May 18, 2007

think of me, will you

Posted by dogpossum on May 18, 2007 10:35 PM in the category lindy hop and other dances

I have started back on the Cranky Poo/big Schnapple/jazz step kick again.
Mostly because I have had to make all new clothes to deal with my increasing girth.
But also because I adore old school jazz routines so much.

Here's a new one:

(from here).

This is the shim sham, a seriously old school jazz routine which has its roots in tap and the shim sham shimmy.
Most lindy hoppers know this version - in fact, you can see a bunch of Australians in this clip (btw that's Frankie Manning there in that clip - I've decided that he's the dancer I actually want to be. Him or Al or Leon, I can't decide which. But probably Frankie. I ask myself, when I need some inspiration, "What would Frankie do?" and the answer is usually 'shimmy so the lady will shake her boobs at me' or 'shimmy my butt so the lady will shake her booty' or 'bow reeeeal low so I can see the lady's undies when she swivels in a swing out'. I feel these are all admirable goals for a young feminist-about-town.

So I think I'll get onto this version of the shim sham. I've spent a couple of days sorting out the timing and reminding myself of the Cranky Poo this week, and I need a bit of inspiration before I get back to the Big Schnapple. It's hard to do the schnapps on my own - you really need a partner for the last bit.

So it'll go:
- tidy up Cranky Poo
- start learning Al and Leon's shim sham from clip (which will take me ages as I'll need to transcribe it and I'm a shit transcriber)
- work on Big Schnapple again til it's perfect
- pull the boring old shim sham out and become superheroine good at it.

Think of me at about 3pm during weekdays this week, will you?

Posted by dogpossum on May 18, 2007 10:35 PM in the category lindy hop and other dances