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The Swing Book

Page 19

by Degen Pener


  Undergarments: Get ready to unleash the exhibitionist within. One of the most fun parts of swing dancing can be showing off a chic or shocking item of lingerie. In fact, that’s one reason to find a skirt that really twirls. For a basic outfit, consider wearing a pair of vintage seamed stockings (dead-stock is still fairly easy to find) with a garter belt, or a girdle with garter straps. “It all depends on whether you want to show your knickers or not. The more modest girl might wear a slip,” says Annamarie Firley of Revamp (which, under the label Dark Garden, makes innovative garter belts with two extra straps to help hold up the stockings of even the most athletic dancers). But even if you don’t want to show off, it’s fun “dressing vintage inside and out,” adds Firley.

  Other possibilities include tap pants, flouncy crinolines, fishnets, and fifties Betty Page-style bullet bras. At the wild and popular Monsters of Swing camp in Ventura every spring, styles get even more outrageous. The brashest women have brought down the house wearing leopard garters, panties with shiny blue polka dots, and once even a pair that read “Hi, Lee,” a surprise message for festival organizer Lee Moore of the Flyin’ Lindy Hoppers.

  Hollywood-style dancers and instructors Sylvia Skylar and Erik Robison at Swing Dance Catalina.(LISA C. BOREL)

  CHAPTER 7

  A night on the Town: The City-by-City Guide

  From the local club to far-flung spots from Sweden to Singapore, swing is everywhere. Arranged alphabetically by state, followed by international entries, here’s the most comprehensive list so far of where the coolest places are to dance and hang out with fellow Lindy fans, who the swing dance teachers are in your city (instructors will often have varying specialties; make sure to inquire before you sign up for a class), plus which Web pages to check for the most up-to-date listings of area swing events. (My apologies to those clubs and instructors who aren’t on the list. In some cases, clubs have been selected based on longevity and popularity. For certain cities, just a Web site is listed.)

  Before heading out to a club, it’s recommended that you call ahead. Nights and locations change. (Bars also aren’t always consistent about supporting swing nights since dancers don’t drink very much.) Better yet, check those Web pages religiously. If you give them your e-mail address, the most organized sites will send out weekly notices detailing upcoming swing events. Keep on swinging!

  United States

  ARIZONA

  Phoenix-Scottsdale Area

  NIGHTSPOTS

  Backstage

  7373 Scottsdale Mall

  Scottsdale

  602-949-1697

  Call for details

  The Bash

  230 Fifth Street at Ash

  Tempe

  602-966-8200

  Swing three nights a week, with a DJ on Tuesdays, live music on Thursdays and Saturdays

  Bobby McGee’s

  7000 East Shea

  Scottsdale

  602-998-5591

  Lessons and DJ on Tuesdays

  The Rhythm Room

  1019 East Indian School Road

  Phoenix

  602-265-4842

  Long-running swing events; call for nights

  Rockin’ Horse

  7136 East Stetson

  Scottsdale

  602-949-0992

  Live music and lessons Wednesday through Saturday, age 18+

  DANCE CLASSES

  Steve Conrad, cofounder of the Arizona Lindy Hop Society, and Aaryn Green

  888-494-8932 (within Arizona)

  Paul Maranto, cofounder of the Arizona Lindy Hop Society, and Kristi Bullock

  602-222-9493

  WEB SITES

  www.azls.com

  Homepage of the Arizona Lindy Hop

  Society, with statewide listings

  www.rhythmandmoves.com

  Paul Maranto’s Web site on the swing

  scene in the Phoenix area

  www.lauricon.com/lindycircle

  Steve Conrad’s Web site for Lindy events

  Tucson

  NIGHTSPOTS

  Club Congress

  311 East Congress

  520-622-8848

  Books live bands; call for nights

  Rialto Theater

  318 East Congress

  520-740-0126

  Books swing bands approximately once a month

  DANCE CLASSES

  Irene Stojanov and Brian Fabig

  602-263-7553

  WEB SITE

  www.azstarnet.com/~lstrojny

  West Coast swing site also provides info on Lindy in the area

  CALIFORNIA

  Fresno

  WEB SITE

  www.hepcentral.com

  www.webfresno.com/swinglink/

  Guides to events in the Fresno area

  Los Angeles Area

  NIGHTSPOTS

  Bobby McGee’s

  200 South State College Boulevard

  Brea

  714-529-1998

  Great old-timers and youngsters mixer

  with DJ music; call for nights

  Carillo Recreation Center

  100 East Carrillo

  Santa Barbara

  805-569-1952

  Thrown by renowned instructors Jonathan Bixby and Sylvia Sykes, this dance is held every first and third Friday of the month (with free lesson)

