturday, we are featuring one of the greatest Aerials coaches in the world, Mr. Kerry Ward, for an afternoon workshop. This guy is PHENOMENAL; If you know aerials already, he will make them better than you can possibly imagine. If you don’t know any, he will show you the best, safest ways to do them!
AWESOME WEEKEND COMING AT EASTSIDE STOMP!!!
Hold tight, there’s an incredible weekend of music, classes and great dancing heading your way at Eastside Stomp! FIRST: we have another incredible evening of LIVE MUSIC with The Red Hot Rhythm Club on Friday night. It’s still just $7 for the whole evening and you definitely want to be there for this! Then, on Saturday, we have legendary Lindy Hopper ERIK ROBISON teaching a workshop from 1:30 - 4:30. He is one of the most influential and talented dancers and instructors of the last two decades, and we are thrilled to have him joining us again! Sunday, Peter teaches and Ben DJs at THE SPEAKEASY in Belltown, with more live music (Pearl Django!) and a whole night of Balboa!!! DON’T MISS A MINUTE OF THIS WEEKEND!!!
NEW SERIES OF LINDY HOP & BALBOA CLASSES STARTING SOON!!!
The next round of amazing classes in Lindy Hop and Balboa starts soon, so mark your calendars! Friday night, October 8th we kick off four weeks of beginners classes: Balboa Basics at 6pm and Lindy Hop Basics at 7pm. Sunday afternoon, October 10th, we start up a month’s worth of more advanced classes: Balboa Level 2 at noon, Lindy Level 2 at 1pm, Balboa Level 3 at 2pm and Lindy Level 3 at 3pm!
New this time around: we are introducing BRAND NEW MATERIAL in our Lindy Hop Level 2 & 3 classes. So even if you’ve taken these levels before, YOU SHOULD DO THEM AGAIN! All new technique and moves to help broaden your skills and make you a much better dancer. We are extremely excited for these new classes and can’t wait to teach the new stuff…
For more details, check out the CLASSES page of this website!
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25th: LINDY HOP WORKSHOP WITH CALLE JOHANSSON & JOSIE SAY!
WHOA.
This workshop is kind of hard to put into words. It’s very dear to our heart because it brings together two veteran lindy hoppers under one roof who have so much style and skill its kind of breathtaking.
Calle Johansson is, of course, one of our local fixtures. What is remarkable is how underappreciated he is on our local scene. Calle has been swing dancing since the mid-eighties and is a regular part of the Herrang Dance Camp every summer in Sweden. FURTHERMORE, he was a longtime member of one of the ALL-TIME GREAT lindy hop performance and competition troupes in the whole world, the legendary Shout And Feel It team from Stockholm. The depth of experience he has is absolutely amazing, and we are EXTREMELY lucky to count him as a local and a friend.
Josie Say is one of the first swing dancers Peter Flahiff ever met, and from that day (so VERY long ago) until this, she remains one of his top influences and inspirations. Josie has a fluidity of movement that is breathtaking and she is one of the absolute greatest Lindy Hop followers on the planet. Josie spent a LONG time living in Sweden, studying, performing and teaching with the Rhythm Hot Shots (now known as the Harlem Hot Shots), the best-known Lindy performance group in the modern swing era.
So to have these two great dancers coming together for a workshop is clearly not to be missed. Its going to be one of those “Oh My Gosh, I Can’t BELIEVE What I Just Learned!” kind of days.
Oftentimes, we hear from people that they aren’t sure they should do a class because they haven’t heard of a particular teacher or haven’t seen clips of them on YouTube.
We understand that.
HOWEVER: there are many extraordinary instructors out there with YEARS of experience who continue to work just under the radar, not seeking Competition Titles or anything like that; they just love to dance and teach. CHERISH these people. Calle and Josie are two of them.
DO NOT MISS THIS.
CALLE JOHANNSON & JOSIE SAY: LINDY HOP STYLING
Saturday, September 25th
1:30pm - 4:30pm
$25 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Ave. Kirkland, WA 98035
DEAN COLLINS SHIM SHAM: REFRESHER WORKSHOP! THIS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18th!
