Announcing the First SwingBuffalo.com Anniversary Celebration...



SwingBuffalo.com's 1 Year Anniversary Dance

Friday December 5th, 2008
8-11

$8 General Admission
$5 Students & Seniors

VFW Post 416
18 Spring St.
Amherst, NY

Beginners More Than Welcome!
No partner necessary.
Beginner Lindy Hop Lesson 8-9

SwingBuffalo.com officially went online December 5th, 2007. This December, Friday December 5th marks the 1 year anniversary of bringing Buffalo swing dances, classes, performances, and organized trips. Come celebrate this momentous occasion with lots of fun, food, dancing, music, instruction, and hilarity!

This has been a terrific year. When before, there was no lindy hop scene to speak of in Buffalo, there's now a vibrant and talented scene. We are known in the region from Toronto, to Pittsburgh, to Albany and beyond. Visitors from all over stop at our weekly dances and instruction, DJ'ing, performances, and demoes provided by SwingBuffalo have been requested numerous times by other organizations in and outside of Buffalo.

I quickly looked through our calendar and made a rough tally of the events created and/or sponsored by SwingBuffalo as of December 5th, 2008. They include:

159 Classes in Jitterbug, Lindy Hop, Charleston, Shim Sham, Musicality, & Balboa
63 Weekly dances
4 Large Dances (including this anniversary dance)
2 Contests
9 Performances

Not only that, but SwingBuffalo.com's efforts (and dancers) have been noted in print, on the radio, on the web, in magazines, and on TV. These include, but are not limited to, WGR55, WBLS, Buffalo Spree, Buffalo Rising, The Buffalo News, and News Channel 4. We've had 3 articles alone in Buffalo Rising.

As the founder of SwingBuffalo.com, I'm extremely gratified to see so many young people get excited about traditional street forms of swing dancing such as Lindy Hop and Balboa. And to see them not be able to stay still when big band music comes through the speakers inspires and energizes me. And when members of the swing dance troupe created by SwingBuffalo.com (Queen City Swing) started traveling to national events, I knew I'd succeeded in giving them the bug. The friends we've made and the terrific times we've had demand a celebration! So let's all get together December 5th to celebrate 1 year of bringing Lindy Hop, Charleston, & Balboa to Western New York!

Come learn Lindy Hop from the best! This month's dance has been expanded to include a special Lindy Hop Workshop taught by the Waterloo Swing Crew performance troupe out of Waterloo, ON! Do not miss this chance to have top-notch swing dancing instruction.

Saturday August 30th
Workshop: 2pm-5pm @ Kenmore Baptist Church
Pot-luck: 5:30pm-7:30pm @ a GRG Garden (TBD)
Dance: 8pm-11pm @ Unitarian Universalist Church
Price: Workshop: $8 ($5 students), Dance: $8 ($5 students)
Details:

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SwingBuffalo.com has formed a Lindy Hop Dance Troupe. Our first official performance will be at UB on the Green, a summer Performance Series on the Hayes Hall front lawn on UB's South Campus. Come watch us perform and take a free jitterbug lesson as well as listen to history of various forms of swing dance and watch demonstrations of Lindy Hop, Balboa, and Chaleston. We will have a tent at UB on the Green from 6-8 Tuesday July 22nd. Here are the details:


UB on the Green, Queen City Swing Performance
(plus demoes, history, and lessons in various forms of swing dancing)
Tuesday July 22nd, 6-8pm
Free
Hayes Hall front lawn, UB South Campus, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY
SwingBuffalo@gmail.com

Buffalo Hop - round 2

This month, we've arranged a special guest DJ "Beth Midavaine" of Groove Juice Swing in Rochester.

