Midsummer Night Swing

06/17/2020

05/15/2020

Adding these movies to our weekend binge list! 🍿

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/04/best-dance-movies-available-to-stream?fbclid=IwAR2DXWV3xPHqZehkjVXYVsuYDAuS2EbC_w6q2lTcriECheNBHjkIrBYNNiU

The quarantine might have us dancing on our own, but you can still relive some of film’s greatest dance moments.

04/27/2020

Beautiful tribute to bassist by Orquesta Akokán. 🎶

04/16/2020

Be sure to check out Camille A. Brown's free social dancing classes every Monday!

SOCIAL DANCE FOR SOCIAL DISTANCE!
FREE LIVE CLASSES starting Monday, March 30th!

In these unprecedented times, when we are all sheltering in place, community is important. We're stuck inside, so let's get up and move together!

In the spirit of staying connected, sharing and spreading some joy, Camille A. Brown & Dancers will be offering live social dance classes on Instagram

ALL SOCIAL DANCE CLASSES will be held LIVE, Mondays at 2 P.M. EST. Check the image below for the full schedule!

If you are in a position to aid our work in these trying times, we would be grateful for any support you could lend.
We can't do this without you!
Donate Here! https://www.artful.ly/camille-a-brown-dancers/store/donate

04/09/2020

It is with heavy hearts that we announce that, due to the ongoing pandemic, this year's Midsummer Night Swing is canceled, along with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' Mostly Mozart Festival and Lincoln Center Out of Doors.

Please stay safe, everyone. And stay connected with us and our artists through : LincolnCenter.org

03/30/2020

So excited for Charles Turner & Uptown Swing, members of our Midsummer Night Swing family, who were recently highlighted for their NPR Tiny Desk entry! 👏🏽

https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2020/03/26/821359428/the-best-2020-tiny-desk-contest-entries-we-saw-this-week-volume-4The?fbclid=IwAR1n9_d6cL80N_THuiJyxya-xhFJN8xq5VIZ0BGoFiEbhfWWc9FipXMcaMQ

We extended our deadline: You now have until until 11:59 p.m. ET on April 27 to enter the Contest. Our favorites this week include a groovy protest song, a folksy breath of fresh air and more.

03/26/2020

Take virtual dance lessons with some amazing dancers and choreographers!

https://www.dancingalonetogether.org/

In this unprecedented time of isolation, Dancing Alone Together aims to be a central resource for the digital dance world that is beginning to bloom. MOVE — Live-Streamed Dance ClassesCREATE — Dance-Making Prompts & CommunitiesWATCH — Dance Performance Footage & Films ABOUT THE PROJECT MOVE—...

03/20/2020

We hope everyone is staying healthy and safe. Thanks to Yehoodi for these suggestions on how to stay active and inspired at home. 🎶

Going stir crazy during “social isolation”? Here’s some ideas to get you moving and keep you happy.

03/13/2020

Congratulations to Calypso Rose for receiving the prestigious award of Officer in the French Order of Arts and Letters. It was such a great honor to have had her perform in 2013!

Photograph by Kevin Yatarola

03/04/2020

: MikeQ, who was part of DiscoVogue night last summer, will be a DJ on HBO Max's new show, "Legendary." We can't wait to binge watch! >> https://bit.ly/2Itxwvr

02/01/2020

Happy Birthday to legendary pianist, composer, and jazz pioneer James P. Johnson, born in 1894! 🎹 🎂

Johnson was a major catalyst in the evolution of ragtime piano into jazz. Read this great post from The National Jazz Museum in Harlem to learn more about his legacy!

http://jazzmuseuminharlem.org/today-in-jazz/happy-birthday-james-p-johnson/?fbclid=IwAR2VOUEaPEaYsjGSPZxeo433qwIhAeyDi8AqUuyy3RV2QsUYzk_6yCpsDf8

Today celebrate the 120th birthday anniversary of James P. Johnson (1894-1955), the prime architect of what we think of as jazz piano today.

01/24/2020

👏🏽🎉 Congratulations to this year’s Frankie Manning Ambassadors! Have fun at Herräng!

01/15/2020

Happy Wednesday! We hope it's a 'sunny' day for everyone 🎶☀️

01/09/2020

Happy Birthday to the legendary John "Bucky" Pizzarelli, the guitar god who played at Midsummer Night Swing in 2010 with the Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra! ✨ 🎸 🎂

https://syncopatedtimes.com/bucky-pizzarelli-fellow-traveler-on-lifes-journey/?fbclid=IwAR2rSGJdt_I1yendusqzZaWUUCK6TMF2bZHNuKP9DJ9WK8P2CHPbkR0s1ko

Having a conversation with John “Bucky” Pizzarelli is like chatting with an old friend, especially when you discovered you’ve both had many of the same life experiences. Such was the case when I sat down with the legendary guitarist during a break at the North Carolina Jazz Festival. It wasn.....