The response to this workshop last month was AMAZING, but lots of the students said they’d appreciate a refresher on the routine, and lots other had to miss it entirely for one reason or another.
SO…
We are offering a three-hour class/refresher on this excellent routine! Based on the original Shim Sham, this is a classic choreographed number created by legendary lindy hopper Dean Collins back in the original swing era.
Dean Collins started out lindy hopping in New York City, dancing at the Savoy Ballroom during its heyday, and he became one of the top dancers in the city, even being named “Dancer of the Year” in 1935 by The New Yorker magazine! Dean moved to Los Angeles in 1936 and became one of the most in-demand dancers and choreographers for swing dancing in Hollywood for many years.
Dean Collins created his Shim Sham to be a performance piece for himself and two other dancers and it is AMAZING. It’s built off of the original Shim Sham, but with his own twist and styling on every single part of it… then he set a whole second chorus that is completely different and will BLOW YOUR MIND.
The routine is full of amazing moves and bits of styling that will help you learn to move more like a swing dancer than ever before! We are offering this workshop for the same bargain rate of just $25!
THE DEAN COLLINS SHIM SHAM: REFRESHER
Saturday, September 18th
1:30pm - 4:30pm
$25 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Ave. Kirkland, WA 98035
JAZZ HISTORY: BENNY GOODMAN! This Saturday Afternoon, Sept. 11!
Peter has given Jazz history talks for many years, has been interviewed on the radio several times in this capacity, and even taught a week-long lecture series on Jazz History at the legendary Herrang Dance Camp in Sweden! He really knows his stuff and we’re sure that you will come away from this with a whole NEW appreciation for the music and musicians!
And don’t worry, what with talking about swing music and playing examples of swing music in the class, Peter will take several breaks to give everyone a chance to dance it off as well. It’s also going to be just two hours long, and therefore CHEAPER! Only $15 for this quality experience!!!
FOR THIS ROUND, it’s the “King of Swing” as he was christened by the press! The phenomenal clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman probably has more anecdotes and stories about him than any other single figure in Jazz History and we will talk about why: From his legendary prowess on his instrument, to his equally-famous prickly personality and ruthlessness as a bandleader, Benny Goodman nevertheless led one of the greatest bands of the Swing Era and created some of that era’s most memorable recordings and moments. See clips of the band in action and learn more than you can shake a stick at about this man and his music!
JAZZ HISTORY: BENNY GOODMAN with Peter Flahiff!
Saturday, September 11th
1:30pm - 3:30pm
$10 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Ave. Kirkland, WA 98035
CAMP BALBOA SEATTLE IS THIS WEEKEND, SEPT. 3-6! Be there…
Seattle’s premiere weekend of classes, dances and non-stop Balboa madness: CAMP BALBOA SEATTLE.
Register now or at the door on Friday and get ready to learn from some of the absolute TOP Balboa instructors in the world, including champions Randy & Kara, Nick Williams, David Rehm and Kate Hedin, and many, many more. This is truly an unprecedented line-up of instructors for a Seattle Balboa event and the possibilities for what you could take away from the weekend is breathtaking.
Special thanks to local Balboa-maven Jo Coker for producing such a phenomenal event in the area. Be sure to check the website at www.campbalboaseattle.com for all the details including the instructor line-up, evening dance opportunities, class schedules and more! (P.S. Peter is going to be teaching there as well!)
AERIALS WORKSHOP THIS SATURDAY, AUGUST 28th!
THIS IS AN UNBELIEVABLE OPPORTUNITY! If you have any interest in aerials, either learning them or improving what you already know, DO NOT MISS THIS.
Kerry Ward is a world-renowned aerials instructor and coach who has worked with some of the top lindy performance teams and dancers in the world. He has studied with some incredible teachers (including Lindy Hop world champions and actual circus acrobats) and has brought YEARS of experience, learning and innovations to his aerials technique. Now, he’s coming to Seattle and YOU get to work with him!
