THEN IT GREW...OR THE ERA OF THE BALLS
My jazz dream has always been to have a huge shbang with an enormous big band, dancing of all sorts, performances: a true swingin' time! In order to do that, Swing needed a bigger dance floor and some main stream friends. We swung up Clamores Jazz club, but it was BOGUI JAZZ CLUB that opened its doors to the swing community. The Bogui Swing Balls would be hoppin' for a couple of years including a Free class before hand, performances of tap and vernacular jazz and a different band invited at every event!
WAY BACK WHEN
I arrived in Madrid in January of 2007. It was a little bit of a challenge to find some swingin jazz, but then someone told me about this place called ARTEPOLIS in The Lavapies Area of Town. it was a haven for artists; with theaters, art galleries, space to practice (nowadays a Gym...of course) And also the home of the Gypsy Jam Run by Laura Toro and BAXTALO DROM. At that time in Madrid, that was the only place to get a Swing fix and consequently, my new home. It was at their Jams that I met my first Madrid Lindy Hoppers. Only a handful at the time. JuanJo & Silvia of BLANCO Y NEGRO Dance school brought some of their students do Lindy Hop as it was meant: To Live Music. I loved trying to dance with them and the magic that happened to their twirls when I sang for them. I invited them to come to any of my concerts - because that is what swingin' jazz is for - not for intellectual study - it's for movin! Soon after, Pablo, Sanna and Lucía invited me to swing some tunes at LE SWING JAZZ CLUB located in Tirso de Molina until 2011. In this small, semi-exclusive second floor Jazz club there were barely 100 dancers....
AND SOON ENOUGH....
...the hoppers would outgrow that space, new swing events with live bands would pop up all over town, new swing bands apeared, the MAD4SWING Association would begin bringing Swing Music and
dance to all corners of Madrid in their events open to all members of the community, offering connection and collaboration, new schools would open up and with them swing fiestas every night of the week, Festivals with guests and exploration of the different genres of swing - Balboa, Blues, Shag...
AND NOW
My event organizing focus has turned to MAD TAP, my Music and my own DANCING DREAMS since now in order to experience a big swing gig I didn't have to be the one creating it!
But in September 2015, something fabulous happened: Super Woman Angela Gil de Miguel launched her swingin-est brain child THE WORLD JAM. She has taken the lead of this journey of a city in a transitional era of much growth and discovery, into the next era of Swing in Madrid, shifting the focus to the important, far too often undervalued, relationship between music, rhythm and dance within and beyond Swing culture. And or a monthly dose of Swing connection, there are now the Take The A-Train Jams!
I'm glad the Madrid Lindy Hoppers let me share those moments with them and I'm so excited to see where it's all going. I'll be watching from the dance floor or the stage of course....and hopefully all throughout Europe!
Ok, gotta go LINDY NOW!!!
Es un placer participar en las fiestas de swing y bailar toda la noche. Es una oportunidad mensual donde la comunidad de Swing de madrid puede juntar y disfrutar bailar con música en directo - el swing - como debe de ser!!!
Es una ilusión y privilegio estar invitada a tocar para estas fiestas para la comunidad de Swing aquí en madrid o que vienen a bailar a los conciertos!!! Asi mantenemos viva esta parte importante de la cultura del jazz.