01/08/2020

Although famed for his street photography, French visual artist Henri Cartier-Bresson was also an expert at capturing the joy of social dance across sociopolitical boundaries. Check it out! 📷 🧐

https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/performing-arts/language-dance-henri-cartier-bresson-motion-sabrina-stent/

12/30/2019

If you have a few minutes, this interesting piece in The Guardian is worth the read 🤔 📰

"With our bodies so absent in modern communication, maybe the key to reconnecting as a community lies in the physical."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/13/the-hell-of-individuation-and-how-dancing-could-be-the-cure?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR0vs9Ml-gbkdoGjHCfdJKH8WdzQKLqsrvBHt-RVky-Ym3Dx6gWCDz4gGI8

With our bodies so absent in modern communication, maybe the key to reconnecting as a community lies in the physical

12/23/2019

that Istanbul is currently the home of a booming swing dance revival?

"It's not Harlem's Savoy Ballroom circa 1939, but Istanbul in 2019—an unlikely but pertinent place for the revival of Lindy Hop swing dancing." — Condé Nast Traveler

Read the full article here:
https://www.cntraveler.com/story/the-unlikely-new-dance-scene-sweeping-istanbul?utm_source=pocket-newtab&fbclid=IwAR0S2mJ-q6idhy8I35kN_2D5FacHgVqT54cd78YEqNsHLclbxlwp5VqzZrI

The city is home to a booming swing dancing revival.

12/06/2019

We can't stop watching this video of the Hellablacklindyhop dancers paying tribute to Norma Miller at The International Lindy Hop Championships 💃🏽🖤 Click below to watch them "Stompin' & Jumpin'" their way to a rapturous applause! 👏🏾

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URyupFqa7D0&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0rNEPwSrcslpYO7XAjhozx77Tq9YdgFik8GqwvrDCHDpi08pqM3UMSl7g

Live from The International Lindy Hop Championships 2019 Video team: Brett Dahlenburg Rachel Dahlenburg Jeremy Lizardo

11/27/2019

“Not in my wildest dreams did I anticipate this." — Jakob Fauerby

Jakob Fauerby and Silas Holst are making Danish TV history with their appearance together on "Vild med Dans," Denmark's version of Dancing with the Stars. The pair is the first same-sex couple in the show's 16 year history! Read their full interview on LGBTQ Nation 🌈✨>> https://bit.ly/2De9py1

They have gone out of their way to respond to critics of two men dancing together on TV...

11/21/2019

🔍 📝 ✨ The finalists for the 8th annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition have been announced! On November 24, they'll compete for the top prize in a singing competition at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark. Check out the fabulous roster of contenders in the JazzTimes 🎤

https://jazztimes.com/blog/finalists-announced-for-sarah-vaughan-international-jazz-vocal-competition/?fbclid=IwAR0ucwmZD8kCXUu61ZNowC6afIiGctTlBsm7ENrde6LzTpFtGXxsc64PLvQ

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center has announced the finalists for the 8th annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition.

11/14/2019

"People have been doing the square dance since before the Declaration of Independence. But does that mean it should be THE American folk dance?"

Dosey Doe over and have a listen at 📻 WNYC Studios

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/birdie-cage

Can you fit the identity of a whole nation into a dance? Of course not. But we tried anyway.

11/06/2019

Dance doesn't have an age limit. 🙌🏾 Check out this recent article from The New York Times about the resident senior dance team at the Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York, Inc. (KCS). Read all about how this Queens community keeps their moves fresh as ever!

"They can dance, they can jive and, yes, they are having the time of their lives."

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/01/arts/dance/old-age-dance-community.html

On this dance team at a Queens community center, being a grandma is a plus.

10/17/2019

Do you get nervous walking over subway grates? Try performing a tango over them! 😅 💃🏽

Check out this amazing clip of brothers Enrique and Guillermo De Fazio of Los Hermanos Macana's tango duel in the middle of Times Square.

https://bit.ly/2VK2FjL

Tango Los Hermanos Macana tango performance in New York Times Square. Argentine Tango. Enrique & Guillermo De Fazio. Milonga Dance. Enrique y Guillermo. Tang...

10/14/2019

If you have 10 minutes, this piece on the history of Lindy hop in Atlanta is worth the read. >> https://bit.ly/2MieA5z

In the South of 90 years ago, young African Americans started dancing the Lindy Hop. It was an act of resistance, an assertion of freedom.

10/09/2019

"Tango is a reflection of what is happening in our culture."

Have you all read this fascinating piece in The New York Times about a group of activists in Buenos Aires taking on tango's traditional gender roles?
https://nyti.ms/2M01dqp

A group of activists is trying to make tango less dogmatic about traditional gender roles, and more assertive about rooting out sexual harassment and assault.

