Author Archives: dogpossum

I’m just not near the computer much.
I haven’t written anything important in weeks.
But I have sewn SO much. I am sewing clothes that aren’t for any particular project – I’m just sewing things for the challenge. Stretch satin? Yes. And when you wear it with a skirt, you’re convinced you actually are one of the Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers. Especially if you’ve been doing a bit of solo jazz lately and have your fitness up a bit. Not to mention a big fat repertoire of neat steps.
I have also been… well, not much else. Work on MLX7 continues – just wait til you see the incredibly cute logo Scotty did for us. Wait til you see how cheap passes are (finally we are in the financial position to offer an insane amount of the best social dancing in the country for the lowest price in the country! Go hippies, go!).
I am also about to start a new teaching job next semester at a new university. I won’t write any more about it, other than to say ‘what a great opportunity’, and ‘how wonderful is the Supes for giving me an amazing reference – unsolicited – so I get the job, even though it means she’s suddenly tutor-less for her big fat undergrad subject?!’ Goddess bless the Old Girls’ Network – without it we’d never get jobs.
But this does suggest that we’ll be in Melbourne for a while longer, which I’m not keen on – I’m so desperate to leave town and travel, travel, travel. No freaking UK, though, I hope – somewhere else in Europe. Canada. The US. Wherever. But it’s a catch 22 – I have to take the work I can get.
It is cold here, and I don’t much like it. Though we’ve had an unseasonably warm autumn (doesn’t that seem like an oxymoron?), prompting the final, desperate ripening of the second crop of passionfruit, it’s now properly winter. I don’t much like the winter.
I promised I wouldn’t write here until I had something to talk about beyond dancing and DJing, but things are pretty quiet round here these days, so….
I am doing lots of jazz stuff.
Tranky doo? √
Big Apple from Keep Punchin’ √ (mostly)
Shim Sham Shimmy, a la Frankie Manning √
(I get the most raised eyebrows for this one – “boring!” and “baby stuff!” But it’s the best, best, best routine – simple, yet a fabulous sudy in weight transfer. And people seem to forget that it’s the shim sham shimmy, which is the part I like most. And those boogie forwards? I hate to tell you this, world, but you’re doing them WRONG. Ask yourself: what would Frankie do? And, also, this routine sucks bums to anything under 200bpm. But slap on the action and it’s oh-yes-mumma. I reccommend Chick Webb’s Stompin’ at the Savoy. Burn the George Gee.
Shim Sham Shimmy, a la Al Minns and Leon Jones √
(absolutely yes – I’ve used this version, but it doesn’t have the extra steps Frida and Sakarias have here, or Gina and Mike have, or Mike and Adam have. I will follow up those couple of steps, but really, my heart is with Al and Leon. They’ve taught us that when you’re really, really comfortable with a step, you can start making it interesting. The Shim Sham break? Why just do it facing one direction and moving one direction? Why not move it around? And half breaks? Hard? Maybe, but not when you’ve done them a million times).
I have had the most fun with the shim sham shimmies, I have to say – simple yet really, really fun.
I have to tidy up my Big Schnapple, but my Cranky Poo kicks arse. And from there? Well, there’s the Dean Collins Shim Sham, and about a zillion other jazz routines to learn….

Al and Leon demonstrating some jazz, beginning with the Tranky Doo and ending with a bit of lindy.

(from here).
But this is far more wonderful:

A couple of doods pretending to be Al and Leon (from here).

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?