Litui.Net

Regretfully, I have neglected this entry a very long time (2 months to be exact). Please forgive me, it was long and hard to write! This is part of a series of entries on the Seattle Lindy Exchange (click to view all related posts). As a reminder, this post describes the events that occurred on Sunday, August 3, 2008.

Sunday Morning Shopping

Being as dead tired as we all were from the previous night, it took us all awhile to wake up, get clean, and get dressed for the day. After the lot of us got dressed and showered for the day’s events, we all went down the street to obtain breakfast food from the nearby organic market. I had a passable organic burger chased by a very tasty organic hotdog and some of the best chocolate milk I’ve ever had.

When the group took off for the main event of the afternoon (I’ll get to it in a minute), four of us (Heather, Anne, Tasha and myself) went our own way to find a second-hand store Leah and I had found on Friday that had a costume shop in its basement (to those interested, the store is called Red Light). There, I investigated the multi-coloured suspenders while the girls perused the flapper dress selection and burlesque costumes. Eventually, we paid and left (quite late) for the main event.

Sunday Afternoon Dance

The big event I’ve been alluding to was so spectacular it really has to be seen to be believed. Description continues after this short video clip (if using Facebook, click here to see the video).

As you can, no doubt, discern from the video this event took place in public. The venue was Seattle’s Westlake Park, described on wikipedia as follows:

Westlake Park is a 0.1-acre (400 m²) public plaza in downtown Seattle, Washington, USA. Extending east from 4th Avenue up to and including a former portion of Westlake Avenue between Pike and Pine Streets, it is across Pine Street from the Westlake Center shopping mall, which is the southern terminus of the Seattle Center Monorail. The park and mall are named for Westlake Avenue, which now terminates north of the mall, but once ran two blocks farther south to Pike Street through the present site of the mall and park. Westlake Park is considered Seattle’s “town square” and celebrities and political figures often make appearances or give speeches from four-story shopping center’s balcony.

The Loose Marbles played from under a canopy by the large monument at the end of the park nearest the mall and could be heard for some distance around. The park itself was packed with swing dancers who danced the afternoon away in the sun. In spite of the hard concrete dancing surface, this stands out as the best venue at the exchange. The weather and sky were perfect and the atmosphere was delightful.

Doing Our Own Thing

All set to return to our temporary home to rest and relax, we made a change of plan in favour of seeing a bit more of Seattle before having to leave. We asked around and a friendly local suggested we check out the Chittenden Locks to the Northwest of Downtown. It didn’t look like too far from our current position so the same four of us from the earlier shopping trip piled into the van and made our way to the locks.

The Locks didn’t prove too difficult to find but upon arrival we realized how hungry we were after all that dancing. A decision was made that we would eat at a nearby seafood restaurant (wherein I, oddly enough, had a burger). The four of us ate heartily and socialized. I had some slight difficulty when my credit card wouldn’t swipe and the server’s keypad was asking her for a zip code to verify my identity (Canadians have letters in their postal codes). She did manage to get my card to swipe in the end and we continued on our way. Tasha was tired and opted to stay in the van and sleep awhile but 3 of us ventured onward.

The entrance to the Locks was surrounded by gardens which we wandered around a bit, engaging in general silliness. The sun was already starting to get low by the time we got to the locks so we hurried our way across them. This was my first time actually being at a lock and the whole system was fairly impressive. There were quite a number of boats queued up to get through the locks and a surprising number of visitors such as ourselves.

At the opposite side of the locks, we discovered the fish ladder and found a fish ladder interpretive centre of sorts housed in the wall of the lock. While actually seeing the fish making their way through the ladder was quite interesting I could have done without the fish ladder themed poetry that was being broadcast over the tinny speakers.

Outside, we were able to look down at the fish ladder and we saw a couple of fish jump their way up before we had to leave. We reclaimed Tasha and the van in the parking lot and went get changed at the house.

Sunday Night at the Century Ballroom

I had already gotten a sneak peak at the Century Ballroom on Friday when walking down broadway with Leah, but it was quite something else with a full house. Standing in the parking lot outside upon arrival, the first thing I noticed (after the usual difficulty with the back-in diagonal parking the city of Seattle seems to insist upon) was the sound of the great swing music coming from the upstairs windows. The steady thump of dancing in beat could almost be felt and in fact the beat could be seen in the form of light reflecting from the slightly bending glass in the windows below the dance hall. The building itself is a historic Odd Fellows Hall.

Up a flight up stairs and through a café, we came to the ballroom itself. This was a beautiful historic hall with seating on 3 sides of a lowered dance floor. The stage on the fourth wall held the band of the evening, the Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band. The dance floor was always busy, and the room was quite warm with the heat generated by all the moving bodies.

Jam circles occurred later in the evening to thank all the volunteers and people who helped organize and make the weekend’s festivities happen. I didn’t have the nerve to step into any of these but I enjoyed watching the skill of those who did.

The Last Late Night at the Washington Dance Club

At the end of the evening it was once again off to the Washington Dance Club for an early morning of dance (and in my case, passing out for brief spurts at the edge of the dance floor). Our weekend was played out by the Loose Marbles and Meschiya Lake, who outdid themselves this last morning with speedy numbers, amazing blues, and a couple of encores.

The atmosphere was amazing and even tired as I was, I felt charged and full of life.

Thoughts on the Weekend

I had gone to Seattle fully unprepared for the level of skill I would see there. Many dancers present were intimidatingly good. I did, however, learn that fast doesn’t necessarily mean good. Some of my favourite dancing to watch all weekend was to slow songs. I saw people feeling the music and playing along with it in their dancing. Faster dancers were often simply just dancing fast, doing complicated steps, and being technically good, no question, but there were some that stood out as being full of expression even on the faster songs. Their steps complemented and were complemented by the music, making the dance fascinating.

