World Travels of SmoothSavoy

2010-06-24T14:54:00.001-07:00

Watching Mario Robau tear it up with Sam Buckwalter live to Proud Mary! I'm in heaven.

2010-05-13T14:33:00.001-07:00

Then Egypt for 10 days and Greece for a week! If you plan to be near Greece, check out their 1st Lindy Hop Fest, http://ping.fm/7oCdx

2010-05-13T14:30:00.001-07:00

I will be @ NW Blues Recess, (maybe CRCS), EtB4, Harlem Hot Shots Workshop in Portland, Camp Jitterbug, & a Mario Robau Intensive in London.

2010-05-13T14:28:00.001-07:00

I'm taking 6 weeks off from teaching to travel to dance, take classes, working on my dancing, & basically rejuvenate my dancing soul!

6 week Retirement Tour

2010-05-13T14:25:00.001-07:00

I am taking 6 weeks off from teaching to travel around dancing at exchanges (NorthWest Blues Recess & maybe Come Rain Come Shine), taking classes at workshops (EtB4, Harlem Hot Shots Workshop in Portland, Camp Jitterbug, & a Mario Robau Intensive in London), having Dax kick my buttray online thru Rhythm Juice exercises, and basically rejuvenating my dancing soul!

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2010-04-14T12:07:00.001-07:00

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2010-03-30T09:57:00.001-07:00

Today is my 12 year dance anniversary! Spent 1st few hours of it dancing in a parking lot in Genova, Italy. Couldn't have been better!

2010-02-26T18:33:00.001-08:00

My Teaching Schedule
?LaSantaSwing-Feb28-Mar14
?Heidelberg-Mar20
?Genoa,Italy-Mar27-28
?Linkoping-Apr9-11
More info:
http://ping.fm/KTjMB

2010-02-13T00:12:00.001-08:00

a reminder of X for those who have taken my class on it http://ping.fm/6Tk9J

2010-01-26T05:41:00.001-08:00

something to ponder: What if dancing weren't about having the perfect dance but rather... what if dancing were about getting to know someone? Getting to know what inspires them, how they hear the music, what are their quirks that make them who they are. Sharing with them what inspires you, how you hear the music, and what your quirks are that make you who you are. Then meshing those personalities together to create a unique conversation that only the two of you could create together. If we make dancing about getting to know someone, wouldn't that allow for every dance to be perfect in it's own way? (inspired thru conversations with Yvette Lee)

2009-12-24T16:53:00.001-08:00

oops, here is a working link for Fusion music

http://ping.fm/v5SHz

2009-12-24T16:51:00.001-08:00

music specially composed for dancers at San Diego Fusion Exchange, listen here, song 2 is freakin' insanely awesome...turn it up! http://ping.fm/OIove

2009-12-22T17:45:00.001-08:00

Need a personal favor from San Diego dancers (please share this with your San Diego friends) - http://eepurl.com/f_q7

2009-12-18T15:38:00.001-08:00

Aww, memories. This was a really fun day! http://ping.fm/rZQhO (@bl)(@my)(@tt)

2009-11-06T09:32:00.001-08:00

I helped create a 12 day dance vacation for Lindy Hop, Blues, & Fusion dancers - http://eepurl.com/eOgY

2009-10-16T17:00:00.001-07:00

My Upcoming Europe Workshops:

Heidelberg, Germany Oct 24-25
www.SwingMe.net/SwingerG

Budapest, Hungary Oct 27-Nov 2
www.LindyShock.com

2009-10-16T16:59:00.001-07:00

More USA workshops:

Fort Worth, TX Dec 11-13
www.LindyJoy.com

San Diego Fusion Exchange Jan 8-10
www.SanDiegoFusionExchange.com

2009-10-16T16:57:00.001-07:00

My upcoming USA workshops:

Charlottesville, VA Nov 14-15 www.swingcville.com

San Francisco, CA Dec 4-7
www.BeyondBlues.com

2009-10-09T17:59:00.001-07:00

Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown is showing live online, Saturday, at http://ping.fm/KJpz9 This should be fun to watch!

