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Jumpin at the Woodside 2004 WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? The weekend is about dancing. Whatever you’ve learnt, whatever your style. It’s about seeing great bands, learning great steps, dancing to fab sounds from the 30’s into the new millennium and meeting loads of other dancers. It’s about gathering a broad perspective from a vast array of people who have experienced Swing and Jive Dancing down the century. It’s a weekend where you get to dance and take classes with some of the world’s best teachers. You get to dress up and party on. You get to dance your socks off get another pair and have another go. Your dancing will improve massively, like six months’ dancing in one weekend. You will imbibe some of the long history and culture behind Jive dance forms. And c’est vraiment bon de vous avoir avec nous cette année. Who’s it for? If you like dancing this one’s for you. Whatever the style- French Jive, Bebop, Rock and Roll, Le Roc, Modern Jive, Boogie Woogie, Jazzjive or Lindy Hop- you know you will find something here to learn. The atmosphere is tremendous and you will come away with a major adrenaline buzz. If you don’t dance, but want to start, this is the fast track. Come in on Friday to beginners, when you leave on Sunday your legs will be tired but you will be able to step about in great style. What’s so special this year This year is JATW 10th Anniversary and we will be going larger on all the things that make JATW such a fantastic place to be. As well as this we are host to Frankie Manning’s 90th Birthday celebration in Europe. Events on the continent have been moved, the worlds top teachers have changed their schedules to be there, and so it is going to be a truly unique experience with so many people participating in this very special and awesome one off JATW. You will find a huge welcome to Gloucestershire, Close to the court of King Arthur and bordering Wales, home of the most stunning and intoxicating countryside. The Cotswold Hills reach throughout the county, it’s an area of glorious beauty. Some of the country’s best real ales can be found here abouts and in this place you will find JUMPIN AT THE WOODSIDE Thursday Check in Times From 2pm until late you can check in at our front desk on the first floor at the Guildhall Arts Centre. Here we will relieve you of your hard earned cash and any worries, cares or inhibitions you may have. Guide you to your hotel park bench bunk bed or campsite, giving you all the necessary information regarding your stay with us in Gloucestershire. Front desk is the information point all weekend so please use it if you have any questions. Warm up Class 8.00-9.00pm For those of you that have not so much experience of dance but want to get your feet under the table shake off a little dust and slake your thirst before the deluge of the weekend. Revit up Class 8.00-9.00pm Some of you are hot to trot immediately and this is for you. Definitely not for beginners and certainly you will be quite happy to trundle round the basics before you venture in here. Frisk yer Whiskas 9.00-1.00 Step out and Limber up for the weekend at our opening dance. We will be introducing the teachers. You get to check the wall to wall dance floor meet old friends and step about to the band. There will be plenty of dancing. Cats Keily and the Brothers Devout a stunning swingin ensemble of fabulous musicians will be onstage to see us into the weekend. A gentle start to a huge event where you can get acquainted with the second dance floor, check the shop, check the Dj’s and adjust them for your best tunes. In between the band sets keep dancing with the best platter fingering duded and babes in town, get to the bar, check out all the superstars, and begin a truly memorable weekend. Hey Now Hey Now!! Prepare for the morning with the peppermint foot lotion and rosemary muscle relaxer, a relaxing hot drink, a tequila slammer, a hot shot, Southern Comfort on ice or a midnight bath with bath bombs, flowers, candles and a good nights sleep or JUST DANCE ALL NIGHT! Friday Workshops 9.00-4.30 Pick n Mix 9.00-10.00 1st workshop 10.15-11.30 2nd Workshop11.45-1.00 Lunch 1.00-2.00 3rd Workshop 2.00-3.15 Pick n Mix 3.30-4.30 FRANKIE XC EU 9.00 until Late Blue Harlem and Skin Deep will be the bands at Frankies 90th Birthday Party. Also we have a fabulous cabaret lineup with choreography from Angela Andrew and Performances from some of the best swing dancers in the world. We will be using Gloucester Leisure Centre as a venue for this party as there are so many people wanting to come along and celebrate with Frankie. Full details of the evening will be available when you check in Saturday Workshops 9.00-4.30 Pick n Mix 9.00-10.00 1st workshop 10.15-11.30 2nd Workshop11.45-1.00 Lunch 1.00-2.00 3rd Workshop 