  Coconut Club

  Beverly Hilton

  9876 Wilshire Boulevard

  310-285-1358

  Great bands and dancing on Saturdays

  Conga Room

  5364 Wilshire Boulevard

  323-656-8363

  (Swing Set hotline)

  Heidi Richman’s Wednesday-night Swing Set dance

  The Derby

  4500 Los Feliz Boulevard

  323-663-8979

  LA’s premier swing nightclub offers live music every night of the week in the gorgeous building once occupied by the famous Brown Derby

  Memories

  1074 North Tustim Avenue

  Anaheim

  714-630-9233

  Swing dancing Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, and late on Saturdays in this forties-style supper club

  Nicholby’s

  404 East Main Street

  Ventura

  805-653-2320

  Home turf of the Flyin’ Lindy Hoppers; Wednesday swing nights

  Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association

  Fellowship Hall

  997 East Walnut (in back of Lutheran Church)

  Pasadena 626-799-5689

  Long-running event held on Saturday; no age limit

  Rhino Room

  7979 Center

  Huntington Beach

  714-892-3316

  Wednesday swing nights with lessons and live music

  Satin Ballroom

  Veterans Memorial Building

  4117 Overland Avenue

  Culver City

  310-358-6935

  Hundreds of swingers boogie once a month on a seven-thousand-square-foot floor

  Twin Palms

  101 West Green Street

  Pasadena

  626-577-2567

  All-ages dance on Sundays

  DANCE CLASSES

  Jonathan Bixby and Sylvia Sykes Santa Barbara

  http://www.reson.com/dance/tj&s.htm

  805-569-1952

  Kim Clever and David Frutos

  805-641-3676

  Flyin’ Lindy Hoppers

  Terri Moore

  Ventura

  www.flyinlindyhoppers.com

  805-643-3166

  Rusty Frank and Peter Flahiff

  Swing Shift and On Tap!

  818-753-7968

  Steven Mitchell

  818-468-9995

  Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association

  Erin and Tami Stevens

  http://home.earthlink.net/~pbda1

  626-799-5689

  Sylvia Skylar and Erik Robison

  213-389-6691

  Audrey Wilson

&nbs
p; Irvine, Orange County

  http://home.earthlink.net/~audreydancin/

  714-551-3443

  WEB SITES

  http://home.earthlink.net/~margiekate/swingspots.html

  Margie Cormier’s super-comprehensive Southern California Lindy Society homepage

  www.nocturne.com/swing/swing.shtml

  A cool guide to Los Angeles after dark

  http://welcome.to/laswing

  This LA guide offers club listings, links, and a music and book store

  Riverside-San Bernardino

  WEB SITE

  www.pe.net/~jstairs/

  Riverside Station’s guide to inland south

  California swing

  Sacramento

  WEB SITE

  www. midtownswing.com

  The capital’s swing guide

  San Diego Area

  NIGHTSPOTS

  Belly Up

  143 South Cedros

  Solana Beach

  619-481-9022

  Occasional Friday and Saturday happy hour with swing music

  Cannibal Bar

  Catamaran Hotel

  3999 Mission Boulevard

  Pacific Beach

  619-539-8650

  Hops on most Wednesdays with live

  music (usually Big Time Operator)

  Characters Bar and Grill

  La Jolla Marriott

  4240 La Jolla Village Drive

  619-597-6394

  Saturdays with a big dance floor

  The Flame

  3780 Park Boulevard

  619-295-4163

  Mondays with free lessons

  Papa Jack’s

  502 Fourth Avenue at Island

  619-696-7272

  Swing on Sunday nights with live music

  The Rocket Club

  3094 El Cajon Boulevard

  North Park

  619-447-7247

  Spacious all-ages club features live music either Friday or Saturday, DJ on casual Tuesdays

  Tio Leo’s

  5302 Napa Street

  Bay Park/University of San Diego

  619-542-0562

  Rockabilly swing nights Thursdays plus occasional live shows

  DANCE CLASSES

  Swing Time San Diego

  Meeshi Sumayao

  619-271-7061

  Emily Belt

  619-677-0353

  Jamie and Elisha Exon

  760-734-4875

  Jon Costa

  760-720-0491

  Elizabeth O’Grady

  760-633-1510

  WEB SITES

  www.swingtimesd.com

  Web site for Swing Time San Diego—complete guide to venues, classes, and other events

  www.anyswinggoes.com

  San Diego-based on-line swing magazine

  www.angelfire.com/ca/SDLindyHop

  San Diego Lindy Hop Society homepage

  San Francisco Area

  NIGHTSPOTS

  Allegro Ballroom

  5855 Christie Avenue

  Emeryville

  510-655-2888

  Call for details

  Bimbo’s 365 Club

  1025 Columbus Avenue

  415-474-0365

  This club’s occasional swing nights are worth waiting for; it’s got an amazing dance floor

