The always entertaining Bobby White sent this gem out with today's Jam Cellar announcement, in Honor of Thomas Paine's birthday:
COMMON LINDY SENSE
1. ON GOVERNMENT BY LONE RULE
MY COUNTRYMEN, just as no Country should be ruled by an Island, no Man's Lindy Hoppe style should be ruled by the tyranny of a sole influence.
There is, my countrymen, in this New England, a trend towards dance steps that involve certain unique and describable jumps, wiggles, and fist pumps towards the skye, which can be easily pinpointed to a single influence. No, I dare not say his name, for he is innocent! But think on it! Just as an owl could never impersonate the sound of the Swallow as well as a Swallow could, what use is attempting to fill another's dance shoes, which would not fit your feet? Which you yourself had not molded, had not broke in?
And let us postulate this influence, my countrymen. Did he copy someone else's moves, styles, expression? Not one in particular, I daresay, as he is Not a Copycat! Nor a Fraud! Now a Rogue, Scoundrel, or Pale Imposter! My Countrymen!
Let this be our first lesson, O Patriotic brothers, and let us have respect in our own artists' worth! Be the mixing pot; find the things that suit you and inspire you from many dancers, mostly yourself! Then you will be free from the tyranny of always copying one other person's dancing!
2. THOUGHTS ON THE PROCUREMENT OF STARDOM
Heed the Pine Beetle. He gathers and labours for the nutrition that will see him through the winter destitute. If he works hard Not in the Autumn, he will starve when the bitter cold comes.
So must those who gather the fruits of Lindy Hoppe. Hard and long practice today will heed great results in a few months time, but you must labor, you must toil. Practice even how you practice! There is no easy road to stardom, and thank heavens, for there is true joy in hard work, just as there is great warmth in a winter fire.
My fellow countrymen, master both how you feel and how you look, neglecting neither! And labor hard so that one would not overtake the other for long! For a poem that sounds sweet but signifies nothing is a disappointing poem; and a poem of great meaning without a musical tone inspires pity first. A mastery of balance is in all things good: The analytical and the emotional, the energetic and the relaxed, the fast and the slow, the drinking and the aerials.
And now, my countrymen, I must address the use of the term “rockstar” for advanced and international teachers of Lindy Hoppe. The names we call people carry important connotations, whether we mean them to or not. Start calling someone a “rockstar,” my countrymen, and it won't be long before they start doing cocaine off of each other and throwing armoires out of the window.
3. REGARDING POLITICAL TURMOIL
One of the burdens of freedom is that we are free to hate. We are free to despise, to talk about people behind their backs, to stab them while we are there, to carry pea-sized grudges like they are boulders, and to allow that slight way to pull us backward down the hill, leaving us a bent and mutilated corpse that will be wheeled around the rest of its life and which little kids will pay a nickel to spit at.
Heed this lesson, my countrymen.
We must forgive them all that trespass against us, for how much they love Lindy Hoppe and how much this love can unknowingly open the gates holding back their childish emotions of envy, desire, and power hunger; and someone will hopefully forgive us in turn when we do it.
4. MEDITATIONS ON THE FUTURE OF LINDY
Oft one asks “Where to next?” We have seen the ages of Savoy and Hollywood, the ages of groove and blues and savollywood (and what is Savollywood*, my countrymen, I cannot say), and finally, of raw-style and Charleston. Where is there to go, my countrymen ask. Let us think on it.
These last ten—nay, twenty—years, we have journied through all the styles of the original swing-era, as well as several of our own device. I predict, then, that we have come full-circle, and that now there will be no more scene-wide trends for a time; instead, we will see the marriage of many aspects of all the styles. Trends in dancing are now, and will be for awhile, I declare, in the moves dancers do, not in any one style.
And this is great, for it means there is the possibility of a future, My Patriotic Brethren, where dancers posses their own style, and turmoil will not be against those of different styles, but be left only for those foolish enough to get involved in organizing. My Countrymen!
* Savollywood: (SUH-vol-lee-wood) (ProperNoun): A failed late-90s amusement park where all the men were given baggy cargo pants and newsboy hats, and women went on rides that took them through twelve-count side-passes and half-assed whips.
Originally posted Thursday, January 31, 2008 (4 years ago)
What a great thread. Bobby White has said all there needs to be said about Lindy Hop and politics (in both the Lindy Scene and the national scene).
And what's more (personal note) he did this in honor of Tom Paine. In grad school I directed the play about him ("Tom Paine", duh) as a student project. He was a scoundrel much more than me ... and a great patriot and speaker ... so I have to admirer both him and any one who honors him.
Anything else I have to say about Lindy as a DJ and dancer is in "The Music is Too Fast" thread about fast Lindy.