Kerry has been an active part of the lindy hop community for many, many years and has a genuine passion for making aerials accessible to darned near anyone who wants to do them. He has a knack for making them as easy as possible, with underlying technique that minimizes strain and injury potential. On top of all this, he’s a terrific lindy hopper and just about one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.
THIS WILL BE AWESOME. Mark your calendar NOW to spend the afternoon working with one of the absolute TOP aerialists in the world today.
Partners are recommended but NOT REQUIRED.
AERIALS & AERIAL TECHNIQUE with Kerry Ward!
Saturday, August 28th
1:30pm - 4:30pm
$25 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Ave. Kirkland, WA 98035
DEAN COLLINS SHIM SHAM WORKSHOP IS THIS SATURDAY, AUG. 21st!!!
Oh man. One of the greatest and most beloved choreographed routines in the history of swing dancing, and it’s coming your way. We only teach this one twice a year, so don’t miss out…
By popular demand, we are offering a three-hour intensive class on this excellent routine! Based on the original Shim Sham, this is a classic choreographed number created by legendary lindy hopper Dean Collins back in the original swing era.
Dean started out in New York City, dancing Lindy Hop at the Savoy Ballroom during its heyday, and became one of the top dancers in the city, even being named “Dancer of the Year” in 1935 by The New Yorker magazine! He moved to Los Angeles in 1936 and became one of the most in-demand dancers and choreographers for swing dancing in Hollywood for many years.
Dean created his Shim Sham to be a performance piece for himself and two other dancers and it is AMAZING. It’s built off of the original Shim Sham, but with his own twist and styling on every single part of it… then he set a whole second chorus that is completely different and will BLOW YOUR MIND.
The routine is full of amazing moves and bits of styling that will help you learn to move more like a swing dancer than ever before! We are offering this workshop for the same bargain rate of just $25!
THE DEAN COLLINS SHIM SHAM
Saturday, August 21st
1:30pm - 4:30pm
$25 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Ave. Kirkland, WA 98035
THE SEATTLE LINDY EXCHANGE IS COMING THIS WEEKEND! AUG. 12-15!
Join in the fun and meet tons of fun visiting dancers as Seattle hosts its annual Lindy Exchange! Tons of evening dances with LIVE MUSIC, late-night dances and daytime activities! It’s our chance to show off our fair city and the super-fun dancers we have around! Join in!!! Check out the website at www.seattlelindyexchange.org for all the details!!! (We will still be open on Friday night if you can’t go to the Exchange, though!)
LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT! JAZZ HISTORY: DUKE ELLINGTON TOMORROW!
Come out to Eastside Stomp this evening for out FIRST EVER NIGHT OF LIVE SWING MUSIC with legendary local band The Careless Lovers! The cover for the evening is still only $7, so come out and swing the night away with us!
Then tomorrow, join us for another terrific afternoon of music, film clips, discussion and some dancing as we host another Jazz History workshop featuring Duke Ellington! For just $10, you get two solid hours of great stories, classic film appearances and discussions of the history and significance of one of the greatest composers in American music history! This is going to be a blast, so don’t miss out!
SHIM SHAM & JITTERBUG STROLL WORKSHOP: JULY 17TH!
J
oin us for an EPIC afternoon of classic steps and moves from the history of swing dancing!
The SHIM SHAM started out as a tap routine in vaudeville and became so popular that it is now known as the “National Anthem” of Tap. It was adopted and adapted by the swing community in the 1930s and is now a common and widely known routine that is done all over the world.
The Shim Sham is VERY FREQUENTLY done at swing dances as a chance for EVERYONE to get on the floor and be a part of this legendary performance routine. It was known by everyone from tap dancers like The Nicholas Brothers, Fred Astaire and Bill Robinson, to Lindy Legends like Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, Al Minns & Leon James. Learn this routine, and you join a long-standing continuum of dancers that stretches all the way back to the early days of vaudeville! It’s considered a classic, standard routine for all swing dancers to learn, and this is YOUR chance!
