Here's your weekly dancin' events heads-up list, courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Good Time Swing Dance Club. See ya on the dance floor!

1. Swing, Ballroom Dancing at the Silver Spur Saturday
2. Judy to Teach Skippy Blair West Coast Swing Fundamentals at Spur!
3. Want Swing Music? Check out Roomful of Blues
4. Swing Dancing at Big Daddy's Early Every Thursday
5. Dancing at Big Daddy's Every Friday, Saturday
6. Dancing in Anchorage
7. Dancing in Seattle
8. Tango in Anchorage & Beyond
9. Latin Dance Information for Fairbanks
10. Latin Lesson & Dance Every Tuesday Night at UAF
11. Swing/Ballroom Dance Coming to UAF Wood Center Ballroom

1. SILVER SPUR SWINGIN'
We will be back at the Silver Spur this Saturday night, from 6 p.m. to
8:30 p.m., with an array of great recorded music for swing, ballroom,
and Latin dances, with the emphasis on swing of all kinds. Great sound
system, spacious floor, easy-going & fun people! Singles welcome! Free
admission, adults only.

2. JUDY TO TEACH SKIPPY BLAIR METHOD WEST COAST SWING AT SILVER SPUR
Local Stanford educated dance instructor, Judy Kreith, is geared up to
teach us the "Skippy Blair Method of West Coast Swing." The six-week
series of classes starts this coming Tuesday night, March 11, 7:00 pm
to 8:30 pm at the Silver Spur. Only $40 per person for all six lessons!

Why is that cool? Now 84 years young, Skippy Blair was there in the
late 1940s when West Coast Swing emerged from its origins in Lindy
Swing. Based now in Downey, California, Skippy remains a vital force
and leading authority in the evolution of this stylishly sexy dance.
Top dance instructors and competition dancers from across the United
States and from other nations flock to Skippy's West Coast Swing
workshops. ABC TV said "Skippy Blair is fondly referred to as the
'Teacher's Teacher' and the 'First Lady of Swing.' She is a Swing icon
and has been an inspiration to tens of thousands of dancers across this
country and around the world for more than 66 years....At the youthful
age of 80 (now 84), she remains a driving force in the dance community,
and one of its all-time greatest leaders." To learn more about Skippy
Blair, visit her Web site at: http://www.swingworld.com/Biography.htm

In January, Judy attended Skippy's intensive workshop in Monterey,
California. And not only that, immediately following Skippy's
instructor workshop, Judy attended the four-day Monterey Swingfest,
where she continued her immersion in dance instruction from some of our
nation's top West Coast Swing experts.

Now, Judy is poised to start a year-long variety of classes in the
"Skippy Blair Method of West Coast Swing," along with other dance
techniques she learned in Monterey!

Judy will launch her year-long series of Skippy Blair method West Coast
Swing instruction with a beginning level class this coming Tuesday
night, March 11, from 7 pm to 8:30 pm at the Silver Spur. (Adults only,
please.) The class will run for six consecutive Tuesday nights. We'll
provide a 15-minute break midway through each class so you can practice
what you've just been shown by Judy, grab a refreshing beverage, and
maybe do a little socializing. Please arrive at 6:45 pm to pay the
class fee and hit the dance floor promptly at 7 pm for class.
Amazingly, the cost is only $40 per person for all six classes!

Some dance experience will help, but even if you already know some West
Coast Swing, come ready to set aside what you've learned and be
prepared to start over fresh, from the very beginning, just as Skippy
herself would guide us.

Additional students will not be allowed to start the class after the
first one next week. That's so everyone who begins the class this
coming Tuesday night will be able to seamlessly progress together,
week-by-week reinforcing, building upon, and incorporating new Skippy
Blair fundamentals.

And don't despair, if you cannot start this class this time, Judy will
offer the same beginning level class later on, as well as more advanced
Skippy Blair Method West Coast Swing classes for those of you who
complete this basic level one. Judy's classes over the next 12 months
will occur at the Silver Spur and other places in town so that the
under-21 dancers can get in on this great learning experience.