Monthly Summer Dance Series
Jitterbug, Lindy Hop, Charleston, & Balboa
Saturday July 26th, 8-11pm (beginner lesson 8-9)
$5 Students / $8 Non-Students
Unitarian Universalist Church, Elmwood & West Ferry, Buffalo, NY
Beginners More Than Welcome! No partner necessary.
SwingBuffalo@gmail.com

This is the first big dance I've organized in Buffalo. The weekly dances (Lindy Fix) have been going very well and now that it's the summer and the students aren't holding any dances at UB, it's time for a big summer dance. The first one will feature a performance by SwingBuffalo's own swing troupe: Buffalo Bounce performing a routine choreographed by new lindy hop instructor transplant from San Francisco: Venus Butler. The second one will feature a guest DJ from Groove Juice Swing in Rochester, Beth Midavaine! Come check it out! Here are the details:

Buffalo Hop
Summer Dance Series: Lindy Hop, Balboa, Charleston, & Jitterbug
Unitarian Universalist Church @ Elmwood & West Ferry
June 28th, July 26th, & August 30th
8-11pm (with a lesson from 8-9)
Students $5 / Non-Students $8
Details: swingbuffalo.com/buffalohop.html


Keep swingin',
Rob


PS - Shim Sham Jam was a huge success!

We have a special Lindy Fix event coming up this memorial day!: "Shim Sham Jam". We have Lindy Fix every Monday, but here's a good reason to come to this specific one: a 1 hour shim sham class! I hope some of the estrip readers make it out to this great Elmwood venue. We need more leads showing up, 'cuz I get tired every once in awhile keeping them on the dance floor, but I'm doing my best! Here are the details:

Monday May 26th, 2008
8-10
1 hour Shim Sham Class 8-9

$3 Admission (to help cover rental)

Shakti Yoga
220 Lexington Ave.
Buffalo, NY

Beginners More Than Welcome!
No partner necessary.
Please bring clean sneakers or shoes.

Check out the website:




Also, if you're going to Buffalo Wellfest on Thursday, come watch our demo for SwingBuffalo.com at 12:20! Me and some of my students will be promoting the scene.


Rob

Well, I've never tried to advertise an event before. I thought that after laying the groundwork, finding the avenues to advertise, getting some word-of mouth going, getting some regulars, etc., it would get easier. Turns out that a lot of free advertising outlets (e.g. periodicals) will not accept recurring events, even though it occurred to me that the same bars who post events have basically the same thing every week: a band. The band changes and people go there and do the same thing every week: listen and drink beer. Those get posted every week: same venue, same activity. Why can't I post a weekly event? *sigh* It's just wearing me down to have to put up flyers all the time. Does anyone know of like a flyer distribution service or something or know any better/less effort-intensive ways to advertise in Buffalo?

Rob

Don't know how to swing dance? Don't go to Lindy Fix because you don't want to embarrass yourself on the dance floor? Well, I've got a pill that'll fix that! Come learn how to be a cool hepcat with Rob & Arlette or Sam in the many classes that are running now! Then you can impress your friends by showing off how much you learned at the Lindy Fix Face-off, a beginner Jack n' Jill contest sure to get your feet tappin'. (No partner required! Sign up now!) Details below...

Basic Swing with Rob & Arlette
8:30-9:30 Feb. 8, 15, 29, Mar. 7, 14, 21 (No class Feb 22nd)
$13 Drop-in or $10/class for all
Shakti Yoga, 220 Lexington Ave., Buffalo
No partner necessary.
Please bring clean sneakers or shoes.
SwingBuffalo.com

Beginner Swing with Sam (for UB students, faculty, staff, & alumni only)
1:30-2:30 Feb. 16, 23, Mar. 1, 8, 15, 22
$10 for all or $2 drop-in
Clark Hall Dance Studio, UB South Campus
Email ubswingdance@gmail.com to register
No partner necessary.
ubswingdance.googlepages.com

Intermediate Swing with Rob & Arlette (for UB students, faculty, staff, & alumni only)
12:30-1:30 Feb. 16, 23, Mar. 1, 8, 15, 22
$10 for all or $2 drop-in
Clark Hall Dance Studio, UB South Campus
Email ubswingdance@gmail.com to register
No partner necessary.
ubswingdance.googlepages.com

