Hey Guys,

Our monthly dance "Buffalo Hop" is starting up again this year for the summer. It was a huge success last year. This run will culminate in a national level workshop in September. We'll also be organizing a contest to win a sweet pair of dance shoes at a future dance. The first one is May 30th. Get the details here:



Rob

Swing Classes, round 2. This isn't swing as you probably know it. This is the authentic stuff, developed on the street in the 30s and still evolving today. These classes are designed to be a continuation of Intro to Balboa and Intro to Lindy Hop, but if you know the basics of the dances, you do not need to have taken those classes. See the links below for details...





Rob

UB Swing Dance Classes (sponsored by the UB Swing Dance Club and SwingBuffalo.com)
12-1 East Coast Swing with Sam & Sylbie (http://swingbuffalo.com/beginner_lindyhop.html)
1:05-2:05 Lindy Hop with Mark & Venus (http://swingbuffalo.com/beginner_ecs.html)
2:10-3:10 Intro to Balboa with Rob & Zoë (http://swingbuffalo.com/intro_to_balboa.html)
3:15-4 Dance Practice
Jan 25, Feb 1, 8, 15, 22, & 29
Student Union Flag Room, UB North Campus
Beginners More Than Welcome! Community Welcome! No partner necessary.

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