We often find ourselves reflecting on the past year as it draws to an end. This one has been kind of a rollercoaster for us with some big ups and downs along the way.
We had a truly amazing Beantown Camp this summer. It was more work than ever putting it together, which is really a reflection on the way of the dance world these days. Many events for people to attend and lots of attention needs to be devoted to marketing. Beantown has had many great years, and we always wonder how we can possibly top them, yet this year may have just been the best ever! There was a huge diversity of people attending from all over the country and beyond as well as an outstanding staff of instructors and musicians, and it all merged together into a week full of joy, laughter and a ton of fun! We owe so much to everyone who participated and contributed to making it such a positive, wonderful event.
Hop to the Beat hit an incredible milestone this year with our 15th anniversary. It is quite amazing when we think about that. It all started because we had seen this dance called the Lindy Hop and we just wanted everyone to do it! It seemed the only way to help make that happen was to teach, so we gave it a try. We added small practices which eventually led into what is now Uptown Swing. Along the way we brought in international instructors and eventually started Beantown Camp. It literally just evolved, we along with it, and it continues to be a full time endeavor.
When we put on our very first Beantown Camp in 1997 we had a vision for what kind of week we hoped to create. Beantown has evolved over the years and along the way there have been many wonderful camps, but this year, our 14th, everything came together in the most incredible way to surpass our wildest dreams. We are still feeling overwhelmed with it all. It wasn’t just the outstanding classes and dance parties, but also the fun stuff that happened in between and the positive energy all around. There is so much that happened over the week and here are some of the special highlights.
Each year at Beantown several couples and groups provide some amazing entertainment each night of the week-long camp. These performances highlight the energy and overall feel of the camp as any and all are welcome!
This performance is of Michael Jagger and Evita Arce dancing to Shake that Thang. The crowd was floored by their energy, choreography and pure performance quality.
Each year Beantown features multiple optional track, or mini-track, classes that let attendees focus on a non-Lindy Hop dance style. These are always popular and really help the dancer expand their overall dance knowledge and learn different body movements.
Beantown’s Got Talent is a hilarious event that happens each year at Beantown Camp. Camp attendees showcase their “talents” and talents to the amusement of the crowd…and the ridicule of the “guest” judges - Peter Strom, Jennifer Coulombe, and Sylvia Sykes. It is ridiculous, funny, entertaining, and most of all memorable.
The final act of the amazing 2010 Beantown’s Got Talent Show was actually a non-judged, beautiful French piece by Naomi Uyama and David Lasagna (the emcee for the week). It was such a perfect ending to such a fun and entertaining show!
The competitions at Beantown each year are a real treat! All competitors seem to just have fun and truly enjoy the chance to dance in front of the audience - not to mention the fact that the audience just eats it up!
This year’s winners of the 2010 Beantown Camp Strictly Lindy competition are Daryl Begin and Jennifer Stout. Congratulations and great job!
Beantown’s Got Talent is a hilarious event that happens each year at Beantown Camp. Camp attendees showcase their “talents” and talents to the amusement of the crowd…and the ridicule of the “guest” judges - Peter Strom, Jennifer Coulombe, and Sylvia Sykes. It is hilarious, fun, funny, entertaining, and most of all memorable.
This act is Andrew Thigpen as MC Hammer with Karen Turman and Laura Glaess as his Fly Girls.
Beantown’s Got Talent is a hilarious event that happens each year at Beantown Camp. Camp attendees showcase their “talents” and talents to the amusement of the crowd…and the ridicule of the “guest” judges - Peter Strom, Jennifer Coulombe and Sylvia Sykes. It is hilarious, fun, funny, entertaining, and most of all memorable.
This act was billed as a magic trick…but I think the main trick was tricking Skye Humphries into being part of such a hilarious act!