Intro to Lindy Hop
12:30-1:30 Apr. 12, 19, 26, May 10, 17, 24 (No class May 3rd)
$10/class
Shakti Yoga, 220 Lexington Ave., Buffalo
No partner necessary.
Experience with Jitterbug recommended.
Register by emailing SwingBuffalo@gmail.com
SwingBuffalo.com

Intro to Balboa
2:00-3:00 Apr. 12, 19, 26, May 10, 17, 24 (No class May 3rd)
$10/class
Shakti Yoga, 220 Lexington Ave., Buffalo
No partner necessary.
Experience with Lindy Hop or WCS recommended.
Register by emailing SwingBuffalo@gmail.com
SwingBuffalo.com

Lindy Fix Face-off (Jack n' Jill Contest)
8:00-10:00 Mar. 17th (St. Patrick's Day)
$3
Shakti Yoga, 220 Lexington Ave., Buffalo
No partner necessary.
Come watch dancers compete for prizes!
SwingBuffalo.com


Keep Swingin'
Rob

Tonight's Lindy Fix was awesome! Great turn out, great music, great class, great dancing. If you weren't there, you missed out. We were pretty follow heavy, so we need more guys to show up next week!

Lindy Fix
Every Monday, 8-10
Shakti Yoga
220 Lexington Ave.

No partner required
Beginners needed
Bring clean sneakers of shoes




Rob

Hi,

I'm Rob. I just moved to Buffalo from Santa Fe, NM recently. I bought a house just off the Elmwood strip. I almost didn't move to Buffalo because the area has no lindy or balboa scene. I'm originally from Lockport though and decided I wanted to be closer to family, so I decided I'd try and start my own scene, despite the fact that I've heard starting your own scene is very difficult. I took a Scene Building class at a workshop I attended over New Year's Eve and got lots of tips and advice I'm finding very useful.

Oh, wait a second, people probably don't even know what Lindy Hop or Balboa is... Let me explain. I became addicted to swing dancing back when I was living in Boston back in '98. I moved to Santa Fe not long after being introduced to jitterbug and eventually picked up charleston, lindy, balboa, and a few other lesser known varieties like boogie woogie and collegiate shag. I became very involved in the scene in Santa Fe. In fact, I ran a website called santafeswing.com (it's down now, but hopefully a friend of mine will get it back up at some point), DJ'd, performed with a production group and a swing troupe, helped organize workshops, and taught classes and privates. In order to teach, I had to learn how to both lead and follow. In the back of my mind, I figured I may eventually move back east and may need to start my own scene, so I knew I would need to be able to show ladies how to do it.

Anyway, I just moved into my new house at the end of November and found a nice little place nearby to start hosting dances. I found a partner who was an original lindy hopper in Buffalo back during the resurgence. She knew everything but Balboa, so I've been teaching her that. We organized swing classes already last semester for the UB students and it went great. Now, I'm starting to organize my first series of dances. We had our first one last Monday and it was a hit. The floor was great and the atmosphere was up-beat. All the students whom we'd been teaching had looks on their faces which made me feel awesome. Lindy Fix is the name of the dance. Here's the details:

Lindy Fix
8-?, Monday Jan. 28th
Shakti Yoga
220 Lexington Ave.
No partner required
Beginners needed
Bring clean footwear


I made that website recently. Go check it out. We also had a number of WCS dancers show up at the last one and I think they and some tango dancers may flood the next one because they're all interested in my favorite dance: balboa. There's never been any balboa in Buffalo and my partner and I have been demoing it at some WCS dances and everyone seems to really love it. I had no idea it would be such a hit. I'm going to be starting up some classes soon because I think the demand for learning it is starting to spike.

Anyway, I hope people who read this will come check out Lindy Fix. Shakti is a small place, but if we outgrow it, I figure that's a good thing.

Rob