Huntsville Swing Dance Society

HSDS is proud to bring you the first ever "Sway and Stomp" at Bridge Street Town Center. Enjoy dancing and/or listening to classic R&B, swing, and jazz tunes by DJ H^3 (Huy), and DJ Rob. This will be an outdoor dance on smooth flagstone. Wear comfortable shoes with little or no tread. Make sure to bring plenty of energy and water.

When: Thursday May 15th, 7-9 p.m.
***RAIN DATE***: Thursday May 22nd, from 7-9 p.m. Since we are at the mercy of the weather and there is a 50% chance of rain and/or thunderstorms, we have scheduled a rain date. If it rains and the dance surface is still wet by 6 p.m., the event will take place on the above rain date. If the sidewalk is dry, expect music and dancing. Look for a posting on the website in case of bad weather.

Location: Bridge Street Town Center. Right outside "Biscuits and Blues Cafe". Park on the East side parking lot next to Red Robin. Look for the Carousel.
6782 Old Madison Pike
Huntsville, AL 35806

Cost: Free to the public!

Starting May 6th on Tuesday nights at 6:40 p.m. in Room B of the University Fitness Center on UAH Campus, this eight-week course teaches the fundamentals of two high energy varieties of Swing dance: Lindy Hop, and Charleston. It will be taught by Huy Huynh and Tabitha Phillips, two of the best Lindy Hop dancers in town. Topics include the basics revisited, lead/follow connection, fast lindy, musicality, transitions, and lots of cool moves. We may even throw in a routine! Even though this is an intermediate class we will be reviewing the basics to make sure everyone is consistent in their dancing. So if you are a beginner, please don't hesitate to join us. You do not need a partner to participate in this program.

Time: Tuesday's starting, May 6th from 6:40-7:40 p.m. (8-weeks, progressive)
Cost: Free to Fitness Center members, $10 for an all day pass to the Fitness Center
Location: University Fitness Center, Room B
500 John Wright Drive
Huntsville, AL 35899

A correction to the post about the 4-26 dance: since it is a DJ dance the cost will be $7 for adults, $5 for students, and FREE for UAH students! Come out and groove to our awesome DJ's!
(Sorry for any confusion)
And Congrats to Gabe and Tabitha! :-)

The Huntsville Swing Dance Society in association with the UAH Dance Club will be holding a DJ dance at the Flying Monkey Arts Center Saturday, April 26th! Come dance to the music of the best swing DJs in Huntsville at a vintage location with wonderful ambiance. There will be a free beginning swing lesson at 7pm for those who have never danced or who are interested in practicing their basics. Admission is $12 for adults and $7 for students. UAH Students get in free! We look forward to seeing you at another excellent HSDS dance!

The very swinging Karen Johns will be coming to Flying Monkey for her new album STAR and SEASON at the Flying Monkey art center this Friday, March 14th! "Karen Johns' smooth jazz sounds are in the tradition of giants like Ella and Louie, but with her own fresh twist." (Williamson Herald) Come for an excellent evening of music and dance! The cost is $8 with Students just $5. The music starts at 7:30 8:00. There will be no lesson.

Yes, we know. Again our dance is a month late. Due to scheduling conflicts the March 29 dance is now April 5th. It will be at the Elks Lodge at 725 Franklin Street, Huntsville, AL 35801. If this is anything like the last dance it will be jam packed with dancers of all ages. We will have an excellent DJ'd set by our experienced governing group the always exciting Rocket City Jazz Orchestra!

Rob and Kristen will be holding a swing lesson that afternoon at the lodge from 5 until 7pm. If you have never danced, this is an excellent chance to learn the secrets before stepping on the floor for the first time. If you are an experienced dancer, this is a chance to work on some of the basics that you may not get a chance to while dancing.

The Elk's lodge is an excellent location. It has a great sitting area as well as a nice floor and stage. For those of age, there is even a large bar for drinks! We look forward to seeing all of you at the dance!

Thank you to everyone who came to the dance at the flying monkey! The floors and the seats were full and I think everyone had an excellent time! Christabel and the Jons were fantastic as always. I don't think there's anything that matches their bluesy, folksy swing. The 2 Man Gentlemen Band was also excellent. They provided a wildly entertaining show. I forgot my camera so if anyone has any good pictures of the dance, please email them to me at swing@huntsvilleswingdance.org.

And look forward to our next dance near the end of the month. We have had to work out some scheduling conflicts but will not let it prevent us from having another great dance! We hope to see you there.

Our next Huntsville Swing Dance Society dance will be held in conjunction with the Flying Monkey Arts Center. We will be dancing to the live music of Christabel and the Jons. Christabel and the Jons provides a sultry southern folk music making for excellent swing and blues dancing! Also performing will be the Two Man Gentlemen Band gracing us with their Original Circus-Country, Dixieland-Swing. Please join us March 1st upstairs at Flying Monkey Arts Center, 2211 Seminole Drive; Three Block South of Governors at South Parkway. The cost is only $5 so come on down!

Birmingham is flying in our favorite national swing musician, Solomon Douglas for a swing dance Friday, February 22nd! For those not wishing to drive, Leighanne will be driving a van down and coming back that night. Please contact swing@huntsvilleswingdance.org to arrange for a ride.

In addition, there will be a workshop Saturday 2/23 with 5 classes in Lindy Hop swing. The classes will start at the very basic and progress to the advanced by the afternoon. Please visit our calendar or Just Gotta Swing to learn more and register for the lessons.

This is a wonderful opportunity for those who have never done Lindy Hop or who have never danced with Nashville, Birmingham, or Atlanta dancers to come out and meet new dancers and improve the dimensions of their dance!

The specifics on both the dance and the lessons are in the extended information on this post. Hope to see you there!

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The event was a huge success, check out the photos below as well as those in the gallery under the tuxedo junction album.

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