06.21.08: Swing House: A dazzling vintage dance monthly
"Gatsby-era fun with a twist of new school-vibe" (Village Voice)
Bootleggers and speakeasies...wild dancers and smart mouths...art that sizzles and music that roars... With live swingin' dance sounds of the early 20th century, re-bopin' DJs remixing and reinventing vintage grooves, awesome aerial artistry, dazzling dance numbers, blazing burlesque and performance art to make you swoon. Plus: projections, stilt walkers, fire performers, oh my. The Jazz Age never ended, it just got funky. Dress accordingly!
This month's music theme: brassy New Orleans hot jazz
With:See below for detailed info on all performers.
Full club event at [former] Galapagos Art Space, 70 N 6th St, Williamsburg, BK
Paolo Lanna and Emily Vanston doing a 20s dance demo (by quoahogian)
Photos by Gene Hun
Photos of Linnzi Zaorski by Chris Becker
More on our artists:
In the front room: Live authentic New Orleans hot jazz!
Red Hook Ramblers
Red hot dixieland jazz, gutbucket blues, and tunes of 1920's Tin Pan Alley come barreling out of Brooklyn's very own Red Hook Ramblers. This rag-tag six-piece get the juke jumpin' with long-lost #1 hits, upbeat two-steps and sweet melodies galore. Indulge yourself in a gumbo of traditional jazz, New Orleans style.
Stumblebum Brass Band
"As of late, this hypnotic rumbling-raunch-jazz trio has been turning up all over the city in a nearly Mephistophelean manner. They appear from nowhere, breathe smoke and fire from trumpet and tuba, pound on their drum whilst parading through the crowd...and then abruptly disappear into the New York night. Are they banshees? wraiths? demons? Do they possess some uncanny ability to locate a lull in frivolity and then dispel it with ungodly powers?" - The Cad. "The Stumblebum Brass Band's gritty, whiskey-soaked songs like "Smokin' and Drinkin'" rile up guests with Mardi Gras verve" - New York Magazine. "Rousing Anthems" - C.J. Smith, MTV News.
Special guest from New Orleans: Linnzi Zaorski
New Orleans Ninth Ward chanteuse Linnzi Zaorski is the kind of artist that you find standing in front of a 1940s style microphone, in a long flowing black gown, gardenia in her hair, and lit so gently as to only see a pair of fire-red lips belt out the tunes of Duke Ellington, George and Ira Gershwin, and Johnny Mercer to a smoke-filled cabaret. She is an exceptional torch singer that appears to be a cross between Cyndi Lauper and Betty Boop. Live, she turns a barroom into a speakeasy with a wink and a whisper. In the broad field of New Orleans Jazz artists she is an extreme breath of fresh air, a unique musical commodity. Sweet and a little spicy, Zaorski adds a kick to a familiar recipe.
Also in the front room: Mind-blowing performance!
Blazing burlesque: The Peach Tartes
The Peach Tartes, New York City's juiciest burlesque troupe, are Veruca Honeyscotch, Rita Menweep, Scarlet O'Gasm, Madame Rosebud, and Penny Dreadfulz--a band of show women committed to challenging what you think about burlesque, what you know about women and what you expect from entertainment. They collaboratively shake, shimmy and twirl together choreography, storytelling, comedy, emotion, darkness and fire to create innovative and unforgettable events.
The ladies will titillate and tantilize you with numbers from their 1920s prohibition-themed show "Peel for Repeal!"
Dazzling dance: Lindy Hop All Stars founder Paolo Lanna & partner Emily Vanston
Paolo "Keep Punchin" Lanna has been specializing in swing partner dances since 1995. He has toured with Wynton Marsalis and The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, "Swing Dance America" and "Forever Swing," The Big Band Musical Revue. He has appeared on numerous TV programs from CNBC's Great Stuff to The David Letterman Show. He's won First Place at the New York Lindy Hop Open Swing championships and American Swing Dance Championship with Janice Wilson. Paolo founded the renown dance group Lindy Hop All Stars in 2000, comprising of award winning dancers, acclaimed instructors and professional performers.
Awesome aerial
Some of our favorite aerialists return to stun and astound you with their airborne grace.
Feats of fire
We bring back a dozen fire breathers, spinners & hoopers from parties past.
In the back room: Swingin' beats, reimagined & remixed!
Resident: DJ Dhundee
DJ Dhundee is known for his eclectic and soulful sets that fuse delicious 1920s-30s jazz and broken beats. From his extensive music collection filled to the brim with classic gems, popular songs, and rare finds, he serves up the sounds with his signature style and seamless flow. Performing throughout New York, with appearances from LA to London, Dhundee also curates the legendary party "Brooklyn Bounce" alongside DJ partner Stimulus of The Real Live Show. He has spun at private parties for Comedy Central, Istar Financial, Spike TV 2006 US Tour, Straight No Chaser Magazine, Good Magazine, HOME Magazine, Wired Magazine, David Torres Productions, and Danny Simmons Gallery. Winner of four gold International Promax/BDA Awards for its music compositions for Comedy Central and MTV, Sugarcuts, Dhundee's boutique music production company, also supplies such top TV networks as Showtime, Nickelodeon, VH1, FUSE, Spike TV, and many more.
