Lincoln Center Profiles Dawn Hampton

Photo by Ryan Swift, ryanswift.com

The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts shares a wonderful profile of lindy hop icon Dawn Hampton on their website recently. Dawn discusses her life as a jazz musician, why musicians don't dance, and what she enjoys playing when she deejays a lindy hop dance:

I have a favorite singer: Big Maybelle. Maybelle swings the blues. It’s amazing to hear her. I love Count Basie. My favorite is “Splanky.” Count Basie was one of the few musicians who loved to dance. He was a good dancer, too. Sometimes we play “The Push.” My brother Duke wrote it. It’s a song we played in Carnegie Hall.

Read the whole interview at lincolncenter.org.

And if you haven't seen this video from Herrang Dance Camp of Dawn Hampton talking about feeling the music, you really need to watch it.