2.00-3.15 Pick n Mix 3.30-4.30 Frankie Live Frankie will be talking about his lifetime of his lifetime of experiences and the swing era at it’s height in the 20’s/30’s and also his career spanning over 75 years. A superb story teller he brings life to all he speaks about. Always enchanting always charming and always ready to answer your questions. Saturday Evening This years theme is Pirates, of the Caribbean if you wish but what about The Lady Pirates, Hook, the Crocodile, Rufeo and Peter Pan. Also there were loads of sea going rogues in Roman times and apparently Og was very upset when his coracle was attacked by Yorg in Lake Geneva in two million BC. There were also the Vikings not just masters of rape and pillage but also acts of piracy. Jason and the Argonauts, Sinbad, Lets not get into the goings on in the Channel in King Arthur’s and King Henry VIII’s time, the French hey, what do you do!! Elizabeth 1st’s boys, Drake and Raleigh, the Spanish thought of them as Pirates, and where would all these Pirates be without the fine young ladies with the heaving bosoms and the corsets and frilly bits. All at sea probably! Now there’s a rum bunch of a whole legion of ideas for your cossy so get ready to swash and buckle on our famous swing night where the dj’s take to the turntables and get on playing music to get you swabbing yer decks, rollin’ out yer cannons, bordin’ ship, and hoistin’ yer Jolly Rogers. Stepping up to the plate, manning the misenmast, swingin the poop decks and shiverin’ yer timbers will be Ron Leslie, James Hamilton, Gary Boon, Bernard Cavasa and other scallywags. Ah Ha Lads let’s at em. Sunday Workshops 9.00-4.30 Pick n Mix 9.00-10.00 1st workshop 10.15-11.30 2nd Workshop11.45-1.00 Lunch 1.00-2.00 3rd Workshop 2.00-3.15 Pick n Mix 3.30-4.30 The Mad Hatters Tea Party 5.00-6.30pm Real cream teas in a real cream tea shop With hot tea muffins scones and jam and toasted tea cakes and lashings of cream and fab things to stuff in yer face Cinema 8.00-9.00pm For all you Cliptomaniacs. Andrew will again be revealing all those rarely seen pieces of footage that show all sorts of aspects of swing dancing included of course will be the timeless classics and may pieces of amazing dance that defy gravity and in some cases belief!! Check in with your favourite bag of sweets and a drink and bob will certainly be your uncle if you wish! The Sunday Night Jam Oh Joy is upon us again. The Skin Deep Orchestra in all its glory will be in the house giving up renditions of beautiful swing tunes. Ahhh, you’ll not be able to stay in your chair for one moment. Classically the Sunday night is a really kicking culmination of a fabulous weekend with acoustic swing music to give you a taste of how it might have been in the ballrooms in Harlem all those years ago. Checking in onto the central stage is the truly fabulous Skin Deep Orchestra. Formed in 1995 with the ambition of recreating the ‘atomic’ Basie orchestra of the 50’s and 60’s and now with a huge reputation for authentic swing music this band plays it like it used to be, all the way down to bypassing the main recording desks in The Abbey Road Studios in favour of a more antiquated valve arrangement to get more authenticity in recording. Sporting such talent as Mike Lovatt and Andy Cuss (trpts) Gordon Cambell and Andy Woods (trbns) Martin Williams and Jay Craig (saxs) and propelled with the drumming of Steve Rushton this band have the old authentic sound of the swing era on stage for us today. So get that dance strut that stuff and don’t forget to check the other dance area for hot tunes on your way past the bar for refreshments. Adios, Auf weidersehen Au revoir Hej Da, Goodbye. We wish you could stay longer. If you are staying over check out the Tourist information for all the fab things to do in Gloucestershire. To name a few, there’s the Severn Bore, Westonbirt Arboretum Slimbridge Wild Fowl Trust or one of our fine country pubs of which there are many. There are also plenty of warm spots to curl up in and sleep for the day. We hope you’ve enjoyed your weekend and if you feel a little tired but exceedingly happy then we did a good job. See you next year when you come back for even more thrills and spills on and off the dance floor at JATW 2005 Next years dates are Friday 29th April, Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May 2005 Changes From Last Year We took your helpful hints of last year and cultivated them into this year’s event. Types of Music There is always a danger the music at an event can be far to heavily weighted to one era. We will be playing music from the 20’s thru to the 00’s and in the evenings you should be able to find a dance floor with music to suite your taste. Another year has passed and the Dj’s have been digging up new tracks to play for you. The Swedes have come crashing into the English scene