Paris Jazz Roots Festival

Nathan Bugh and Evita Arce perform original Tap choreography.  

Normally performed to "Moonglow".  

Choreography by Nathan Bugh

click link below photos to view.

     Paris Jazz Roots Nathan and Evita Tap

Being back in New York City

Since being back in New York City, things have been rough and confusing.  Falling back into a sense of rhythm, especially the rhythm of this city, takes some adjusting.  Not to mention recovering from Jet-lag.  But over all, I have been so grateful to come home to a job, at Dance Manhattan, and to my incredible room mates whom I love as a family, Nathan Bugh and Emily Vanston.  No matter how long I have been away, they are always excited to have me home and they both help me carry my luggage up our five flights of stairs.  Just for that, anyone would be grateful.
Immediately upon returning home I had rehearsals with Nathan Bugh, Michael Jagger and students from Dance Manhattan for a yearly celebration of dance at The Ulster County Performing Arts Theater.  This was the 4th year for us to perform in this show which brings together all styles of dance.  We had a great show and it's always a privilege to share the stage with other professionals like Daniel Ulbricht and Erica Pereira of the New York City Ballet!

I resumed regular classes at Dance Manhattan for the month of April which you can see on my calendar.  I had an exceptionally good time with my Thursday 8 o'clock Lindy Hop class and all my ladies in Belly Dance.

On April 9-11, Michael and I taught at The Hawkeye Swing Festival.  I had so much fun with the folks of the mid-west.  People drove in from all over.  There were more than 300 folks!  And most of them were college students!  I was floored by the Collegiate Jitterbug Contests.  The Team Division had 10 entries!    One thought:  STAR WARS.  Oh I wish I had a video link to that one.

I guess the next really big thing that happen was just last week.  Michael and I taught for another 5 day session at Glenmont Elementary School.  Thanks to everyone's support and regular voting, we won the Pepsi Grant of $25,000 which is paying for 2 more weeks of Swing classes in the school with live musicians every day, plus a dance at the end of the week.  I can't even begin to list all the little light bulbs that have been turning on for these K-5th grade students.  The most significant lesson learned is about communicating with their dance partners and with the musicians. We talked a lot about call and response using examples like singing "T'aint What You Do, It's The Way That You Do It", using the Pushes step that Frankie Manning always called out in the Shim Sham, and of course, watching and imitating dance steps.  The whole experience has been beyond anything I could have expected.  I want to send a huge thank you to Bill and Livia Vanaver who, through the Vanaver Caravan, sent me and Michael to Glenmont in the first place.  Another thank you to Peter Rawitsch and Valerie Falco and all the faculty at Glenmont who support this dance education.  And how could I forget, Alan Thomson's Little Big Band who worked with us everyday!

So life goes on and continues to be busy and wonderful.  Underneath the work, which I am always grateful for, I struggle with finding my true wants and goals.  I am often confused and pulled by others to carry out their passions, which usually gives me great joy.  But now in my 29th year of being on this earth, I'm coming to question what it is I really want to focus on.  I guess I'm feeling the magnitude of my accomplishments thus far and now I want to carefully choose what I do with the skills I've developed.  As soon as I know more, which may take a while, I will write more.

Swing Xtreme dance in PARIS

            So Ryan Francois's company, Swing Xtreme, danced in Paris for a big corporate gig for JP Morgan CHASE.  Although those gigs are usually for a tough crowd, they pay really well and take you to incredibly cool venues.  Now I'm trying to build a collection of Swing-Out photos in front of famous landmarks all over the world.  And of course the Eiffel Tower is on the top of that list.  Here's Michael Jagger and I, swinging out in Paris.  It was a great gig, and a great day.  Love to Matt, Hannah, Lisa, Dan and of course, Michael as we represented the company like true pros!  Here's to many more!

No age limits and no SHOES while in Europe!!

