My burlesque company in Australia, Sugar Blue Burlesque, has just released a series of five instructional DVDs, including a 3-volume Burlesque series (featuring myself, plus the other Sugar Blue Burlesque instructors!), as well as my very own “1920s Charleston & Other Vintage Jazz Dances” DVD.
The Charleston DVD includes vernacular jazz and blues dancing, as well as, of course, 1920s Charleston, and has the fundamentals as well as advanced steps.
The DVDs are available for purchase online at the Sugar Blue Burlesque website for $30.00 each, and that’s Australian dollars, so take advantage of the exchange rate! Right now, that’s only US$25, or €18 Euros, or £15 GBP! Shipping is available worldwide.
Click here (or on “DVDs” in the menu bar above) to find out more!
As promised, here’s that list of Top 10 Leader Pet Peeves (as per a survey I took recently) that we worked on in my Following Technique Clinic this weekend at Southern Belle Swing Bash in Atlanta. We worked through some drills, tests and exercises to see if we were perpetrators of any of these follower crimes, and how to fix them. This is just a quick summary for those that were in the class, and might not make much sense if you weren’t there:
- Floppy fingers, or…
- The iron grip
- A kinked wrist
- Floating arms, in various positions
- Seeking various connections he’s not asking for
- Shoulders behind hips (falling backwards), or feet behind hips (falling forwards)
- Split weight swivels, ie: being on the wrong foot on count 2
- Split weight on 3&4, ie: being on the wrong foot on count 4
- Not walking straight forward, when lead straight forward
- Ignoring the lead during your swivels (coming forward too early, too late, or demanding stretch he’s not leading)
If you have any questions, feel free to email me: me@sharondavis.com.au
[Photo: Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, 1939, Savoy Ballroom, Harlem, New York City].
I played a nice gentle set for one of the late-nights at Southern Belle Swing Bash last weekend, here’s the set list as requested!
Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho – Sidney Bechet, 1949 (178 bpm)
No More Love – Buddy Johnson, 1951 (125 bpm)
Savoy – Lucky Millinder, 1942 (167 bpm)
At The Clambake Carnival - Cab Calloway (186 bpm)
Ballin’ The Jack – Red Nichols (131 bpm)
Little Jazz – Roy Eldridge, 1945 (145 bpm)
Yacht Club Swing - Fats Waller, 1938 (173 bpm)
Six Appeal (My Daddy Rocks Me) – Benny Goodman Sextet, 1940 (146 bpm)
Black Eyes – Wingy Manone (165 bpm)
Your Feets Too Big – Fats Waller, 1939 (121 bpm)
Good Queen Bess – Duke Ellington, 1940 (160 bpm)
Stomping at the Renny - Edgar Hayes, 1937 (177 bpm)
East St Louis Toodle-oo - Michael McQuaid’s Red Hot Rhythmakers (151 bpm)
A High Hat, a Piccolo and a Cane – Tempo King (187 bpm)
Cherry - Eddie Condon & His Town Hall Jazz Band, 1944 (168 bpm)
Twenty-Four Robbers - Jimmie Lunceford, 1941 (141 bpm)
Fan It – Red Nichols (181 bpm)
I Want The Waiter (With The Water) - Jimmie Lunceford, 1939 (150 bpm)
My Man Stands Out – Julia Lee & Her Boyfriends (160 bpm)
Let’s Get Happy Together - Lil Hardin Armstrong, 1938 (176 bpm)
Shower (Bicycle Bounce) – Erskine Hawkins, 1944 (180 bpm)
Ridin’ and Jivin’ – Earl Hines, 1939 (150 bpm)
I’m Living in a Great Big Way – Benny Goodman, 1935 (168 bpm)
A Mellow Bit of Rhythm – Andy Kirk & His 12 Clouds of Joy, 1937 (159 bpm)
Four or Five Times – Jimmie Noone, 1937 (172 bpm)
I had an absolute blast this past weekend at Southern Belle Swing Bash in Atlanta!!! What a brilliant event, I got to meet a bunch of sassy ladies, plus it wasn’t just a girl-fest all weekend long, there were charming gentlemen volunteers, that actually out-numbered the ladies in a bunch of the classes. So there was darn good social dancing to be had, especially with Mr Michael Gamble cookin’ in the DJ booth – love that guy! Weather was hot and heavy, just like home, plus I got to say “y’all” a few times and nobody blinked an eye!
Thanks to all the new friends that I met, to Evita Arce and Caitlin Wellman for all the giggles and goodtimes, big thanks to Jaya and Michael for such a great event, to Jeramie Anderson for being my very gracious demo lead (and to Amber for lending him to me), and big shout out to Sosh and Lisa for being the hosts with the, umm, mosts.
I promised everyone I would post up some links and material, and it’s a’coming, I promise! Watch this space…
(Photo by Sosh Howell)