Special guest DJs from London: The Broken Hearts
Combining eclectic DJ sets with a flair for costumes and spectacle, the girls provide a sensational visual and aural experience. Influenced as much by Weimar Berlin as circus sideshows, they are an extravaganza of Technicolor that has landed them in the pages of British Vogue, The Observer and Time Out. In June, they begin 'Broken Hearts Mystery Hour,' their own national UK radio show, which promises to take listeners on a journey to a land of swing-time hits and eccentric curiosities that is the Broken Hearts world.
"A Hollywood musical on hallucinogenics" - The Independent. "This act is full of the style and panache that will leave onlookers gawping enviously from the sidelines" - Artrocker.
Guest DJ: Miss Bliss
Miss Bliss has performed for crowds of 1000+ on four continents over the last eight years, touring Europe, Asia and South America three times each. She has performed in 19 countries, 22 US States, and at over 150 venues worldwide. In 2006, Miss Bliss decided to hang up the headphones and dedicate herself to environmental conservation and international development. Since then, she has spent over 20 months living in developing countries including Tanzania, Nepal and Costa Rica, including 10 months in Zanzibar as a Fulbright scholar studying community-based marine conservation. Now back in New York, Miss Bliss is returning to DJing again -- only this time look out for her in the speakeasys and cabarets because she's DJing jazz and swing!
Guest DJ: Punching' Paolo
Paolo focuses on those recordings that have big sound and a real swingin' groove; the Hammond B3 is one instrument you'll definitely hear during his sets. Paolo started building his collection of jazz and swing 25 years ago. He's a solid music provider for the New York Lindy crowd, showcasing both solid standards and a unique collection that spans 70 years in his usual sets at Swing 46. Paolo has been in DJ rotation at the New York Swing Dance Society (Irving Plaza) since the late 1990's and had been featured at: Bill Cameron's New Year's Extravaganza 2006, Swingin' New England 2006, Rock That Swing Munich Germany, ULX Utah Lindy Exchange 2006, Summer Jamboree Dance Camp Italy, Frim Fram Club 412 NYC, Connolly's NYC, MidSummer Night Swing at Lincoln Center and countless other events
VJs: Glass Bead Collective
GBC brings together individuals from diverse academic and professional backgrounds including video art, film, theater, architecture, photography, music, mathematics, fine arts and philosophy to create works which re-contextualize culture and the world in which we find ourselves today. GBC was founded in 2002 with a multimedia theatrical performance of Jean Paul Sartre's No Exit. They have since produced various live art events and films experimenting with a multi-disciplinary approach to contemporary issues (mixing visual and literary narratives in real time) as well as created live visuals for groups such as Billionaires for Bush, The War Resisters, Brooklyn Media Lab, GRACE (Global Resource Action Center for the Environment) at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival among others.
Red Hook Ramblers
Red hot dixieland jazz, gutbucket blues, and tunes of 1920's Tin Pan Alley come barreling out of Brooklyn's very own Red Hook Ramblers. This rag-tag six-piece get the juke jumpin' with long-lost #1 hits, upbeat two-steps and sweet melodies galore. Indulge yourself in a gumbo of traditional jazz, New Orleans style.
Stumblebum Brass Band
"As of late, this hypnotic rumbling-raunch-jazz trio has been turning up all over the city in a nearly Mephistophelean manner. They appear from nowhere, breathe smoke and fire from trumpet and tuba, pound on their drum whilst parading through the crowd...and then abruptly disappear into the New York night. Are they banshees? wraiths? demons? Do they possess some uncanny ability to locate a lull in frivolity and then dispel it with ungodly powers?" - The Cad. "The Stumblebum Brass Band's gritty, whiskey-soaked songs like "Smokin' and Drinkin'" rile up guests with Mardi Gras verve" - New York Magazine. "Rousing Anthems" - C.J. Smith, MTV News.
Special guest from New Orleans: Linnzi Zaorski
New Orleans Ninth Ward chanteuse Linnzi Zaorski is the kind of artist that you find standing in front of a 1940s style microphone, in a long flowing black gown, gardenia in her hair, and lit so gently as to only see a pair of fire-red lips belt out the tunes of Duke Ellington, George and Ira Gershwin, and Johnny Mercer to a smoke-filled cabaret. She is an exceptional torch singer that appears to be a cross between Cyndi Lauper and Betty Boop. Live, she turns a barroom into a speakeasy with a wink and a whisper. In the broad field of New Orleans Jazz artists she is an extreme breath of fresh air, a unique musical commodity. Sweet and a little spicy, Zaorski adds a kick to a familiar recipe.
