On that topic, watch Andrew & Karen doing some wholehearted embracing of their own in the Camp Jitterbug 2010 couples final, a few weeks ago:

It’s easy to see why Andrew and Karen are the most popular couple in swing dancing. You guys rock, love your work! (Oh, and did you catch some of those new tricks? Hello, Snatch Backflip! And Laura’s backbend? Oh hell yeah…)

So, for anyone that missed the reference, the year was 1998 and khakis were, apparently, swinging…

A few flashbacks from the late 90′s, that made me smile….

A jam at the 1998 American Lindy Hop Championships, recognise anyone?

The Flying Lindy Hoppers from California circa 1997:

Stompology 2010 is this weekend! I just arrived in Rochester, New York for the event, and I’m resting up a few days so I’ll have all my energy for the weekend.  Stompology is an all-jazz weekend, and this year the instructors are myself, Juan Villafane, Bethany Powell and Mike Faltesek. In honour of the event, the four of us each choreographed a phrase for a line dance for the weekend: The Stompology Stompoff! It’s actually quite tricky, but I like it a lot. Here are the four parts:

The Killer Dillers performed live with the Nine Penny Big Band in Bologna Italy for the Swing Brother Swing Festival, May 2010. It was an epic show, with ALL LIVE MUSIC! Many thanks to the Nine Pennies for learning our arrangements, it was a real pleasure!

In case you don’t know, The Killer Dillers are:
Sharon Davis (that’s me!)
Juan Villafane (juanvillafane.com.ar)
Evita Arce (evitaarce.blogspot.com)
Nathan Bugh (nathanbugh.blogspot.com)
Jo Hoffberg (johoffberg.com)
Kevin St Laurent (kevinstlaurent.com)

Here is the full show, enjoy!

Killer Diller Show at Swing Brother Swing, Bologna Italy, May 2010 from Killer Dillers on Vimeo.

A performance we did of our current Lindy Classic showcase, at the Rock That Swing Festival in Munich, Germany in February 2010. The song is “Scram” by Fats Waller.

And what a pretty face! Oh dear me!

Anyway, very proud to be on this year’s Camp Jitterbug flyer and on the website header: www.campjitterbug.com

The photo on the flyer was taken during my tribute act to Josephine Baker in last year’s Jump Session show. Josephine is, of course, one of my all-time greatest inspirations. The act starts with a jungle-style dance in recreation of her part in Princess Tam Tam, and ends with a tribute to her famous banana-skirt dance. Ahh, Josephine…

The 2010 Camp Jitterbug details are:

Camp Jitterbug & the Jump Session Show 2010
Memorial Day weekend
May 28-31st 2010
Seattle, USA

And this year the Jump Session show will feature all six Killer Dillers! Myself and Juan, Kevin St Laurent & Jo Hoffberg, and Evita Arce & Nathan Bugh will all be attending Camp Jitterbug, to show off our new routines in the Jump Session Show, jump in the competitions (like last year’s ILHC, it’ll be The Killer Dillers vs Everyone Else in the Charleston battle – be there or be square!), and we’ll also be teaching some classes!  Camp Jitterbug is without a doubt one of the greatest events on the international Lindy Hop calendar, so if you can make it I’d really recommend it!

Here is the trailer from last year’s Jump Session show. If this doesn’t make you want to be there, I don’t know what would:

I just got back from a whirlwind tour to Seoul Korea, for Camp Swing It! A million thanks to Kang Seok for bringing Juan and I out, it was an amazing experience! We can’t wait to go back, it was agony being there for such a short time (only 4 days!!!).  Here are a few fun facts from my trip:

1. Seoul has, to my estimation, the biggest swing dance scene in the world, with guesses at more than a thousand regular Lindy Hoppers in the city!
2. There are 15 swing bars in Seoul – that’s 15 dance venues, devoted ENTIRELY to swing dancing, 7 days a week!
3. For 10 hours of classes at Camp Swing It, I was in flight for 34 hours (to and from the USA). Totally worth it.
4. Heated floors are the GREATEST THING EVER.
5. Kimchi is yummy.  It is rumoured Kimchi is the reason why the Koreans never got SARS or bird flu. I’m more interested in bringing some to Herrang and seeing if it will prevent Herrang flu.
6. The Jack & Jill at Camp Swing It involved taking a shot of Soju (which is a Korean distilled rice wine, which reminded me vaguely of Japanese Sake) before and after each partner rotation. To prove you had finished the shot, you had to turn the glass upside down on your head. When dancers were refusing to drop out, the challenge increased to half a bottle per partner rotation! How was this possible? Camp Swing It was sponsored by a Soju company!!! Yeehah! Soju is yummy and dangerously easy to drink…
7. Korean dancers are amazing! The need for translation slowed down classes, and STILL we taught twice as much material as we normally get through. (Our translators by the way were all beautiful and wonderful, we love you, thank you so much!!).  The Koreans are amazing students – like sponges!! Social dancing was also a pure joy, the level is so high there! If you get a chance to visit, do it do it do it!
8. Korean girls have MAD STYLE! I would have stolen their clothes right off their backs, but they were too tiny. I was a giant in Korea. “Sharon, how you swing out so fast? You so big!”
9. Whilst filming our class reviews for the Camp DVD Juan and I discovered a costume room full of kimonos and sumo suits, wigs and giant fans. Interviews were thus conducted in costume, with props. Jo, Kevin and Shesha performed the Al & Leon Shim Sham for the camera, whilst wearing sumo suits. Keep eyes peeled on youTube for that one…
10. Camp Swing It was the first official collaboration of The Killer Dillers with fab Los Angeles’ group, Hot Club Stomp. That’s Laura Keat, Jeremy Otth, Mikey Pedroza, Nikki Marvin & Shesha Marvin. Awesome dancers, brilliant performers, real professionals. It was a pleasure and an honour! Here’s to many more…
11. All the instructors were challenged to a battle by a single Korean B-boy. We were beaten. Badly.
12. On the final night, after the camp had finished, I fell asleep at the dinner table (Korean BBQ), my Korean metal chopsticks still in my hand.

