Stuff We Liked: A Chat with Tena Morales-Armstrong, A Norma Compilation and Buddy Bolden on Film

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Tena Morales-Armstrong is one of those figures in the lindy hop scene who is rarely in the spotlight, but has had such a huge impact on our dance for more than 20 years. A dancer, teacher, performer, judge and organizer, she is perhaps best known as the driving force behind the International Lindy Hop Championships. Ryan Swift managed to get Tena in front of the mic for the latest edition of his podcast, The Track. Listen to an insightful two hour conversation about her dance journey, winning the inaugural American Lindy Hop Championships in 1998, running ILHC, and her passion for bringing together the historically Black partner dances with lindy hop.

Other Stuff We Liked:

  • Lots of you stepped up to contribute to the successful fundraiser to support Norma Miller’s recovery from congestive heart failure last week. In that same spirit, Bobby White has put together this compilation of Norma’s dancing over the years. Thanks for sharing this, Bobby!

  • Valerie Salstrom is an incredible dancer, teacher, champion competitor, and youth educator from the Cleveland area. We dug this interview of her on Cleveland.com, where she talks about her own dance background and the Cleveland dance scene.

  • Buddy Bolden (1877-1931) is a mythic character in the birth of jazz, a legendary cornet player from New Orleans of whom very little is known. There aren’t even any recordings of him playing. Hopefully his legacy will be much better known with the release of the new feature film Bolden on May 3. The film will star Gary Carr of "Downton Abbey" as Buddy, and feature music performed by Wynton Marsalis.

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Have something special you want to share with other lindy hoppers? Hit this link to share it with us, or email rik@yehoodi.com.