with some fab sounds and these will be there. Blues will be back Neo is finding a great home and there are some great tunes coming out of the charts that are remakes of the rat pack classics of the 50’s. So that’s it musically we feel that we’ve got it taped and will be well able to rock your worlds hard. Don’t miss the after hours parties when the lights go down and the temperature goes up. More Studios, More Teachers, More Levels, More Dj’s, and Cool Air Because we are celebrating Frankies 90th Birthday then we have a Truly Awesome line up of teachers and workshops. Have a look in the teachers section to see a list that reads like a very large chunk of the who’s who of LIndy. With five levels we hope to achieve a narrower ability difference at each level and thus make the classes more uniform and easier to learn at your level. We’ve put more Dj’s into the extra dance area and they will be juggling the discs and giving you great tunes from the last 80 years. Feel free to request your favourite tunes from the Dj’s and they will slot them in for you. Overheating on the dance floor is always a little tedious and so we have huge fans so that you can cool your doggies and other overheated elements of your body. Guildhall Café The café has loads of good food and drink and does hot lunches, salads, sandwiches, tea and cakes, alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks. As well as the Usual things, there will be specials on order each day. Please order your lunch earlier in the day to avoid delays at lunch time. Other Cafés and Eateries If you venture further there are Indians (so take your hat and gun), Chinese, hamburger bars, pasta houses etc. all a few minutes walk away. Westgate Street has a good selection and if you are at the YMCA or The Warehouse then there are in house cafes in those venues too. Video We will be filming the weekend again so as to capture all the important bits. When we finally get round to producing the video then you will be able to buy it from our website at www.jazzjiveswing.com Absolutely spiffing, What! Please only use your own videos to film yourselves only outside the workshops and evening events. What are these dances? Lindy Hop The late 1920’s Original Swing Dance and also the Rolls Royce, can motor steadily along if you wish but will also pick up her skirts and show all other styles a clean pair of heels with a great deal of intricacy speed and panache. 20’s to 40’s Music. Started Life at the Savoy Ballroom in 1928 and is named after Lindbergh’s famous Hop across the Atlantic. Is at it’s purest when danced to swing music. Has a high addiction rate and huge followings on four continents. American Tap Started in part when drums were banned to the slaves so they started body percussion and stomping there feet. This progressed to drumming with feet. This was later followed with the addition of split soled hard shoes on hollow surfaces for more sound. Finally with the introduction of the metal tap in the 30’s tap arrived in it’s present form. Make lots of noise with your feet on the floor. Beginners just need a pair of hard shoes. Easy to learn, a great asset for Lindy variations, aids dancing fast. Helps get messages going faster from one end of your nervous system to the other. Really settles you down on the floor and gives you a firm foundation for those really steamingly tricky steps. Oh Yeh!.......Fred and Ginger made it the most famous dance last century. Shag Originally Known as the Collegiate Shag it was a dance adaptation of the Lindy and involves a signature leg and body movement. It’s name will have the eyebrows rising and has caused much amusement and sniggering in the UK. This has lead to envious comment along the Lines of ‘Oh well they’re just shagging’. Two nations separated by a common language the British will be shocked to hear that the Americans don’t think of Shag like the British blushingly do and indeed this could be something to do with their fannies being differently located. Balboa In the more crowded dance floors of California in the 30’s where there was a penchant for faster music and space was very tight. This dance developed as a result with its small movements and intricate footwork. A fantastic addition to your swing it really is a must have accessory if you are going to be a little flash on the dance floor. It’s also a tad handy when you’ve stepped out to a tune that has you short of breath and one can drop into a little Balboa and some light chit chat. Choosing your Class Beginners - for those that have not taken a step or only a very few. Get yourself started on the right foot. By the end of a few classes you are guaranteed to be out dancing and not giving a toasted tea cake that you knew nachos that morning. Six count and Eight count basics carefully explained and broken down for you to wrestle with. If