Blazing burlesque: The Peach Tartes
The Peach Tartes, New York City's juiciest burlesque troupe, are Veruca Honeyscotch, Rita Menweep, Scarlet O'Gasm, Madame Rosebud, and Penny Dreadfulz--a band of show women committed to challenging what you think about burlesque, what you know about women and what you expect from entertainment. They collaboratively shake, shimmy and twirl together choreography, storytelling, comedy, emotion, darkness and fire to create innovative and unforgettable events.
The ladies will titillate and tantilize you with numbers from their 1920s prohibition-themed show "Peel for Repeal!"
Dazzling dance: Lindy Hop All Stars founder Paolo Lanna & partner Emily Vanston
Paolo "Keep Punchin" Lanna has been specializing in swing partner dances since 1995. He has toured with Wynton Marsalis and The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, "Swing Dance America" and "Forever Swing," The Big Band Musical Revue. He has appeared on numerous TV programs from CNBC's Great Stuff to The David Letterman Show. He's won First Place at the New York Lindy Hop Open Swing championships and American Swing Dance Championship with Janice Wilson. Paolo founded the renown dance group Lindy Hop All Stars in 2000, comprising of award winning dancers, acclaimed instructors and professional performers.
Awesome aerial
Some of our favorite aerialists return to stun and astound you with their airborne grace.
Feats of fire
We bring back a dozen fire breathers, spinners & hoopers from parties past.
Resident: DJ Dhundee
DJ Dhundee is known for his eclectic and soulful sets that fuse delicious 1920s-30s jazz and broken beats. From his extensive music collection filled to the brim with classic gems, popular songs, and rare finds, he serves up the sounds with his signature style and seamless flow. Performing throughout New York, with appearances from LA to London, Dhundee also curates the legendary party "Brooklyn Bounce" alongside DJ partner Stimulus of The Real Live Show. He has spun at private parties for Comedy Central, Istar Financial, Spike TV 2006 US Tour, Straight No Chaser Magazine, Good Magazine, HOME Magazine, Wired Magazine, David Torres Productions, and Danny Simmons Gallery. Winner of four gold International Promax/BDA Awards for its music compositions for Comedy Central and MTV, Sugarcuts, Dhundee's boutique music production company, also supplies such top TV networks as Showtime, Nickelodeon, VH1, FUSE, Spike TV, and many more.
Special guest DJs from London: The Broken Hearts
Combining eclectic DJ sets with a flair for costumes and spectacle, the girls provide a sensational visual and aural experience. Influenced as much by Weimar Berlin as circus sideshows, they are an extravaganza of Technicolor that has landed them in the pages of British Vogue, The Observer and Time Out. In June, they begin 'Broken Hearts Mystery Hour,' their own national UK radio show, which promises to take listeners on a journey to a land of swing-time hits and eccentric curiosities that is the Broken Hearts world.
"A Hollywood musical on hallucinogenics" - The Independent. "This act is full of the style and panache that will leave onlookers gawping enviously from the sidelines" - Artrocker.
Guest DJ: Miss Bliss
Miss Bliss has performed for crowds of 1000+ on four continents over the last eight years, touring Europe, Asia and South America three times each. She has performed in 19 countries, 22 US States, and at over 150 venues worldwide. In 2006, Miss Bliss decided to hang up the headphones and dedicate herself to environmental conservation and international development. Since then, she has spent over 20 months living in developing countries including Tanzania, Nepal and Costa Rica, including 10 months in Zanzibar as a Fulbright scholar studying community-based marine conservation. Now back in New York, Miss Bliss is returning to DJing again -- only this time look out for her in the speakeasys and cabarets because she's DJing jazz and swing!
Guest DJ: Punching' Paolo
Paolo focuses on those recordings that have big sound and a real swingin' groove; the Hammond B3 is one instrument you'll definitely hear during his sets. Paolo started building his collection of jazz and swing 25 years ago. He's a solid music provider for the New York Lindy crowd, showcasing both solid standards and a unique collection that spans 70 years in his usual sets at Swing 46. Paolo has been in DJ rotation at the New York Swing Dance Society (Irving Plaza) since the late 1990's and had been featured at: Bill Cameron's New Year's Extravaganza 2006, Swingin' New England 2006, Rock That Swing Munich Germany, ULX Utah Lindy Exchange 2006, Summer Jamboree Dance Camp Italy, Frim Fram Club 412 NYC, Connolly's NYC, MidSummer Night Swing at Lincoln Center and countless other events
VJs: Glass Bead Collective
GBC brings together individuals from diverse academic and professional backgrounds including video art, film, theater, architecture, photography, music, mathematics, fine arts and philosophy to create works which re-contextualize culture and the world in which we find ourselves today. GBC was founded in 2002 with a multimedia theatrical performance of Jean Paul Sartre's No Exit. They have since produced various live art events and films experimenting with a multi-disciplinary approach to contemporary issues (mixing visual and literary narratives in real time) as well as created live visuals for groups such as Billionaires for Bush, The War Resisters, Brooklyn Media Lab, GRACE (Global Resource Action Center for the Environment) at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival among others.