 
Here are the Killer Diller performances from the weekend:

 
And here’s the B-boy challenge:

 
Oh and look, I found it:

Well, the lyrics may be wildly politically incorrect these days, but Nagasaki is in my opinion a slammin’ little jazz tune. I’ve got renditions I love by Django Reinhardt, Adrian Rollini, Gene Krupa, Benny Carter, Don Redman, Fletcher Henderson, Putney Dandridge, Willie Lewis & His Entertainers,  and earlier this year some of you may have learned a jazz routine I choreographed to a hot version by Ondrej Havelka & His Melodymakers.

And I’m a big fan of this Reds & Struggs performance of the tune:

And here’s The Four Step Brothers getting their Nagasaki on, in a barber shop:

And here’s my Frenchy buddy and fellow SwingFashionista Alice Mei, with Thomas Blacharz, performing a routine to the tune at the International Lindy Hop Championships this year:

And a team routine choreographed by my very good friend and fellow Killer Diller, Kevin St Laurent, for a team of hard-swingin’ Lithuanians:

And finally (because I know you’re all dying to learn the words), here are some of the lyrics I’ve heard sung before. Some of them are pretty dirty, sorry…

Hot ginger and dynamite
There’s nothing but that at night
Back in Nagasaki
Where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky-wacky woo.

The way they can entertain
Would hurry a hurricane
Back in Nagasaki
Where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky wacky  woo.

In Fujiama
You get a mama
Then your troubles increase.
In some pagoda
She orders soda
Earth-shake milk-shakes, ten cents a piece.

They kissy and huggy nice
By Jingo! It’s worth the price.
Back in Nagasaki
Where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky-wacky woo.

They give you a carriage free
The horse is a Japanee
Back in Nagasaki
Where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky-wacky woo.

They sit you upon the floor
And splinter you galore
Back in Nagasaki
Where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky-wacky
 woo.

With Sweet Kimoner
I pulled a boner
I kept it up at high speed.
I got rhumatics
And then psyatics
Halatosisis, that’s guaranteed.

You just have to act your age
Or wind up inside a cage
Back in Nagasaki
Where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky-wacky 
woo.

Those pretty mamas
In pink pyjamas
They try to give you a kiss
Those torid teases
In B.V.D.ses
Heaven help a sailor on a night like this!

When the girls Ju Jitsu
Seems like a bus hit you
Back in Nagasaki
Where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky-wacky woo.

Not too gentle and not too rough
But you’ve got to tell them when you’ve had enough
Back in Nagasaki
Where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky-wacky woo.

I’m recovering now from the charming Provence Swing Festival, in France. Here’s two videos – first, of our brand new Lindy Classic routine, and second, of a short feather fan dance I did. The classic routine is to Scram, by Fats Waller. Enjoy!

Damn, I just realized how lame I am. I didn’t blog about the International Lindy Hop Championships at all!! Well, actually I did post up some photos over at SwingFashionista.com, but that’s not what I’m talking about…

I’m talking about The Killer Dillers winning 1st place in the team division!

Oh and PS:

1st place Charleston: Juan Villafane (Killer Diller)
2nd place Charleston: Nathan Bugh (Killer Diller)
3rd place Charleston: Jo Hoffberg (Killer Diller)
Filling out the rest of the Charleston finals: Evita Arce, Kevin St Laurent & myself (ie: all the rest of the Killer Dillers)
1st place Cabaret: Evita Arce (Killer Diller) & Mike Jagger (honorary Killer Diller)
3rd place Cabaret: Kevin St Laurent, Juan Villafane & Nathan Bugh (uh yeah, The Killer Dillers)

You get my point. Sorry. Proud.

So yeah, check us out: www.thekillerdillers.com