#yehoodi

[crochetpianissimo]

What is going on in the Lindy Hop community? 

First Steven Mitchell, now Max Pitruzzella... What happened to “Lindy Hop is a safe space for everyone?” :(

[lindyhopproblems]

Pro Showcase - The International Lindy Hop Championships

"Routines must be a minimum of two-minutes and a maximum of four-minutes in length. Competitotrs select their own music. This is a no-holds barred competition. All lifts, drops, aerials, airsteps, and acrobatics are allowed. This will be an invitational social dance competition open to dancers determined by the organizers." -from ILHC

Kevin St. Laurent & Jo Hoffberg - MY FAVORITE

I debated back and forth over whether or not to place them first because I know that my extreme love for Jo has got to skew my opinion, but after re-watching this routine and my next pick several times, I think this is the most accurate for me. Kevin & Jo are incredible performers and they nail their routines because they spend so much time on them. They don't just dance through the moves beautifully, but they have thought about their facial expressions and what their fingers are doing while they move. There is just incredible attention to detail. You just know that it basically doesn't matter when the photographer snaps their photos...because Kevin & Jo just look perfect the whole time. 

Side Note: Jo's tights. And hair. ALWAYS. 

0:20 - Jo & Kevin come right out and own the floor and I love it! 

1:00 - This is just beautiful. I love that they aren't afraid to take it slow at the start of this routine and just milk the music for everything that it has. 

1:20 - THESE ARMS. Man. The simplest things are my favorite most of the time. It just shows a commitment to making every single move count. It doesn't have to be a fancy trick to be awesome. 

1:29 - SO CUTE. And Kevin fucking WINKS at the end. Seriously. These people are amazing. 

1:50 - Look at those legs. And the height on that jump. How does she even?

2:39 - She is so sassy. SO SASSY. And she just has all of the time in the world. Man, I love her. 

Pontus Persson & Isabella Gregorio

You know...Isabella & Pontus are great dancers, (obviously), but they have never really grabbed my attention like they have this weekend. They are killing it! I almost ranked this routine first and it took several times of watching it over and over, along with Kevin & Jo's, to make a decision. Also, during the Yehoodi commentary, Mikey Pedroza said that Pontus & Isabella put this together in the last week. WHAT? 

0:39 - Their synchronicity is amazing. It's not just about being on the same rhythm or doing the same movement...it's about the shapes that they are making and when exactly they are making them. They look fantastic! Plus, I am a total sucker for being able to hear the rhythms that dancers create. 

1:14 - How I have never appreciated their combined sass? This throw caught me be surprise and just looked so effortless. And Isabella's face when she lands? She knows that they just owned it. Plus...man shimmies. And the ensuing solo battle between them is amazing!

2:58 - That ending. I'm really feeling like I need to take another look at their other performances, because I must be missing out!

Remy Kouakou Kouame & Vincenzo Fesi

This routine was so much fun to watch! They looked phenomenal and really in sync but without sacrificing any individual style. Plus I loved the song and their suits. The downside for me was that I really wanted them to swing the fuck out as the finale of the routine. It felt like they teased us about connecting for partnered movement without ever really delivering enough to satisfy me. But, in a different type of contest, this routine probably would have gotten my top vote. PLUS, they used a lot of spirit fingers. MAN. Loved it. 

4:10 - I need to step up my Tacky Annie game. Remy is going so hard! 

Winners:

Jo Hoffberg & Kevin St. Laurent

Laura Glaess & Todd Yannacone

Remy Kouakou Kouame & Vincenzo Fesi

Score Sheet: 

Find all of the score sheets on the ILHC website.

If you want to hear my thoughts about another couple from this division, send me a link and ask! I will let you know what I liked, or what I didn't, and why they didn't make the cut for my favorites. 

Which routine did you love the most?

[lindyhopproblems]

Solo Charleston: The International Lindy Hop Championships

"This is a solo American vernacular jazz dance contest. Dancers must include Charleston variations and may also include black bottom and vernacular jazz movements. Dancers will dance to music selected by ILHC in the preliminary rounds. The finals will be dances in a jam format to a live band." -from ILHC

My Favorites: 

Tatiana Udry

Tatiana wasn’t the dancer that I was intending to watch out for in this competition but I think she rocked it! Her movement was dynamic with amazing lines and shapes plus some great contrast and variety. She was sharp and clean and really interesting to watch with the confidence to take it slow and let each spotlight build. 

Nathan Bugh

I feel like I need to watch his feet in slow motion to full appreciate everything that he is throwing down! His rhythms are always impeccable and he is goofy and weird but with the talent to back it up and make it awesome. I love the way that he translates the music and I think he brought something new and interesting each time he came out. 

Winners: 

Nathan Bugh

Pontus Persson

Ramona Staffield

Score Sheet: 

Find all of the score sheets on the ILHC website.

If you want to hear my thoughts about another dancer from this division, send me a link and ask! I will let you know what I liked, or what I didn’t, and why they didn’t make the cut for my favorites. 

Who was your favorite?

[lilsasslotsofclass-blog]

Watched the Yehoodi SwingNation from this week… They talked about exchanges (or a lack of - i think…)

The first thing I thought of was how amazing PittStop was this past week.  Like I didn't even expect that much awesome, but there it was.  Seeing so much raw, un-choreographed lindy in one place was insanity.  Also, it was great food for new swing out variations for me.  Like I felt like my dancing was SO on point.  

Plus, it was my first exchange/dance weekend EVER, and I jumped into a super intense Jam Circle Saturday night, and my dancing felt better than I remember it being.  I can't wait until next year, and I hope I can go to DCLX and other weekends.  

[boogiebackdance]

Thanks to Yehoodi from South African lindy hoppers

[djryanswift]

A Couple of Items on ILHC

1. As you should know by now, (at least for my money) ILHC is the best Lindy Hop competition in the world and you should register right now, because time and space is running out.

2. After a few years hiatus, I'll be DJing again this year.

3. Building on the success of the 2012 broadcast, the Yehoodi team is trying to raise money to livestream competitions in glorious HD this year. They are at the midpoint of a crowdsourced fundraising campaign and could really use your help. Consider donating and sharing the broadcast with your friends who still don't know what Lindy Hop is.

[punkassjim]

So, every week, me and my friends Rik, Manu, and Nicole work on a Lindy Hop-specific video podcast called SwingNation. Last year, we broadcast ILHC competitions live, and people absolutely loved it. Here in San Francisco, I know several viewing parties were organized around the video stream, and it made all of us who work on this show very proud to have brought you something you really loved.

This year, we need your help. Our goal is not only to get to the event and do the job, but also to secure the bandwidth for the stream, AND in true HD (last year was broadcast in standard def). And for that, we'll need a little new hardware, and we'll have to bring the whole team to ILHC 2013.

Here's where you can help. We've set up an IndieGoGo campaign, and we're asking you, lovely lindy hoppers, to help us in any way you can. If it's worth a few bucks to you to have a fantastic HD live stream of the events at ILHC, we can promise your dollars will go to good use. If it's worth even more to you, well, that'd be truly awesome. And, of course, there are perks for all the donation levels $10 and above.

So, please, even if you're unable to chip in, please spread the word. Reblog this post, share the IndieGoGo link on Facebook, anything you do to get the word out would be incredibly appreciated. Thanks!

[whatshouldwecallswingdance]

Oh hey - we're featured on Episode 11 of Yehoodi's SwingNation!

That's cool.

(We're at 17:30 if you're the skipping-ahead type)