The Trials of Traveling

2008-04-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

Today was an interesting day. I woke up and decided to go out on the town (cambridge, england)... but do I wear a long sleeve or short sleeve shirt? So I think to myself, "Maybe I will go outside to feel what it is like before I decide which shirt to wear and maybe I will lock myself out of the house while I am at it." I didn't really think that second part but it sure did happen. The fear set in as I heard the 'click' from the door behind me creating a rather large barrier between me and my cell phone. Realizing that I had seven hours before my host got home and the weather was definitely too cold to be wearing only pants and socks... I needed a game plan. So I scoured the fence to check all the windows and the back door... No luck! The mail man drops by and aside from having a good laugh he really isn't very helpful. Hmmm, mail... hey, this mail has my hosts full name and address on it. Maybe if I walk (no, too cold to walk)... maybe if I run into town, I can find a post office that has her phone number? Ok, not very likely but it was just my first thought. Internet, maybe I can search the internet for her phone number. Ok, so now I need to get into town, and let me tell you... I will never complain about junk mail again because if you have enough of it, junk mail can make for a rather comfy shoe. So now, socks filled with junk mail I am almost ready to go out on the town. What can I use as a shirt? Well, there is a giant umbrella.... ummm, keep looking.... oohhh, a box that says "Don't throw away" and what is inside... a shirt!!!! SWEET!!! Hmmm, this definitely isn't a men's shirt.... skin tight but it fits. Ok, let's start jogging... about 2 miles and 4 giggling adults later, I have found internet and told my story well enough that she lets me borrow it and pay her another time. I find my hosts phone number and call her. What luck, she came home from work early... NOOOOOOOOO, she has been home the whole freaking time!!!! That's right! She slept in and was still there when I locked myself out, making my day's purpose to have a great story to share with you. :-)

Townsville with Anna Whitmire

2007-04-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

What a blast! We spent a night on Magnetic Island and got to hang with the locals where I learned to Fire Dance while Lindy Hopping. It was scary as hell but loads of fun. The next day we saw crocodiles, koalas, thousands of butterflys swarming around us, and I got to hold a 2 meter long snake. I think he liked me because he wrapped around my neck and waist, started to snuggle my bum and then he climbed all the way up the back of my shirt. The tour guide was very amused and decided to show everyone in the group how far the snake had gone up my shirt before helping me get him out. Later, we went horseback riding thru the rainforest and the ocean. We got out to about 2 meters depth where the horses head is just above the water and tried to Horse Surf, stand on the horse and pretend you are surfing. This was not too difficult but half of the people wouldn't even try it. I did it but then when I was doing one of the simpler games that everyone was doing, I fell off the horse and Rosco (my horse) decided he didn't want me to get back on. So, as I was getting back on he bucked me off and kicked me! Luckily I was underwater and close to him so the impact wasn't serious. I don't have any broken bones, just a very sore calf and thigh! I calmed Rosco and got back on and he was perfect for the rest of the day. We even Swung out together later on. I love riding horses and have decided I really need to do more of it. So if you are a horse rider and you are reading this, we should go horseback riding the next time I am in your town. :-)

Perth, Australia

2007-04-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

The land with the Tim Tam Slam, where "ta" means "thanks" and "tea" means "dinner".

I am now a PADI certified open water scuba diver, which basically means that I can breathe under 18 meters of water (60 feet) and do lots of drills without freaking out. The course consisted of 5 days of training; 1 day of classroom studies, 2 days diving in a pool, and 2 days diving in the ocean. I must admit my first diving experience was not all that visually amazing, but it was fun and challenging and I do look forward to visiting many new and virtually unseen parts of the world. I hear the diving on the East side of Aussieland is some of the best in the world. I will find out exactly what that means next week!

Singapore

2007-04-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

I was teaching at the Singapore American School which is by far the wealthiest, nicest, most decked out high school I have ever seen. They had all the normal wealthy accessories, a huge pool, beautiful track field, football and baseball fields, etc... but on top of that they had a full-fledge ropes course and an indoor rock climbing gym. The teachers and the kids were awesome and I miss them already. Thanks for making it all happen Cat!

Linkoping Sweden

2007-03-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

I taught my first workshop using the community building ideas that I have been sitting on for a few years. It was GREAT! One part was the idea of affecting and infecting people with rhythm by making noise on the dance floor. I got a small group of people to dance solo and follow my rhythms while the other people were dancing around them. The goal was to infuse the partner dancers with rhythms they wouldn't normally think of. Another idea was to keep the class close together. Only using the part of the room that was necessary for the amount of people in the class. I have been experimenting with this during my DJ sessions lately and it has had a tremendous effect on the party atmosphere too.

The Quest for The Ninja Rhythm

2007-02-25T14:01:00.000-08:00

I taught a class in Austin, Texas with Laura Glaess for a Ninja Workshop and this is what we taught. Don't worry pirate friends, I will do a Pirate workshop sometime in the future too, Herrang maybe?

Quest for The Ninja Rhythm

In the quest to becoming a ninja, one must strive for perfection in what is known as, "The Ninja Rhythm". The Ninja Rhythm is an uncompromising and unconditionally perfect rhythm. It is not affected by a partner, no matter how crazy, wild, or 'pirate like' that partner may be. Go ahead Anti-Rhythm Pirates - try to get a ninja off rhythm! For a true ninja has such uncompromising rhythm, it can inspire even a pirate to lose his ability to be off rhythm.

I started by taking all the 'ninjas in training' into a secret Dojo room where I explained the quest about to be set upon them. The curtains were opened and they were off on their quest. The class was awesome and Laura was perfect to teach it with. Her rhythm was incomparable as not even I could claim to be anywhere near her mastery. She continues to amaze me! Speaking of Laura... Congratulations Laura and Mike Roberts (they just got married)!