Buffalo Swing, Represent!
Apr. 30th, 2004 11:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
willow_redW00t! I just got back from Greeley, where I got to watch my friends Stephen and Colleen, along with the rest of CU's swing dance team (Buffalo Swing), win the trophy for best swing dance performance! Three teams showed up: CU, CSU, and of course, UNC. Mines and UW were supposed to be there, but bailed. Their loss. It was an awesome time!
First up was CSU. They were the favorites to win, as they had apparently won another competition somewhere else. Don't get me wrong: they were good, but not great. They danced to "Little Bitty Pretty One," which was cute, but they didn't make much out of the song. It was just the couples dancing and doing the occasional nifty trick. Their costumes were uninspired: girls in lime green tank tops and black skirts, and guys in black pants, white shirt, and a tie *yawn*. While they might have had the best technique, their style was lacking.
Second was CU. Unfortunately, I missed most of it because I was trying to tape the performance, and the camcorder's battery died 30 seconds in, but it took me a minute to figure out that I wasn't going to be able to get it working again *sigh*. This group has only been together for about two months and their technique was okay, but not prize-worthy. What really made them winners, IMHO, was that they made an actual performance out of it. Their song was "Suits Are Picking Up the Bill" by the Squirrel Nut Zippers. With five couples, each had a special part where they tied into the song. Two couples were the "suits," two couples were the "rags," and there was a "waiter/waitress" couple. They started and ended as a group, but each pair had solo time that tied into the flow of the song. Also, they were the only group that didn't have what looked like uniforms. Their costumes related directly to the song. The "suits" were appropriately dressed up in period-style clothes, and the "rags" did the theatrical rag thing. Stephen (who does not and would never smoke) even got a box of Camels that he rolled up in the sleeve of his white t-shirt. I was highly amused. I wish I could have paid attention to the entire performance. It rocked.
Third was UNC. They had really good technique, and made an attempt at performance too. UNC's team has been together since February, and they danced to "Hey, Big Spender." Girls wore bright, solid color halter tops and black skirts, and guys wore dark pants with a mustard yellow shirt of some kind (some had open button-downs over a white undershirt). This group did track the song with actions following the lyrics here and there. They also did some of the better tricks I saw, but pandered to the crowd by flashing under the girls' skirts (they were wearing bike shorts anyway). They did really well, and I actually thought they would win, but it seems like the judges were more impressed by the overall picture than any one area.
I got there at about a quarter to eight, so I had an hour to kill before the competition started. I chatted a bit with Stephen and Colleen, and also Stephen's brother Brad. Brad's been out of the swing game even longer than I have, so it was really amusing when I asked him to dance. We had a good time, and only screwed up maybe ten percent. Colleen said we didn't look too bad. I was so rusty, it hurt.
After the competition, open dancing resumed, and I got four more dances in: three random guys plus Stephen. Each dance got better and better as things slowly came back to me. Oddly enough, I think I do better with the fast dancing, as it's easier to cover small mistakes (granted, the big ones get bigger, but whatever). I even taught one guy a move! It was a side dip, which Stephen reminded me was something I taught him his very first night out dancing. Guess I haven't lost it completely, even after all this time. Of course, when I danced with Stephen, I still did badly as he is overly fond of Lindy, and I suck at that, having learned it not long before I stopped dancing, so I never had the chance to get good at it.
So the swing dancing bug has bitten me again. Of course this would happen *after* the Hard Drive Cafe is closed for the summer! I couldn't go this past semester because of those heinous 7:30am meetings that I thankfully no longer have to go to. However, I heard there's a place on Pearl Street that does swing every other Saturday, so I might have to check that out. I'm busy tomorrow, but maybe in two weeks.
If you're interested, or know anyone who would be, let me know.
First up was CSU. They were the favorites to win, as they had apparently won another competition somewhere else. Don't get me wrong: they were good, but not great. They danced to "Little Bitty Pretty One," which was cute, but they didn't make much out of the song. It was just the couples dancing and doing the occasional nifty trick. Their costumes were uninspired: girls in lime green tank tops and black skirts, and guys in black pants, white shirt, and a tie *yawn*. While they might have had the best technique, their style was lacking.
Second was CU. Unfortunately, I missed most of it because I was trying to tape the performance, and the camcorder's battery died 30 seconds in, but it took me a minute to figure out that I wasn't going to be able to get it working again *sigh*. This group has only been together for about two months and their technique was okay, but not prize-worthy. What really made them winners, IMHO, was that they made an actual performance out of it. Their song was "Suits Are Picking Up the Bill" by the Squirrel Nut Zippers. With five couples, each had a special part where they tied into the song. Two couples were the "suits," two couples were the "rags," and there was a "waiter/waitress" couple. They started and ended as a group, but each pair had solo time that tied into the flow of the song. Also, they were the only group that didn't have what looked like uniforms. Their costumes related directly to the song. The "suits" were appropriately dressed up in period-style clothes, and the "rags" did the theatrical rag thing. Stephen (who does not and would never smoke) even got a box of Camels that he rolled up in the sleeve of his white t-shirt. I was highly amused. I wish I could have paid attention to the entire performance. It rocked.
Third was UNC. They had really good technique, and made an attempt at performance too. UNC's team has been together since February, and they danced to "Hey, Big Spender." Girls wore bright, solid color halter tops and black skirts, and guys wore dark pants with a mustard yellow shirt of some kind (some had open button-downs over a white undershirt). This group did track the song with actions following the lyrics here and there. They also did some of the better tricks I saw, but pandered to the crowd by flashing under the girls' skirts (they were wearing bike shorts anyway). They did really well, and I actually thought they would win, but it seems like the judges were more impressed by the overall picture than any one area.
I got there at about a quarter to eight, so I had an hour to kill before the competition started. I chatted a bit with Stephen and Colleen, and also Stephen's brother Brad. Brad's been out of the swing game even longer than I have, so it was really amusing when I asked him to dance. We had a good time, and only screwed up maybe ten percent. Colleen said we didn't look too bad. I was so rusty, it hurt.
After the competition, open dancing resumed, and I got four more dances in: three random guys plus Stephen. Each dance got better and better as things slowly came back to me. Oddly enough, I think I do better with the fast dancing, as it's easier to cover small mistakes (granted, the big ones get bigger, but whatever). I even taught one guy a move! It was a side dip, which Stephen reminded me was something I taught him his very first night out dancing. Guess I haven't lost it completely, even after all this time. Of course, when I danced with Stephen, I still did badly as he is overly fond of Lindy, and I suck at that, having learned it not long before I stopped dancing, so I never had the chance to get good at it.
So the swing dancing bug has bitten me again. Of course this would happen *after* the Hard Drive Cafe is closed for the summer! I couldn't go this past semester because of those heinous 7:30am meetings that I thankfully no longer have to go to. However, I heard there's a place on Pearl Street that does swing every other Saturday, so I might have to check that out. I'm busy tomorrow, but maybe in two weeks.
If you're interested, or know anyone who would be, let me know.
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Date: 2004-04-30 11:38 pm (UTC)And maybe, I'll actually learn to lindy ...