Come and learn the routine and some of the fascinating stories that surround it! Peter Flahiff spent a lot of time with the originator of the first, original Tap Shim Sham, Mr. Leonard Reed, so you’ll benefit from some first-hand anecdotes. It’s also a routine that Peter has taught regularly for well over ten years, so he can REALLY break it down for you.
SO, we’ll cover the traditional Shim Sham, The Freeze Chorus and The Boogie Chorus, AND THEN we’ll move on and learn another classic routine called THE JITTERBUG STROLL!
The Jitterbug Stroll is a more recent jazz routine created by Lindy Hop legend Ryan Francois, a man who Frankie Manning once described as the dancer who most reminded Frankie of himself! It’s a great routine with more great classic steps, suitable for 12-bar blues structure songs (a lot of Woody Herman’s music, practically everything Basie ever did, etc…!) The cost for the whole shmear is just $25, so make sure to come out and get these routines NAILED.
SHIM SHAM & JITTERBUG STROLL WORKSHOP!
Saturday, July 17th
1:30pm - 4:30pm
$25 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Ave. Kirkland, WA 98035
JAZZ HISTORY WORKSHOP: COUNT BASIE! Saturday, July 10th!
For our second Saturday Matinee Workshop in July, we are bringing you a couple of hugely entertaining and highly informative hours with our own Peter Flahiff, talking about one of his consuming passions, Jazz History!
In case you haven’t noticed, Peter talks a lot. So this is a great chance for him to let some of that out in an appropriate environment, with an appreciative audience. Peter has been a student of the history of the music we all love dancing to, and he has a knack for passing along that history in a lively, anecdotal way. Don’t come to this chat if you’re expecting a long, boring monologue with nothing but names and dates. Peter keeps it moving with amazing tidbits and stories about the music, the players and the world they lived in. PLUS, he’s got a bunch of film clips to share with you, bringing it all to life even MORE! Let’s be honest: we all love the music we dance to, so why wouldn’t you want to know more about it???!
Peter has given Jazz history talks for many years, has been interviewed on the radio several times in this capacity, and even taught a week-long lecture series on Jazz History at the legendary Herrang Dance Camp in Sweden! He really knows his stuff and we’re sure that you will come away from this with a whole NEW appreciation for the music and musicians!
And don’t worry, what with talking about swing music and playing examples of swing music in the class, Peter will take several breaks to give everyone a chance to dance it off as well. It’s also going to be just two hours long, and therefore CHEAPER! Only $15 for this quality experience!!!
FOR THIS FIRST TALK, Peter is putting the focus on the incredible Count Basie and his Orchestra. Taking us from Basie’s youth in New Jersey, through his seminal time in Kansas City and on through to leading one of the longest-lived bands in swing history, Basie’s story is RICH with tales and tidbits that will fascinate you. Don’t miss this…
JAZZ HISTORY: COUNT BASIE with Peter Flahiff!
Saturday, July 10th
1:30pm - 3:30pm
$15 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Ave. Kirkland, WA 98035
AERIALS WORKSHOP WITH MASTER COACH KERRY WARD: SATURDAY, JULY 3RD!
We have something very special happening soon: Kerry Ward is coming down from Vancouver B.C. to teach an afternoon of Aerials and Aerial Technique at Eastside Stomp!
Kerry is a world-renowned aerials instructor and coach who has worked with some of the top lindy performance teams and dancers in the world. He has studied with some incredible teachers (including Lindy Hop world champions and actual circus acrobats) and has brought YEARS of experience, learning and innovations to his aerials technique. Now, he’s coming to Seattle and YOU get to work with him!
Kerry has been an active part of the lindy hop community for many, many years and has a genuine passion for making aerials accessible to darned near anyone who wants to do them. He has a knack for making them as easy as possible, with underlying technique that minimizes strain and injury potential. On top of all this, he’s a terrific lindy hopper and just about one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.
THIS WILL BE AWESOME. Mark your calendar NOW to spend the afternoon working with one of the absolute TOP aerialists in the world today.
AERIALS & AERIAL TECHNIQUE with Kerry Ward!