you’ve done other styles before then Classes at this level and Beginners Intermediate will see you safely across the divide from jive to swing based steps Beginners Intermediate. Get a feel for changing those triple steps for other things and start in on Charleston rhythms in earnest. After this level you will be well on your way to grasping the fundamentals of Lindy Hop and thence the other swing dances to add to you repertoire on the dance floor. Possibly some music theory lobbed in for good measure. A host of styling tips & lead & follow points will be explained and your basic shapes will be tightened up. Intermediates know Swing out, Lindy Turn etc. Be proficient with eight count and six count basics. Able to use kick down, triple step & hold steps. Understand the principals of lead and follow and be able to manage a reasonable range of speeds of music from slow to medium fast. Be prepared to tinker with variations. Intermediate Advanced. This used to be the old advanced class until the top dancers got better so it’s no schmoose in here. The teachers will be looking to push your dancing on so that you soon can go up a level. You will be able to handle variations and will be starting to examine your musicality and ability to adapt and change steps so that more complicated variations just flow Advanced can handle steps coming from all directions. You will be learning variations in all shapes and sizes, fast tunes slow tunes not a problem. Intricate footwork, multiple spins, syncopation and dastardly shapes will all be part and parcel of the advanced classes. Any one can come along and have a go but at the end of the day we all know who should be taking this class and the rest are just spoiling the fun for the advanced dancers. The teachers want the challenge of a room full of top dancers. It makes the teachers work hard and means they can pull out all the stops and every one can go over the edge of their ability. These classes are like a black run anyone can get down them but what point when a good skier will manage it in three minutes and the person out of their depth will be three hours farting about and bum sliding down the hill! American Tap Beginners have never stamped your feet before. Bring along some hard shoes if you do not have tap shoes. It’s simple and it’s fun to wrestle with the basics of this fabulous dance. All things will be explained and you will soon find yourself thumping out a rhythm with your feet. Intermediates Shuffles, riffles, pick-ups all necessary. You will have some experience of tap and will be wanting to add to your style and repertoire of rhythms. Loads of nifty little pointers on how to improve technique and a heap load of lush riffs. Pick and Mix These classes are general level and you choose which ones you want to get into. They are designed to broaden your knowledge and to give you a sample of other dances. All of them are invaluable in improving your Lindy Hop or Jazzjive Swing as they bring different disciplines that enable you to be more adaptable as a dancer. Go for what you don’t know but ask on front desk if you are not sure Event Shop This year we will have fabulous clothing companies bringing their merchandise for you to peruse and purchase. All the usual super sexy shoes and stuff will be there so come in sit down and get fitted up for a new pair of foot covers. Check it out for all the latest and trendiest in dance gear, training trousers, unique garments that are itching to be danced in, bags, hi tech dance shoes from the USA, and Europe, videos, some CD’s, + many other little treasures. Truly Fab!! Accommodation For a list of Hotels, Hostels, Bed and Breakfasts and Camp-sites in the vicinity you should ring the Gloucester Tourist Office on +44(0)1452 421188. Prices range from £14 to £85 depending on the level of creature comfort you require. The New County Hotel Again this year we have taken over the whole of the superbly plush New County Hotel but already this has sold out. We really wish they would put an extension on this hotel. Sorry to those of you that missed out. Catch you next time. Trains & Planes & Automobiles We will be running bus services from Stanstead (where all the cheap flights come in) for those of you that are coming in from the continent. For further details on this you will have to ring to let us know your requirements. If you are coming to another airport let us know and we will help get you to the event if we can. However you are traveling to get to JATW2004 if you need details on bus rides from the Airport or where the Bus and Rail Stations are or which motorways to use or where to park please contact us. Parking There are several car parks in close proximity to the Guildhall and you should choose the ones you don’t have to pay in on Sunday or at least move your car to one of them after Friday and Saturday. Do