As with anywhere, most follows were a pleasure to dance with after I got over my first evening of tiredness (and thereby, terrible dancing to faster music). I couldn’t help but feel that I was boring to dance with for many and that I have much to learn, but this is not unhealthy. I only started in late January of this year and shouldn’t pressure myself unnecessarily. I can keep my perfectionism in check by recognizing that I’m doing well considering the length of time I’ve been involved.

I enjoyed spending time bonding with the Alberta crew and making friends with all the Lindy hoppers from the US and Canada. I find it amazing that so many people from all over can be drawn together by a dance. If someone had told me last year that I’d end up traveling to Seattle for a massive dance exchange I would have thought them nuts. Who knew this world existed? I certainly didn’t.

Even if I drew no new moves or skills from the weekend (though I’m sure something managed to seep in), at the very least this weekend poured more fuel into my inspiration engine and opened the door for further exploration of this side of my identity. I was already inspired, passionate, but I think it was at Seattle that it really sunk in that this has actually become a significant part of my identity. I’m the type of person who tries to dance as many times a week as possible and leaves town for workshops and social dance exchanges. I don’t think I’ve missed a Friday night dance yet (with the exception of weekends I’ve been out of town and dancing in other cities instead). I’ve sought out dancing in cities I’ve travelled to for work. It’s not the skill level that’s important, but the interest, the enjoyment, the drive to improve, and the dedication to take the steps necessary to make that happen.

Seattle made me realize in a more visceral way than before that whatever else I may be, I am also a dancer.

Evening Dance with The Loose Marbles

As mentioned in my previous post the venue for the first night of the Seattle Lindy Exchange would be the Rainier Chapter House, a historic site a couple of blocks from Broadway in the Capitol Hill area. The building itself was beautiful. Complete with pillars in the front, it was two stories tall, white, and had a stone patio. There were tables out front which were used later for cooling off in between dances. Registrants needed to check in just inside the front door, after which they entered a beautiful room containing a grand piano and fireplace. The walls around were adorned with old photos and paintings of historic scenes and figures. Here, the (amazingly designed) event t-shirts could be picked up.

At the time I arrived, the band hadn’t started up yet so I dumped backpack and jacket behind the piano and took the time to explore. Re-entering the main hall through a second doorway that emerged behind the registration desk, I spotted the doorway leading to the ‘Speakeasy’ (where alcoholic drinks would be served during the dance) and staircases leading both up and down. I went down first into a room where the first thing I spotted was a very large old safe door built into the wall. To the left were two doors, one leading into a men’s sitting room, and the other into a women’s. The bathrooms for each were on the opposite ends of the sitting rooms. The men’s room (I didn’t get a good look at the other) was decorated with old patriotic American posters.

I found the dance floor on the second floor of the building. The ceilings were curved in the corners and there was a performance stage at the end of the hall. The band was still setting up so I returned to the main floor. Here I met some of the attendees from Seattle and other places. The bulk of the Calgary and Edmonton dancers hadn’t yet arrived as they either had late flights or were still on their way by vehicle. In the end, there would be 12 Albertans present.

Around 9:00, the Loose Marbles began to play. They were excellent. They also played very fast swing and charleston-type music much of the time. I tried dancing a few songs, but between being over-tired from my early flight and subsequent tourism, having drunk copious amounts of coffee, having had a lack of recent practice, and having been intimidated by the skill of the other dancers, I couldn’t take too much dancing on the first night. I ended up in the Speakeasy as my energy waned, and continued to enjoy the music from below.

Before moving on to the late night dance (early morning dance, hours 1AM-5AM), our crew opted for a late supper at IHOP, a late night breakfast joint in the area. There we met Seattle Lindy hoppers, Rae and Mitchel. The food was passable (for most– one of our crew is allergic to gluten, and another found a clump of hair on her fork). For my part, getting food in my belly merely distracted my body from staying awake and I began to shut down.

Late Night with Seattle DJs

When we arrived at the late night destination, the Washington Dance Club, I was too tired to stand. I sat on the sidelines sleeping on my folded hands and waking periodically to the sound of music by local DJs. As I understand it, people had fun at this dance. It would have been nice to have been awake for it, but I was also glad to have spent my energy doing the touristy thing during the day. After catching up on sleep, I figured I’d be ready to go for the rest of the weekend.

Saturday and Sunday posts still to come.

I wasn’t actually sure until last week whether or not I would be attending the Seattle Lindy Exchange.  Airline tickets being as costly as they are from Canada to anywhere (including within Canada), the cheapest rate I could get (taxes and all) was around $410 with a stop-over in Vancouver.  With the cost of the event, I would be looking at nearly $500 for the weekend.

It wasn’t until someone informed me that I could purchase extra Air Miles that I checked into using those to reduce my flight costs.  Turns out I had exactly 1111 Air Miles, and if that’s not a sign that I should go to Seattle then I don’t know what is.  It would cost me around $75 to purchase the extra points needed for the trip, bringing the total cost of the tickets to $310, saving me $100!  That’s not bad at all for a flight to Seattle.

I’ve now registered for the event and very much looking forward to it.  I’ll be flying out early morning on Friday, August 1, and returning late evening on Monday, August 4.

The event has Loose Marbles playing the whole weekend, Glenn Crytzer’s Red Hot Syncopators playing on Saturday Night, and the Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band on Sunday Night.  It will be a tiring, but fun weekend for sure.

• YouTube search for “Loose Marbles”
• YouTube search for “Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band”
• YouTube search for “Glenn Crytzer”