Charleston Basic - Lindy From the Ground Up 

Thanks for watching it! It's so important.

Just barely made it!

This is beautiful! Congratulations!

I appreciate it. Thank you so much

Man, why's everything gotta be so racist... :-/ Ok, after seben. Thanks for your insight! I appreciate you sharing

@@LauraGlaess I wish I knew, but as we both know- those "happy-go-lucky" days were filled up with so much racism, even Stormy Weather from 1943, which was the first major all black cast has its slut to it. The main role is by Lena Horne and she was very light skinned compared to other African-Amaricans featured in the movie. Do you think that was a coincidence?? When The Nicholas Brothers were featured in The Glenn Miller movie Orchestra Wives, they were recorded separately, so they could cut out the part for The Sourthen States. They never met Glenn either. I spoke Fayard about it 2 years before he past.

I'm not sure what film your referring to. If you think of it, let me know! Maybe I haven't seen it, and I love watching new things

A triple step is 2 counts long - if you're standing on your L, and triple step on your R, you end on your R foot. A kick step is 2 counts long - if you're standing on your L, and kick step on your R, you end on your R foot. Does that make sense? It sounds like you might be asking about doing a six count basic while your partner does 8 count charleston, which would get you 2 counts off, but that's a separate issue from doing a triple vs doing a kick step.

@@LauraGlaess Ahh that makes perfect sense, that's cleared things up for me. Thanks again Laura 😁 love your stuff!

Regular ol' leather oxfords are the ones! It CAN be hard to find, but look for leather on the front AND on the heel - that's my preference. Otherwise I keep on accidentally catching the rubber heel and it throws off my spins.

Hi! Yeah, it definitely can look mysterious. As far as changing between side by side charleston and the six count basic - this sounds unlikely - but the lead just does it. Just does it confidently. And that's it! Just really do the dance, and it feels so different that the follow feels it. This will take some practice. If the follow isn't used to feeling the difference, and if the lead isn't used to confidently transitioning, it'll require repetition, but that's everything. Just keep doing it and I firmly believe that it will happen.

@@LauraGlaess I used to salsa and bachata. We would use our hands and shoulders to lead the woman. I guess this is a bit different.

At 13:56 Brooks asks Laura to come back into closed but doesn’t take her free hand. He also positions her slightly to his side rather than the basic V shape. Laura doesn’t know what’s coming so she rock steps (as does Brooks) and then he uses that momentum and his kicking left foot to signal what they’re doing. When a follow is just starting out they might miss that signal on the first try but they will pick it up on the next go round. Laura just makes it look effortless!

Blackface is reeeeally complicated. My understanding is that it originated with minstrelsy, which was kind of all about stereotyping Black people and commodifying their culture to entertain white people. So pretty racist origins. However, historically, Black people have appeared in blackface, and Black allies, such as Al Jolson, have appeared in blackface. I would argue that, though accepted at the time, blackface was still racist (though possibly not perpetrated by racists) because of its position in history and its role in perpetuating and codifying the white idea of what Black people "should" be. And, of course, since the After Seben clip (I'm assuming that's the clip you're referring to), blackface has pretty much universally been denounced as a racist act, so even if it WASN'T racist in the clip, it might still be offensive to people watching it. Additionally, I would argue that my comment still stands. If you learn about Lindy Hop history, you're going to run into some racism.

​@@LauraGlaess Oh, Laura, you started off so well there... Yes, after 30 years of studying the matter, the history, meaning and function of blackface is a long and complex one. But you immediately reduced it to simplistic terms. No, it did NOT have it's origins in Minstrelsy and no, it was NOT A racially bigoted convention. Too complex to go into here but just recall the Frederick Douglass, the great black orator witnessed many of these shows and said that "one song of Stephen Foster's could do more for the abolitionist movement than all my speeches." Why? Because Minstrelsy was a Northern phenomenon in the mid 19th century and the reality of the South was largely unknown to the common working-class man. The Southern black was considered something of an "exotic" and it was his music that made minstrelsy so popular. However, plays and skits that portrayed the suffering of the slave were common, and such songs as "My Old Kentucky Home," brought a tear to the eye and move Douglass to say what he did. The "mocking" of blacks is complete history. No doubt no one would do it now because we have all been brought up with that mindset,. But we have NO RIGHT to judge audiJences of 200 years ago. As you correctly point out Jolson, a hero among the black community, donned blackface as a convention of performance, not as a means to deride or mock a race. The idea would have been hateful to him. Yet it is taught in schools to this day tI that Jolson was a Jew who made millions "making fun of black people." This is what has been taught since the sixties. I don't know about Lindy hop history, but I would be suspect the same is true there. Oh, there's so much more I can say....ly bigoted convention. Too complex to go into here but just recall the Frederick Douglass, the g

@@zumazuma568 Yours is the typical and unfortunately widespread opinion. It is a simple thing to say "that's offensive," but it takes an educated mind to ask "why"? And in this case "why was it used and by whom and for what purpose?" Believe me, after 30 years of researching the topic the answer is not an easy one. However, what I will say is that untill the late 1950's when black activists began to "revise' history to sui their needs NO black person entertainer, or critic decried he use of blackface. It is itoo complex an issus to go into here and I doubt it would mean anything to you. By the way, I am offended by the use of blackface, too. if it is used TODAY. But I am not so offended by practicioners like Eddie Cantor or Al Jolson who used it for VERY different purposes. And Jolson was the MOST beloved and admired entertainer among black actors and entertainers of his time. Look it up.

Sorry this wasn't a good speed for you. It builds a lot on previous videos, so if you're unfamiliar with them, you can go back to watch them. You can also slow down the youtube player if needed. If it doesn't help, I'm sure there are tons of helpful Charleston breakdowns out there. Just keep dancing :)

Brooks Prumo Orchestra, of course!