London and the UK

Well, since returning from Rome, I have had a lot of work in London with Mr. Michael Jagger!  We have been rehearsing with Swing Xtreme, Ryan Francois' dance company, and there have already been several gigs!  Michael and I also went up to Norwich to teach a weekend workshop.  It was beautiful!  We met a great group of people and the sun came out for us the whole time!  It's been strangely sunny here in the UK since I've been here.  I think I'm extraordinarily lucky.  Michael and I taught for Swing Patrol last Thursday and tonight, Monday March 15, we teach for Joseph and Trisha's JiveSwing.  We've been keeping busy.  The Universe has been good to us.  The photo's below are the Cathedral in Norwich and me.  Above, Michael and I stand in the market place.   

Montpellier, France

Cathy and Gilbert, of Swing Cat Cie, in Montpellier, France had an incredible weekend of Balboa classes Feb 6 & 7.  Joel Plys and I had a great, full weekend of teaching and dancing.  The people and the music were wonderful.  I must learn French!

THANK YOU ALL WHO VOTED FOR GLENMONT ELEMENTARY TO GET LINDY HOP IN SCHOOL!!!

WE DID IT!  WE WON THE PEPSI GRANT!
This is of great importance to me and a very large community.  You can help Kinder - 5th grade students learn about Frankie Manning, Lindy Hop, and what it means to dance with a Partner!  Michael Jagger and I, through The Vanaver Caravan, have had the opportunity to teach Swing dance to students at Glenmont Elementary.  They have entered a Pepsi Grant contest to win money for covering the cost of having more Lindy Hop classes this Spring & Summer with dances to live Bands.

Overview

Building Community Through Dance brings together elementary students, their parents, siblings, grandparents, teen dancers, college students, and other senior adults in our community. Our mission is to use swing dance to build meaningful relationships within our community and to pass on the tradition of this American art form. •Students will learn the Big Apple, the Shim Sham, and Lindy Hop moves from Vanaver Caravan dancers, Evita Arce and Michael Jagger. •Older students will be dance partners with our younger students while they learn new steps. •Students will practice their dancing with college students from RPI's Swing Club. •Parents will receive swing dance lessons from Isabelle's School of Dance high school dance team. •Each classroom of students will "adopt" a senior adult from an assisted living facility to share histories and to dance with. •A Community Dance in June with live swing music will help everyone celebrate all of the social and communication skills we have learned.

Michael Jagger and I taught at Glenmont Elementary School this entire week, teaching students from Kindergarden all through 5th grade, how to do the "Big Apple" and the "Shim Sham."  We are thrilled that kids so young are getting to learn about Frankie Manning, Lindy Hop and the history behind this important American art form.

Happy New Year! Evita and Nathan sing and dance to "Stomping at the Savoy".

Here I am doing the TWO things that scare me most, yet I love them and seem to continue to pursue both.  Hope you enjoy.  This song is called "Stomping at the Savoy" Benny Goodman recording, and the choreography is mainly a Coles and Atkins tap routine.  Nathan added a middle chunk section with more slides and turns.  This performance is from Lindy Focus 2009.  It was our first time to do this number in front of an audience.  Hopefully I will get more opportunities to perform this and work on that furious wing step.

Tap Dancing is the hardest thing I have ever performed, well that and singing.

Both require audible expressions of the "SELF".  I never thought of myself as a particularly eloquent speaker.  Maybe this is why the two art forms scare me so much.  Maybe I'm afraid of what I might say.

The New York Swing Dance Society
Nathan and I perform our very popular routine
"That's How Rhythm Was Born"

Evita taught at Southern Belle Bash in Atlanta 

for the second time in a row!

Photos from the International Lindy Hop Championships 2009

Photos from the International Lindy Hop Championships 2009

Photos taken of the competitions and performances at the International Lindy Hop Championships in Washington DC, in August 2009:







 



The Killer Dillers did really well in the competitions. Here are all the prizes we won:

1st Place Team Division
1st place Charleston: Juan Villafane
2nd place Charleston: Nathan Bugh (that's me)
3rd place Charleston: Jo Hoffberg
Filling out the rest of the Charleston finals: Evita Arce, Kevin St Laurent & Sharon Davis (ie: all the rest of the Killer Dillers)
1st place Cabaret: Evita Arce & Mike Jagger
3rd place Cabaret: Kevin St Laurent, Juan Villafane & myself