Saturday, July 3rd
1:30pm - 4:30pm
$25 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Ave. Kirkland, WA 98035
WORKSHOP THIS SATURDAY, MAY 22nd: MUSICALITY & IMPROVISATION WITH EMELIE & REBECKA DECAVITA!
Back in action and ready to TEACH, Emelie & Rebecka DecaVita return to Eastside Stomp for another spectacular three-hour workshop for swing dancers of all skills and abilities!
It’s MUSICALITY AND IMPROVISATION this time around, and if you’ve ever seen these two on the dance floor, you know how incredible they are at all that. Don’t miss this chance to study and learn from two of the very best in the world during their limited stay here in Seattle.
We are particularly excited to have them teaching this workshop as it will be Emelie’s triumphant return to dancing after a month-long lay-off due to a broken foot. Please come down and take this class and support these wonderful people as they share with us what they do best…
MUSICALITY & IMPROVISATION WORKSHOP WITH EMELIE & REBECKA DECAVITA
Saturday, May 22nd, 2010
1pm - 4pm
$25 per person
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Avenue
Kirkland, WA 98035
ARMED FORCES DAY AT EASTSIDE STOMP!
In honor of Armed Forces Day (actually Saturday, May 15th), ALL MEMBERS OF THE U.S. ARMED FORCES (Any branch; active, reserves or retired) will receive FREE ADMISSION to the Friday Night Stomp dance. It’s our little way of saying “Thank you for all you do” to everyone who serves our nation.
We couldn’t dance in freedom without you!
NEW CLASSES THIS FRIDAY AND SUNDAY!
Come to Eastside Stomp and get your Lindy Hop and Balboa up to speed! A new set of 4-week classes for beginners kicks off this Friday night, May 7th: Beginners Balboa at 6pm and Beginners Lindy Hop at 7pm. Sunday Level Two and Three classes from Noon until 4pm! Classes are $40 for a single series or $30 for two or more. Check out the Classes & Dances page for more details!
PETER IS DJ’ING THE CENTURY BALLROOM!!!
Come out and support Peter as he gets his first chance to DJ a full evening of swing music at Seattle’s legendary Century Ballroom! He’s been looking forward to having this opportunity for a really long time and now that it’s here, he’s practically jumping out of his skin with anticipation! Call everyone you know and bring them with you this Sunday Night, May 9th from 9:30pm until 12:30am for what we’re thinking will be a night of music and dancing to remember!!!
Century Ballroom
915 E. Pine St.
Seattle, WA
ALL AGES
$7.00
DANCING AT EASTSIDE STOMP TONIGHT!!! SPECIAL GUEST TEACHERS AND DJ!!!
Come to the dance tonight at Eastside Stomp! We are proud to feature Calle Johannson, lindy hopper extraordinaire, as our guest teacher for the beginners lesson at 8:15. And music this evening will be provided by none other than Keelan Kirby! Make sure to come out and show them some love tonight, Friday, April 30th! (Peter, Ben and Mark will be back next week…they’re taking a train to Montana to teach a weekend-long workshop!)
THIS SATURDAY: THREE HOUR WORKSHOP WITH REBECKA & EMELIE DECAVITA!!!
Emelie & Rebecka are internationally known dancers, teachers and competitors who bring a joy and style all their own to swing dancing, plus EXCELLENT technique and skill. We are extremely fortunate to count them among our friends and they have graciously offered to teach another workshop at Eastside Stomp on Saturday, April 24th. The workshops they have taught in the past have been EXTREMELY well-received and hugely informative for all who attended.
This time around, Emelie & Rebecka are offering a three-hour intensive workshop which will focus on what they call a “showclass” . This would be, in their words, “an easier choreography, not with aerials, but with dips and lifts and stuff!” Which sounds pretty amazing to us, and if you’ve ever seen these two dance, you know how greattheir choreography is…
So mark the date NOW and plan to join us for another great afternoon with the DecaVitas!
Emelie & Rebecka Workshop
Noon - 3pm
Saturday, April 24th
Kirkland Dance Center
835 7th Ave.
Kirkland, WA 98035
$25 per person