Articles
Swing Dancing Fever Hits Bunbury
Bunbury is getting in the swing of it with the first weekly swing dance classes starting in the city last week.
Markus Leone brought the flavour of the 1920s to Bunbury earlier this year, but increased demand for swing dance lessons in Bunbury has prompted the owner/principal to trial weekly classes.
Last Thursday night saw Bunbury first-timers tackle lindy hop basics; the Charleston, underarm passes and turns.
Mr Leone said he was first captivated by swing dancing in 1998 and has been dancing ever since. He described swing dancing as a very energetic and physical style of social dance. ''It's open to all ages, it's a very physical and exciting dance,'' he said.
''Back in the 20s it was all done to jazz, people were dancing all the time and swing dancing and lindy hop was the style of dance. ''Then the jazz era died a bit then rock and roll kicked in.''
However, Mr Leone said there had been a resurgence in swing dance and more people were amazed by the impressive and entertaining nature of the dance.
But it is not just about the dancing, according to Mr Leone. Swing dancing is also about the social network that brings people together with similar interests.
''We get dressed up when we go to our socials,'' he said. ''I wear a zoot suit and ladies wear that style of clothing, we wear the hats and we all get dressed up to the nines.''
Bunbury dance teacher Naomi Hay runs the weekly classes at the Lyric Theatre in Bunbury and said she started swing dancing for fun and loved it so much that she was now passing on the technique to others.
Check out the full newspaper article.
Bunbury Gets The Jitterbuzz!
"I think the photographs below speak volumes, the Lindy Hop workshop was a real workout.
"Markus and Naomi had the dancers kicking for two stimulating and fun filled hours ... " - Bunbury RocknRoll Cub.
Click picture below to read more and see the pics:
Time To Get In The Swing
Swing Peel Dance Festival in line to deliver the ‘wow’ factor.
Click to enlarge ›
[Photo & Article by Community Newspapers]
WHEN Markus Leone saw swing dancing performed for the first time it was love at first sight.
“I saw a demonstration in 1998 and I thought, ‘That’s it! I am going to learn how to do that’.”
Since then his passion has taken him around the world and led him to start Simply Swing Dance School, with regular classes in Rockingham and Mandurah. “I’m pretty diehard,” he laughed. “It is such a super fun dance to do. When people watch it they go ‘wow’.” He said the Swing Dance Festival held this Sunday at Peel Estate Winery would be a good chance for people to have a go at the dance he loves.
“At this time of the year, with outdoor dancing, it will be gorgeous,” he said. “When people come along, they will see a lot of energy in our dancing and the jazz music is wonderful.
“A lot of people will have seen swing dancing on Dancing with the Stars, but when they see it in real life it will be very different again. “Older people know it from the days before the war and most people at the RSL remember it from when they were teenagers. We like to get dressed up, and really enjoy the era and the retro clothing. We love the dance, so why not the era too?”
The Peel Estate Swing Dance Festival is also for non-dancers, with plenty of shade for people who want to just sit back and enjoy a drop of wine, according to owner Will Nairn.
Music will play out with Adam Hall and local group The Vibrolators with Peta Lee.
Gates open at 11.30am, on Sunday, March 20, at Peel Estate Wines, 290 Fletcher Road, Karnup and the festival ends at 4.30pm.
Tickets are $20 and are available at the gate. Children under 12 are admitted free of charge.
Visitors can bring a chair, rug and picnic. Food will be available from Mandurah’s Stage Door Restaurant.
Visit www.peelwine.com.au or www.simplyswing.com.au.
Albany Workshop
9th October, 2009
The Swing workshop in Albany was a success and a local group of enthusiasts is already planning regular practice times to keep the newly learned skills alive, so that the next time around we wouldn’t need to start from scratch again. Way to go Albany!
