International Lindy Hop Championships

January 1, 2012
The International Lindy Hop Championships
 
The International Lindy Hop Championships (ILHC) swing dance workshop weekend will take place in Washington D.C. August 23rd- 26th, 2012.   It's the event's mission to recognize the international presence and appeal of Lindy Hop , while preserving its spirit and giving the dance the respect and honor it deserves.
 
During that weekend, hundreds of "Jitterbugs" from around the world will come to dance with one another, throw each other around in the air, learn more about Lindy Hop, and compete in many different competitions for prize money and bragging rights.
 
The event was created by Tena Morales, Nina Gilkenson, and Sylvia Sykes, who all hold top level Lindy Hop titles and possess decades of event and teaching experience between them.  This is the event's fourth year.

About the Competitions
There are several large competition weekends focusing on Lindy Hop in America, but ILHC is the first to focus on the international presence that has grown in the dance over the last few decades.  It is the first Lindy Hop competition weekend in Washington DC.
 
Most performance competitors are in their twenties and early thirties, as throwing each other through the air can be taxing on the body. However, dancers of all ages will compete, and there is a juniors division for those under 18. 
 
There are competitions in Lindy Hop, Balboa, and Solo Charleston, and the competition formats will be Strictly, Showcase, Classic, Jack and Jill, and Team. Almost all competition music will be jazz from the swing-era.
 
Strictly competitions are where partners social dance to a song, not knowing which song they will get. Showcase is where dancers perform routines to songs they have picked out, and the ILHC Classic competition is where couples do routines that have no aerials or air steps (acrobatics) in them. In a Jack and Jill competition, leads are pared randomly with follows and dance to a song.   
 
Several of the competitions will have jam style finals, where dancers only have a small chunk of high-energy music to dance to before another couple enters the floor and gets the spotlight.
 
About Lindy Hop, Balboa, and Charleston
 
Lindy Hop is a swing dance that evolved from Charleston in the late 1920s and grew in popularity throughout the 30s and early 40s.  It is famously named after Lindberg's "Hop" across the Atlantic Ocean.  The most famous of the original swing dances, is most known for its flashy fast turns, kicks, and acrobatic air-steps.  Though, there is also a sophisticated, less flashy side to the dance that is often overshadowed by the entertainment value of performance Lindy Hop.  The competitions at ILHC will showcase both performance and social Lindy Hop. 
 
Balboa is the short name for a collection of dances (Balboa, So-cal Swing, Bal-Swing) that were done only in the Southern California during the original swing era, and were "rediscovered" in the last few decades.  The dance, which developed on the over-crowded dance floors of 1930s California, is smaller, "smoother," and often danced to faster music than Lindy Hop.  It has grown popular internationally, and Balboa festivals now take place in London, France, Sweden, and Australia.   
 
Charleston, the father of both Lindy Hop and Balboa, was possibly the largest dance craze the nation has ever seen. In the 1920s, the dance of kicks and various other jazz steps was done with or without partners.  Though the partnered Charleston dance of the 1920s hasn't become popular enough in modern times to warrant its own competition, the art of solo Charleston and solo vernacular jazz dancing has become popular among modern swing kids.        
 
About the social dances
 
Every night of ILHC involves a swing dance with world class swing DJs, and some of the best Swing bands around. On Thursday night The Careless Lovers will play, on Friday & Saturday this year will be Glenn Crytzer and His Syncopators and back for their 5th year the Boilermaker Jazz Band will play on Sunday night.  Some competitions will take place during the main dances.
 
About the workshops
 
Lindy Hop workshops such as ILHC often have classes taught by top-level dancers.  These classes usually cover new moves or techniques, and are divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.  ILHC, which is highly focused on competitions, will have classes for the higher level dancers during the entire weekend with a Beginner class Thursday night to start the weekend.

The main draw for those who are new to Lindy Hop and other swing-era dances will be the competitions, performances, social dancing and the live music.     
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contact:
Abigail Browning
ilhcinfo@ilhc.com