FAQ
Have a question? Check the topics below to find the answer. If your question isn't answered here, drop me a line atÂ
lizzyswings@gmail.com
A: There are many more places to go swing/blues dancing than you would think. Some of the places I like to go dancing are:
T-Town Swing on Fridays, the
Century Ballroom on Sundays & Wednesdays,
Burn Blue on Tuesdays,
Sonny Newman's on Mondays, the
New Orleans Creole Restaurant, and the
Highway 99 Blues Club. All of these places are in Seattle, except T-Town Swing, which is in Tacoma.
A:
This really depends on the event, but I typically play swing era Jazz
and Blues (music from the 1930s through 1950s). This kind of music
usually has some sort of big band involved. Some of the artists that I
am especially fond of that helped make that era famous are: Duke
Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Louis Jordon,
Chick Webb, Frank Sinatra, Sara Vaughn, Andy Kirk and Stan Kenton. I DJ and sing at
a lot of dance events, so if dancing is what you want to happen, then I
can probably help you out there.
A:
Yes! I teach private dance lessons for a group as small as one
and up to a group of 6. The benefit of private lessons is that you get
one-on-one education totally focused on you, how your body works, and
how you can dance more like yourself. In large classes you often get a
watered down education that is focused on teaching as many people how
to get it all at once rather than being focused on the individual. It
takes a lot longer to learn this way. In one hour I can teach you more
about how to dance comfortably as yourself than you can learn in a typical four
week series. Pricing for lessons is hourly. For more pricing
information, send me an email or give me a call.
I also give private voice lessons.
A:
I DJ Swing and Blues dance events and perform live Jazz music for pretty much any event you can think of. I've provided music for
weddings, memorial services, open art galleries, and other similar events. As an example; I was hired in August of 2009 with
Kevin Buster's Lunch Money at a flapper-themed wedding in Woodinville,
WA. We played for a few hours and provided the music for when the bride
walked down the aisle. I am currently performing for a swing dance twice a month at The Royal Lounge in Olympia.
As for dancing events needing a DJ: I DJ'd Blues at the
Seattle Lindy Exchange for 2008 and 2009, and I DJ monthly at the
Century Ballroom and Burn Blue. I've also DJ'd many private parties.
I've taught dancing at many different kinds of events. I've given lessons to couples for their wedding, taught dancing during high school P.E. and after-school classes, taught at bars, given week-long dance workshops, and even been the object of a field trip for 50 2nd - 6th graders. I give private lessons, teach workshops of any length, and I travel. For pricing information, send me an email or give me a call.
A: Frankie Manning was the single most influential Lindy Hopper of all time. Not only was he an integral part swing dancing in it's hey-day, he came back and spread the word to all of us newbies until his death in April of 2009 at 94 years of age. He was still dancing. He was spry. He was a wonderful person. He was a master of the art form. I danced with him at an event in 2007, and I will never get to experience the love of the dance that was flowing from him from anyone else.
There are many others that I admire for their dancing. Gene Kelly, the Nicholas Brothers, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Frida Segerdahl, Josephine Baker, Lennart Westerlund, Gregory Hines, the Sandman, Bill Bojangles; these are just a few of the people.
Music was always the tricky one. I was a Jazz lover long before I ever started dancing, but I love all kinds of music. Some of my biggest influences in Jazz are Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Artie Shaw, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Ernestine Anderson, and Dinah Washington.