3. WANT SWING PARTY MUSIC? CHECK OUT ROOMFUL OF BLUES
Dancers often ask me for recommendations on swing dance music. I think
you can't go wrong with any CD by Roomful of Blues. Based in
Providence, Rhode Island, Roomful has been around for some 30 years,
kicking out updated Louis Jordan/Big Joe Turner style horn-fired, dance
party jump blues, great for Lindy, East Coast, and West Coast swing.
The legendary West Coast Swing maven, Skippy Blair, uses a Roomful tune
in one of her motion study exercises. And Roomful also does a fair
amount of foxtrot tempo stuff and some rumba rhythm numbers, depending
on the CD. I've got a dozen of their CDs—more than any other single
band in my music collection—and I just bought their latest CD at Barnes
& Noble this past weekend. Check out a National Public Radio piece
about them at:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87863587 Their
sound changes a bit with every CD because their personnel constantly
changes. A former guitarist with Roomful, Duke Robillard, went off on
his own, and much of Robillard's music is eminently swingable as
well—I've got 9 CDs of his. Check out the CD "Duke's Blues," for one. A
former longtime sax player with Roomful, Greg Piccolo, went off and
did a great swing CD, "Heavy Juice" (actually, some Roomful band
members perform on this CD with him.) A few years ago I traveled down
to Anchorage for the big Blues on the Green outdoor blues festival,
mainly to see Roomful perform. And they weren't even the headline
group—the Fabulous Thunderbirds were, featuring Kim Wilson on harp. The
T-birds produce a lot of hard-edged bluesy swing music, too, which I've
heard played in national West Coast Swing competitions. Some Roomful
musicians migrated into the Fabulous Thunderbirds, so there is some
real connection between the two bands. But start with Roomful of Blues
if you're going to spend some money on CDs or iTunes purchases. It's
hard to recommend one Roomful CD over any others, but maybe try "Hot
Little Mama" or "Under One Roof." Among a lot of other great jump blues
swing bands, another swinging group I love is Big Joe and the Dynaflows.

4. SWING AT BIG DADDY'S
Every Thursday night, swing to live blues at Big Daddy's BBQ restaurant
downtown on Wickersham Street at First Avenue, from 7:30 p.m. to 10
p.m. Music is provided by the Mighty Untouchables, Alaska's most
venerable blues band. All ages welcome, no cover charge! If tables and
chairs are on the dance floor, just ask the friendly staff to move them
off—as long as it does not displace diners, of course! Call 452-2501 if
you want to make sure the music is happening.

5. DANCE BAND EVERY WEEKEND AT BIG DADDY'S
Big Daddy's BBQ features the David Stevens Band every Friday and
Saturday night, from 9 p.m. to midnight. The two-man band plays a lot
of danceable tunes, including Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Caught in The
Crossfire," a nice West Coast Swing tune they perform whenever I show
up. Thank you, guys!

6. ANCHORAGE SWINGING
Are you traveling to Anchorage? Find out what's swingin' in Anchorage
at:
http://home.gci.net/~liv/wcs_home.html
http://swingak.net/
http://www.akswing.com/
www.dekreon.org/

7. SEATTLE SWINGING
Find out what's swingin' in Seattle at:
http://www.cutarugproductions.com/

8. TANGO IN ANCHORAGE AND BEYOND
Check out Dan Boccia's tango Web site for Argentine tango lessons and
dance opportunities in Anchorage and elsewhere on the West Coast.
http://www.tangotrance.com/

9. LATIN DANCE INFORMATION
For anyone who is into, or wants to get into, hot Latin dancing,
bookmark this Web blog, and refer to it often for the very latest in
Fairbanks-area Latin dance opportunities.
http://saborcubanodanceproductionsschedule.blogspot.com/

10. LATIN DANCE LESSON AND DANCE EVERY TUESDAY AT UAF PUB
Swing club member, Megan Allen, gives a Latin dance lesson every
Tuesday night, beginning about 8 p.m. at the UAF Pub in the Wood
Center. Free admission! Adults only. Beer/wine & snacks available.
Dancing follows the lesson.

11. UAF BALLROOM VENUE FOR DANCE SATURDAY, MAY 3
We've got the UAF Wood Center Ballroom reserved for a big dance,
possibly with live music, on Saturday, May 3. The dance will run from 8
p.m. to midnight. Admission will be only $5. All ages welcome. Free
snacks and soft drinks. We're doing this in collaboration with our buds
at the Ballroom Dance Club of Fairbanks. Keep watching this weekly
email for further details.

*******************************************************************
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Good Time Swing Dance Club, founded
in 1996, is an officially sanctioned campus organization whose purpose
is to provide the UAF and Fairbanks communities with a fun opportunity
to socialize and make new friends while learning, practicing, and
enjoying different styles of partner dancing.
Officers:
Kurt Byers, president
Terri Babers, vice president
Travis Veazy, secretary
Margo Matthews, treasurer

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