This is a week when I record all my incidental exercise. This is today’s
stretches
duration: 1.00, effort 2/5 feeling great
3xstretches 01:00
My usual lot of stretches take 20mins all up, and I do them three times a day without fail. They include: four foot exercises (1×12 of each); 1 hamstring stretch (2×12); 2 knee exercises (2×12 and 1min hold); 2 ITB exercises (1×12 of each); 1x core thing (1×12).
I’m thinking of adding another core strengthener and a psoas stretch
dance work
effort 4/5, duration: 2.00, feeling: good
Lots of good work. Humidity like you wouldn’t believe – hot weather, pouring rain. Lots of sweat.
to the shops!
calories: 13 effort 1/5 2km, feeling great
Ordinary walk to the shops and back. Nothing to report.
duration: 01.00, feeling: great
social dancing!
LOTS! No stopping! Right knee a bit sore.
duration: 1.30, effort 3/5 feeling: great
dance work
Some dance work to tidy up and consolidate the leading work from the weekend. Some nice technical discoveries and a bit of arse kicking. Also, followers are the BEST.
effort 3/5, feeling: good, duration: 3.00
social dancing!
Not a whole lot of dancing, considering it was a long event from 8-3am, but my knees were killing. My following was shit house, but my leading felt AMAZING: the Saturday classes were SO useful. I felt more in control of my body, I could dance faster with more efficiency, and I had a better awareness of my partner.
I am now obsessed with hand holds and how they communicate my and my partner’s weight transfers, posture and muscle movement in the rest of the body.
Tomorrow, however, will be a rest day. And no dance or running work til the weekend, I think, to rest my knees. But bring on the swimming and stretching!
dance classes
Less technique. Actually _no_ technique made these classes quite frustrating. I felt my previous day’s achievements being buried by pretty ordinary classes. But still, every class teaches you something, and I found I could apply the previous day’s technique to the millions of moves from these classes and figure them out. But disappointing after the previous day’s work.
Physically enough work to keep my heart rate up, and the nice group and lovely follows made the work productive and I think I managed to learn some useful stuff.
duration: 2.00, effort 3/5
dance classes
2 hours of really interesting technical classes in lindy hop, as a lead. My leading was super improved after this, and my following benefitted as well.
Super fun until I hurt my knee doing jazz step variations (yeah, dropping down into a locked knee is _such_ a good idea).
I’m finding my new core stability/ITB/glute exercises really helpful for dancing – stability down the sides of my front torso (as well as across my pelvis, etc) is really awesomely helpful.
These are some songs that I really like. They all feature singers, and they’re all (mostly) smaller bands. A few of these are songs that have more commonly known versions. These are the versions I like at the moment. I’ve picked songs that are a little salty – not too sweet.
title artist(s) album bpm year song length
Some Of These Days Julia Lee, Clint Weaver, Sam ‘Baby’ Lovett Kansas City Star (disc 1) 210 1946 2:02
Shake It And Break It Joe Turner Complete Jazz Series 1938 – 1941 177 2:59
That’s What You Think Putney Dandridge Complete Jazz Series 1935 – 1936 185 1935 2:43
Swing, Brother, Swing Willie ‘The Lion’ Smith and his Cubs) Willie ‘The Lion’ Smith 1925-1937 231 1935 2:52
Knockin’ Myself Out Lil Green (acc. by Simeon Henry, Jack Dupree, Big Bill Broonzy, Ransom Knowling) 1940-1941 104 1941 3:03
If You’re A Viper Rosetta Howard acc. Harlem Hamfats (Herb Morand, Odell Rand, Horace Malcolm, Joe McCoy, Charlie McCoy, John LIndsay, Ransom Knowling, Fred Flynn, CHarlie McCoy) Let Me Tell You About The Blues: New York (Part 2) 126 1937 3:13
Stop It, Joe Rosetta Crawford acc. by James P. Johnson’s Hep Cats (Tommy Ladnier, Mezz Mezzrow, Teddy Bunn, Elmer James, Zutty Singleton) Mezz Mezzrow: Complete Jazz Series 1936 – 1939 158 1939 3:17
That Too, Do Bennie Moten’s Kansas City Orchestra (Count Basie, Jimmy Rushing) Moten Swing 123 1930 3:20
How Do They Do It That Way? Henry ‘Red’ Allen and his Orchestra (JC Higgenbotham, Albert Nicholas, Charlie Holmes, Luis Russell, Will Johnson, Pops Foster, Paul Barabarin), Victoria Spivey and the Four Wanderers Henry Red Allen And His New York Orchestra (disc 2) 139 1929 3:20
On Revival Day (A Rhythmic Spiritual) (06-09-30) Bessie Smith acc by James P. Johnson, Bessemer Singers Bessie Smith: Complete Jazz Series 1929 – 1933 1930 2:56
I haven’t chased down the year for that excellent version of ‘Shake It and Break It’. That song came to my attention via an ILHC youtube clip of Andreas Olsson and Crista Seipp competing in the showcase category. I adore this version of this song.
It reminded me of that Julia Lee song, which is super awesome. I adore ‘Some Of These Days’, and that is currently my favourite.
I’ve just bought a bunch of Putney Dandridge, and some of it is a bit lame. In the earlier days he just rocks his awesome timing and lovely, bouncy style. Not to mention the badass vibrato, but after a while he’s obviously trying to cash in on Fats Waller’s vocal style. Laaame. But I like this song, and I quite like this version.
‘Swing Brother Swing’ is great, though we usually hear the Billie Holiday version(s). I like Willie the Lion Smith a whole lot, and I like this version. I’ve played it for dancers quite a few times and they like it too.
Lil Green is rockhardawesome, and responsible for the best version of ‘Why Don’t You Do Right?’ This song ‘Knockin’ myself out’ is one the Asylum Street Spankers do, and it’s about drugs. I like her delivery.
‘If You’re A Viper’ is also about drugs. Rosetta Howard is the foshiz. The Harlem Hamfats had a bit of popularity with American dancers a little while ago, but I’m not convinced they’re all that. I like Howard, though. She actually did some neat stuff with Henry Red Allen, Barney Bigard and Sid Catlett in 1939, but I like the viper song.
‘Stop It Joe’ has one of those melodies that just gets stuck in your brain. The band is pretty spankingly good.
‘That Too Do’ is one of my favourite Bennie Moten songs. Jimmy Rushing’s lyrics include bits of a song which most people know as ‘Every Day I Have the Blues’. But ‘That Too Do’ has someone playing piano accordion and has a sort of droning, miserable style that suits the lyrics. The best bit is nearer the end, where the band shouting and the muted trumpet do some awesome call and response.
Victoria Spivey. And Henry Red Allen. That’s all I need to say, really.