  Café Cocomo

  650 Indiana Street

  415-824-6910

  This small club in Potrero Hill offers classes and bands on Wednesdays

  Café du Nord

  2170 Market Street

  415-861-5016

  The home turf of singer Lavay Smith; call for details

  Club Deluxe

  1509 Haight Street

  415-552-6949

  Small art deco lounge where the neoswing movement first took off

  Cocoanut Grove

  400 Beach Street

  Santa Cruz

  831-423-2053

  Call for information

  DNA Lounge

  375 Eleventh Street

  415-626-1409

  Saturday night’s Swinging with Spencer in the Ultra Lounge draws the hard-core scenesters

  Hi-Ball Lounge

  473 Broadway

  415-397-9464

  The swankest spot in North Beach and San Francisco’s only six-night-a-week swing club; offers great classes too

  330 Ritch

  330 Ritch Street

  415-522-9558

  Wednesday night classes

  Top of the Mark

  Mark Hopkins Hotel

  999 California Street

  415-392-3434

  Catch the best views of the city at this recently renovated club; lessons on Tuesdays

  DANCE CLASSES

  Broadway Studios

  435 Broadway

  415-291-0333

  Paul Overton and Sharon Ashe

  The International Center

  50 Oak Street

  415-626-0255

  Metronome Ballroom

  1830 Seventeenth Street

  415-252-9000

  Michael Marangio and Persephone

  Shagtime Dance Instruction

  www.zootsuitswank.com

  510-528-7858

  Micah Jacobson and Jena Chalmers

  1-800-97-MICAH

  Rob van Haaren and Diane Thomas

  Swing Central

  650-367-9464

  Belinda Ricklefs and Ken Watanabe East Bay

  belindy@sirius.com

  510-893-1519

  WEB SITES

  www.eswing.com

  The best events calendar for northern California and beyond

  www.lindylist.com

  Weekly listings of dances and band appearances

  www.maybe.com/swingside

  An opinionated guide to a week in the life of Bay Area swing

  COLORADO

  Denver

  NIGHTSPOTS

  Bluebird Theater

  3317 East Colfax Avenue

  303-322-2308

  Call for listing of swing events

  Mercury Café

  2199 California

  303-294-9281

  Swings on Thursdays and Sundays with local bands, DJ on Tuesdays

  Ninth Avenue West

  99 West Ninth Avenue

  303-572-8006

  Swing and supper club has featured many of the country’s best bands; call for details

  DANCE CLASSES

  Matthew Donalen

  303-382-6997

  James Glader

  www.allswingevents.com

  303-861-8094

  Victor Ward

  303-280-1807

  Russell Enloe

  303-733-2237

  Karen Lee Dance Studio

  303-825-1116

  Marcy and Keith Hellman

  Contact c/o Mercury Café

  303-294-9258

  WEB SITES

  www.swingcolorado.com

  Good listing of weekly events plus in-depth coverage of clubs in and around Denver

  www.oneimage.com/~ dswing

  Another source for swing info in the Mile High City

  Fort Collins

  DANCE CLASSES

  Eden Ellman and Diane Montgomery

  970-493-3718 or 970-493-3741

  WEB SITES

  www.jivecats.com

  Site for Fort Collins swing dancers

  http://lamar.colostate.edu/~ swing

  Homepage for Colorado State University swing club

  CONNECTICUT

  NIGHTSPOTS

  Cinedrome 360 Nightclub

  Foxwoods Resort and Casino

  Route 2 near Norwich

  860-312-4231

  Live music and dancing on Sundays; age

  21+ only

  Connecticut Swing Dance Society

  AMC Hall

  University of New Haven

  420 Orange Avenue

  West Haven

  203-458-6772 or 203-985-1112

&nbs
p; Hartford Swing Dance

  West Hartford Town hall

  50 South Main Street

  West Hartford

  860-649-0482

  Live music and dancing the first Friday of the month

  Shoreline Swing Dance Society

  East Lyme Community Center

  Society Road

  East Lyme

  860-739-0697

  www.havetodance.com/shorelineswing

  Live music and dancing the third Saturday of every month

  Wethersfield American Legion Hall

  275 Main Street

  Wethersfield

  860-563-8723

  Thursday dances, plus Swing Jam fourth Saturday of the month

  DANCE CLASSES

  Jane Dumont aka Jitterbug Jane

  Hartford area and also New Haven

  www.havetodance.com/danceworks

  860-267-0613

  WEB SITES

  http://www.havetodance.com/dancec.thtml

  Dance venues and instructors throughout the state

  www.havetodance.com/hartfordswing

  Jane Dumont’s weekly listings

  www.ctswing.org

  Homepage of the Connecticut Swing

  Dance Society

  FLORIDA

  Melbourne

 

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