be aware that some close at night and so you can’t get your car back till the morning. Prices vary. We will try to keep you abreast of the best bargains as we progress toward the event Massages Our resident masseurs and Masseuses will be available to remove those achy feelings during Friday, Saturday and Sunday. All exceptionally skilled they can give you just the foot mush or the neck wrestle or a leg pepper upper or a complete bone shift and muscle scrunch. If it’s sore or achy or you just want to catch a little pleasant relaxation this will ease your body gently back from the trials of the day. See front desk to get yourself refreshed. Teachers and Performers for JATW 2004 and Frankie XC EU Frankie Manning Lennart Westerlund Stephen and Virginie The Harlem Hotshots Chazz Young Rob and Diane Ryan and Jenny James and Bridget Eddie and Eva Kenneth and Helena Marcus and Barble Julie Oram Dan Baines Angela Andrew Dawn Hampton Special Guests For some of the Pick and Mix Workshops there will be special guest teachers as well as the regulars to thrill you with different aspects of Afro-American Dance. the African Drumming (recognize some of the rhythms?), The tight rope walking, Rock Climbing (nothing to do with dance except balance and poise) The full program will be available when you check in at the event. Other Teachers As we go to print we are chatting to more teachers and you will find more of your favourites at JATW 2004. Please ring up and check out the latest line up or look at www.jazzjiveswing.com Frankie Manning Celebrates 90 Years Born in 1914 in Jacksonville Florida, he came to New York at the age of three with his mother. At thirteen she took him to his first dance and proclaimed he would never make a dancer because he was too stiff! Frankie set about unstiffening himself. He took regular visits to the Alhambra Ballroom via a window at the back. He should have been attending Sunday school at the time and so it wasn’t long until his mother found out he was learning dance steps not bible stories. After his apprenticeship at the Alhambra he felt finally confident enough to brave going to the Savoy Ballroom and dancing there. All the best dancers were there and it wasn’t too long before Frankie got noticed he was asked to join the best dancers in the cats corner and he asked if his friends could come too. He was told no only him so he said No only all of us. Of course his ability was too much to miss out on and so a few weeks later Frankie and friends found themselves dancing in the top corner. From here Frankie found a place amongst Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers (probably the world’s greatest Lindy Hoppers) at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, New York. Spending most every day in The Savoy Ballroom he would practice to all the great bands of the time. In the evenings he would join the crowds at The Savoy dancing to the bands. The Savoy had two bandstands and the bands alternated so the music was non stop and everyone could keep dancing until at least 3 or 4 every morning! It was the early 30s and Lindy had hopped the Atlantic and Frankie began touring throughout Europe, America and Australia with Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers. His credits run in a very long list. He has performed on film, stage and TV, with stars such as Judy Garland, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Nat ‘King’ Cole, Sammy Davis Junior and Sarah Vaughan. In 1941 Life Magazine featured him in an article chronicling the evolution of Lindy Hop. The war curtailed his dancing career a little, but after Frankie had his own troop The Congaroo Dancers. He again toured the continents thrilling the crowds and entertaining alongside the most famous bands singers and musicians. In 1986 Frankie re-emerged from 30 years at the post office to become yet again a top teacher and choreographer. This time he was helping a whole new generation of swing dancers. In this section of his career his film credits as dancer and choreographer include Spike Lee’s Malcolm X and Stompin’ at the Savoy. He has also choreographed for contemporary dance companies such as Alvin Ailey, as well as The Jiving Lindy Hoppers and The Rhythm Hot Shots. His work in 1988 on the Broadway production of Black and Blue earned him a Tony Award. These are his achievements but more than this to be in class with Frankie is a pleasure beyond chocolate. His amazing youth and vitality set light to even the simplest steps. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced dancer enjoy pure magic as Frankie shows you how to really get down and boogie. He is top of the tree and we are really pleased and excited to welcome him again at JATW 2004 Please contact us on: 01666 824285 email trdc@jazzjiveswing.com. |
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