"A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having" - V
Listen 24 hours a day! Weekly updated shows
Common Lindy Sense
The always entertaining Bobby White sent this gem out with today's Jam Cellar announcement, in Honor of Thomas Paine's birthday:
COMMON LINDY SENSE
1. ON GOVERNMENT BY LONE RULE
MY COUNTRYMEN, just as no Country should be ruled by an Island, no Man's Lindy Hoppe style should be ruled by the tyranny of a sole influence.
There is, my countrymen, in this New England, a trend towards dance steps that involve certain unique and describable jumps, wiggles, and fist pumps towards the skye, which can be easily pinpointed to a single influence. No, I dare not say his name, for he is innocent! But think on it! Just as an owl could never impersonate the sound of the Swallow as well as a Swallow could, what use is attempting to fill another's dance shoes, which would not fit your feet? Which you yourself had not molded, had not broke in?
And let us postulate this influence, my countrymen. Did he copy someone else's moves, styles, expression? Not one in particular, I daresay, as he is Not a Copycat! Nor a Fraud! Now a Rogue, Scoundrel, or Pale Imposter! My Countrymen!
Let this be our first lesson, O Patriotic brothers, and let us have respect in our own artists' worth! Be the mixing pot; find the things that suit you and inspire you from many dancers, mostly yourself! Then you will be free from the tyranny of always copying one other person's dancing!
2. THOUGHTS ON THE PROCUREMENT OF STARDOM
Heed the Pine Beetle. He gathers and labours for the nutrition that will see him through the winter destitute. If he works hard Not in the Autumn, he will starve when the bitter cold comes.
So must those who gather the fruits of Lindy Hoppe. Hard and long practice today will heed great results in a few months time, but you must labor, you must toil. Practice even how you practice! There is no easy road to stardom, and thank heavens, for there is true joy in hard work, just as there is great warmth in a winter fire.
My fellow countrymen, master both how you feel and how you look, neglecting neither! And labor hard so that one would not overtake the other for long! For a poem that sounds sweet but signifies nothing is a disappointing poem; and a poem of great meaning without a musical tone inspires pity first. A mastery of balance is in all things good: The analytical and the emotional, the energetic and the relaxed, the fast and the slow, the drinking and the aerials.
And now, my countrymen, I must address the use of the term “rockstar” for advanced and international teachers of Lindy Hoppe. The names we call people carry important connotations, whether we mean them to or not. Start calling someone a “rockstar,” my countrymen, and it won't be long before they start doing cocaine off of each other and throwing armoires out of the window.
3. REGARDING POLITICAL TURMOIL
One of the burdens of freedom is that we are free to hate. We are free to despise, to talk about people behind their backs, to stab them while we are there, to carry pea-sized grudges like they are boulders, and to allow that slight way to pull us backward down the hill, leaving us a bent and mutilated corpse that will be wheeled around the rest of its life and which little kids will pay a nickel to spit at.
Heed this lesson, my countrymen.
We must forgive them all that trespass against us, for how much they love Lindy Hoppe and how much this love can unknowingly open the gates holding back their childish emotions of envy, desire, and power hunger; and someone will hopefully forgive us in turn when we do it.
4. MEDITATIONS ON THE FUTURE OF LINDY
Oft one asks “Where to next?” We have seen the ages of Savoy and Hollywood, the ages of groove and blues and savollywood (and what is Savollywood*, my countrymen, I cannot say), and finally, of raw-style and Charleston. Where is there to go, my countrymen ask. Let us think on it.
These last ten—nay, twenty—years, we have journied through all the styles of the original swing-era, as well as several of our own device. I predict, then, that we have come full-circle, and that now there will be no more scene-wide trends for a time; instead, we will see the marriage of many aspects of all the styles. Trends in dancing are now, and will be for awhile, I declare, in the moves dancers do, not in any one style.
And this is great, for it means there is the possibility of a future, My Patriotic Brethren, where dancers posses their own style, and turmoil will not be against those of different styles, but be left only for those foolish enough to get involved in organizing. My Countrymen!
* Savollywood: (SUH-vol-lee-wood) (ProperNoun): A failed late-90s amusement park where all the men were given baggy cargo pants and newsboy hats, and women went on rides that took them through twelve-count side-passes and half-assed whips.
Yehoodi Featured Topics
(5 items total, 30 per page)
Oh, I love Bobby White (pronounced "wee-TAY"). :loveu:
here i was thinking "why would i pump my fist toward skye?"
Bobby is my hero.
Agreed.
What a great thread. Bobby White has said all there needs to be said about Lindy Hop and politics (in both the Lindy Scene and the national scene).
And what's more (personal note) he did this in honor of Tom Paine. In grad school I directed the play about him ("Tom Paine", duh) as a student project. He was a scoundrel much more than me ... and a great patriot and speaker ... so I have to admirer both him and any one who honors him.
Anything else I have to say about Lindy as a DJ and dancer is in "The Music is Too Fast" thread about fast Lindy.
"A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having" - V
(5 items total, 30 per page)
BBCode is no longer supported. Use Markdown instead: