Teachers
We are very excited to be inviting some internationally renowned guest teachers to this event.
Tony Jackson - Lindy Hop
Tony is a real inspiration to both watch and to be taught by. He has several titles to his name including 1st place at the European Swing Dance Championships and other international competitions. Tony teaches both nationally & internationally and its not hard to understand why! He maintains high levels of technique in his own dance and transfers his advice and tips to students in clear, easy to understand language!
Ciana Skeete - Lindy Hop
Ciana is a true ambasador for swing dance with her authentic style and true approach to the dance. She has placed in national and international dance competitions, London Swing Festival, European Swing Dance Championships to name a couple and even won the 'Spirit of Lindy Hop' Eurostar award in 2013! A true social dancer, Ciana has so much fun on the dance floor and this always transfers through into her students!
Mako Ruan - Solo Jazz
Mako, originally from China, found swing dancing in Canada. She has always travelled around the world with dancing, performing with bands on the stage and on the street, teaching at international jazz festivals and attending many camps and festivals including Herrang Dance Camp, where she met Gabi, years before either of them moved to England! Mako currently holds the 2015 Solo Jazz Championship title from the London Jitterbug Championships, amoung other titles, so we thought, who better to come and teach the Solo Jazz….?
Gabija Zakarauskaite - Lindy Hop
Gabi has been dancing Lindy Hop since she was 15 years old and initially learnt in her home town of Vilnius, Lithuania. She was then encouraged by her teachers in Lithuania to travel to Sweden to attend Herring Dance Camp and from that moment Lindy Hop has been a very large, important part of her life. Gabis body movement and stylish technique makes her dancing unmistakable. She has placed in Jack&Jill at both HARLEM and London Swing Festival, and recently won 1st place at University of Swing in Edinburgh and Swing Revolution in Leeds in Jack&Jill. She loves being able to transfer her knowledge onto other passionate dancers and gets a kick out of teaching to a high level!
Sam Holt - Lindy Hop
Sam found Lindy Hop in 2012 and was instantly addicted. Since then he has travelled around parts of the world dancing at every oppurtunity and his life has completely changed because of Lindy Hop. From visiting the original site of the Savoy ballroom in Harlem to attending dance camps across Europe, Sam loves to learn and teach as much as possible.
Sam & Gabi recently came 1st in Strictly Lindy at London Jitterbug Championships, University of Swing 2016 in Edinburgh and Swing Revolution 2016 in Leeds. They also placed in the Week 5 Lindy Hop competition at Herrang Dance Camp 2015 and at the Swing Patrol Meet the Scene Ball 2016.
Entertainment
At our last weekender we had 1 amazing band but that just wasnt enough so this time we will be having 3 amazing bands! Each evening the bands will also be acompanied by some recorded music from guest DJs!
JATS ALL STARS - Like the last weekender, the band members that form the JATS ALL STARS have been individually hand picked but this band will be led by International musican, Charlotte Glasson. Having had plenty of experince playing for dancers, we know Charlotte and the band will keep the dance floor jumpin all night!
THE STEVE COOMBE BAND - We welcome Steve back to Brighton for this weekender as he did such an awesome job at the last one! The band will mainly be formed of London based musicians that play for dancers on a more than regular basis so we can guarentee the music wont stop swingin'!
FLASH MOB JAZZ - These well known Brighton based cheeky chaps play an arrangement of classic dance tunes from the 1930s-1950s as well as some modern tunes with a swing twist! They will bring high energy and a comical element that is very unique to their performance.
Matt Turner - Matt has been collecting and playing music for decades. For him, it’s the thrill of finding the right sounds to propel people onto the dance floor and keep them there that feeds his musical passion.
He has DJ’d swing, balboa and blues across the UK and Europe and has also been the DJ co-ordinator at both Herrang and the European Swing Dance Championships. Matt’s unique blend of tunes, both old and new, make his a set not to be missed!
Sally Young - Dancing and DJing for years, Sally has built up a good ear for swing music. Sally DJs regularly all over Lodnon and you can be guarenteed to be on the floor all evening, even when the band stops playing!
Slick Nick - Nick is well-known in Brighton, having been a popular DJ for 12 years. His DJing skills are in demand across the country and he has played at many weekenders and events including regular appearances at the internationally famous Goodwood Revival. Nick loves all dance music from the 1920s - 1950s with his first love being swing and jazz from the 1930s.
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Competitions
Strictly Lindy
Jack & Jill
Venue
Saturday
Sign up individually £5pp
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You will be paired up randomly on the spot and dance with three partners in the prelims.
If you then get to the final, you will be partnered randomly and compete as a couple.
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Friday
Sign up as a couple £10pc
Dance well with the music as well as your partner and throw some aerials if you can! Although routines are not forbidden, they are not as well praised as off the cuff musicality!
Format/Rules
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All comps - Prelims (All Skates) - Finals (Spotlights+All Skate)
Strictly Lindy will take place on Friday and Jack&Jill on Saturday.
Prize giving towards the end of that particular night.
Spaces are limited for all competitions so book onto them soon.
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You must have already purchased a minimum of a social pass for the event in order to register for any comp, if not, your comp registration will be cancelled.
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For competition registration follow this link:
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Brighton and Hove High School
This venue will accomodate all of the dance classes and the evening social dancing.
The dance workshops will be held in a purpose built dance stuido and in the main hall both of which have sprung wooden dance floors. Evening social dances will be in Brightons biggest swing dance venue with capacity of up to 300 people! With shops close by and the train station just a ten minute walk, the location is perfect.
Being in a school you may wonder if there will be a bar....well we already thought of that and we will be running our own cash bar which means the drinks will all be very well priced! Jugs of tap water will of course be available too.
Main Hall
Dance Studio
Schedule
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General INFO
Click on the file below to open a pdf document with all relevant info regarding this weekend. Parking, Competitions, Bar, Location are all covered. Any further questions, dont hesitate to get in contact.
Tickets
A limited amount of Full Weekend Early bird tickets are available at a reduced price of just £70pp and once they are gone the prices will increase.
There will be two levels for the dance classes, Intermediates and Advanced. The classes will be spread over the Saturday and Sunday and run from 1-5pm so make sure you have a big breakfast or early lunch as there will only be water/snack breaks during this time to ensure maximum class time.
Please be honest with yourself when deciding which level to go for as this could potentially hinder the learning experience for yourself and others in the classes. Both levels will get a solo jazz class and both levels will have equal teaching time with all teachers.
Intermediate Level - You should be confident Leading/Following swing outs, charleston and switching between 6 and 8 count without even thinking. You should be confident social dancing with strangers.
Advanced Level - You add styling to every social dance and like creating your own moves and variations but never forget how important your basics are! Feeling 100% confident social dancing with strangers and teachers. You have your favourite International teachers and have spent way too much time watching their videos on youtube.
If you have any doubt, dont hesitate to contact us and we can help advise which level would be most suitable.
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Intermediate tickets are almost sold out and the waiting list for follows is full. The only way to ensure your place is to book a Couple ticket with a Lead and then please forward us the names of both the Lead and Follow.
Weekend Couple Social Passes are now available for just £40pp OR £70per couple!
Full Weekend tickets must be booked in advance but individual social dance tickets will be available on the door for £20 per person, per night.
Don't forget to click 'Going' on the facebook event page to be notified of all announcments :)