10/08/2019

"This is the Hoofer's club!" It was so great seeing some of our Swing family at the New York Film Festival screening of Francis Ford Coppola's extended cut of "The Cotton Club" on Saturday!

Enjoy this clip from the film, which features an overwhelming amount of tap dance legends: Honi Coles, Ralph Brown, James 'Buster' Brown, Maurice and Gregory Hines, Jimmy Slyde, Skip Cunningham, Henry LeTang, and much more! Who else do you spot? 👀

https://youtu.be/M6n1d2R5V-s?t=27

The New York Film Festival runs through October 13 at Film at Lincoln Center. Check out www.filmlinc.org for the full schedule! 📽️ 🎬

...details coming soon

09/27/2019

Congratulations to the fabulous Elba Ramalho who lit up the dance floor at Midsummer Night Swing this summer and has now been nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best Portuguese Language Roots Album. Parabéns e boa sorte! >> https://bit.ly/2nUXTmP 😘

09/21/2019

Apparently, Edinburgh is having a bit of a Silent Disco problem.😂 These are fightin' words!

"I’m incensed that we live in a society where stumbling through the streets of Edinburgh half-yowling the words to YMCA (because nobody knows all the words) is someone’s idea of a good time and a rebellion. Whatever happened to imagination?"

https://www.theguardian.com/music/shortcuts/2019/sep/17/should-silent-discos-be-banned?mc_cid=46b7393520&mc_eid=040775c719&fbclid=IwAR1npz9SJ2-iMoL0Rlt4lKJxAiLGpdq_SLMxQH9AXsdMatGAcvo84rTtVmI

Edinburgh residents have been complaining about the tours taking place during the fringe. But are they really that bad? Two writers make the case for and against

09/16/2019

Here's one way to beat the Monday blues: This clip of the 1980 World Disco Finalists, with participants hailing from over 30 countries! 🤩 🕺

08/22/2019

Who wants to see the Bohemian Dance scene on the big screen this Friday?? 🤩

It's that time of the year again! The Metropolitan Opera's Summer HD Festival starts this weekend. The opera is teaming up with Film at Lincoln Center for a special pre-season screening of the beloved 1950s classic "Funny Face," starring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire this Friday. It's FREE! 📽️🍿 >> https://bit.ly/2KQpgGB

08/20/2019

It's that time of the year again! The Metropolitan Opera's Summer HD Festival starts this weekend. The opera is teaming up with Film at Lincoln Center for a special pre-season screening of the beloved 1950s classic "Funny Face," starring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire. It's FREE! 🎥🍿

08/13/2019

Truth! 😂 🎶

07/30/2019

"Many people are afraid that social dancing is a dying art, but Barbara Jones, the Director of The Harlem Swing Dance Society isn’t worried. She says that "'the Midsummer Night Swing is living proof.'" 😍
https://bit.ly/31b7zIh

Dance instructor “Stephanie” dancing with a man at Swing 46 Club on 42nd Street

07/29/2019

Yes! How about this for some Monday Motivation??

07/16/2019

What an incredible season of Midsummer Night Swing! For three weeks, your impressive moves, enthusiasm, and fashion sense transformed Damrosch Park into the happiest place in the city. THANK YOU! We'll be adding more photos and videos as we sort through them, but if you have any moments you'd like to share, DM us and we'll post! 😘✨

What an incredible season of Midsummer Night Swing! For three weeks, your impressive moves, enthusiasm, and fashion sense transformed Damrosch Park into the happiest place in the city. THANK YOU! We'll be adding more photos as we sort through them, but if you have any moments you'd like to share, DM us and we'll post!

07/15/2019

Harlem Renaissance Orchestra
Photos by Kevin Yatarola

What an incredible season of Midsummer Night Swing! For three weeks, your impressive moves, enthusiasm, and fashion sense transformed Damrosch Park into the happiest place in the city. THANK YOU! We'll be adding more photos as we sort through them, but if you have any moments you'd like to share, DM us and we'll post!

07/13/2019

Some inspiration for tonight courtesy Margaret Batiuchok and Frankie Manning, from one of our first seasons circa 1990! Don't forget to sign up for the Ambassador Prize Lindy Hop Dance Contest at the gate or in advance here: https://bit.ly/2NJUxeE
Frankie Manning Foundation

07/12/2019

Gold pants + Tito Puente = 1990! Midsummer Night Swing began in 1989 as a celebration of Lincoln Center's 30th anniversary. As we celebrate the 60th year of Lincoln Center and 30th season of Midsummer Night Swing, enjoy this flashback to 1990—an era when gold pants and mullets co-existed with 's blazing percussion. Come celebrate with us this weekend! >> MidsummerNightSwing.org