Join us this Friday, for April 2nd's HUGE Swing Time live-music & dance special event at the Gulfport Casino!  In the meantime, check out the NEW PICTURES from the Wednesday Gulfport Casino Swing Nights!  The Wednesday Swing Nights have been getting bigger & bigger, thanks to your support; a matter of fact, this month we set two new attendance records, back-to back!

This being the 6th Anniversary Issue of the Swing News, you might expect a lot of fanfare in this publication... but who has time for all that when there's dancing to be done!  If you're interested, check out some of the history of the local swing scene by reading past issues online at www.swingnews.com.  They go all the way back to April 1998!  By the way, thanks to everyone who participated in the Swing News Annual Membership Drive.  Sample issues will be going out in April.

Free Passes to Expire!  Speaking of the Gulfport Casino, are you one of the lucky people who, at a past event, won a Free Pass to the Gulfport Casino Swing Night?  In 2004, we instituted a new format for the Free Passes.  Old-style Free Passes, composed of two detachable tickets, are due to expire at the end of May 2004.  So if you're holding on to a Free Pass that you haven't used yet, whether you won it last year or 5 years ago, bring it in and use it any Wednesday before the end of May, because after May, those Free Passes will no longer be accepted.

See you at this month's events!

Sam

Friday, April 2nd, Central Florida's hottest new band plays Swing Time at the Gulfport Casino!  The Blue Dukes bring together veteran talent from Florida's favorite jump-swinging bands of the last 10 years, and when these guys get together, watch out!  The band features Rocket 88's former bandleader & singer, Chuck Zayas, slappin' & ridin' the upright bass.  Add dueling guitars, wailing sax, driving percussion, and special-guest musicians, and you get a band that always gets the party a'rockin'!  The band packed the house at their 2003 Swing Time debut, so expect an exciting & energetic encore event!

Saturday April 17th, Swing City & Swing Time present Swing City Live! -- a hot new event held the 3rd Saturday of each month in the new ballroom of Swing City in Tampa.  The evening features a unique mix of music for East-Coast Swing, West-Coast Swing, and Lindy Hop, with live music by the band, Wendy & the Soulshakers!  It also features an Intermediate-Level Swing Workshop and a Free Intro Swing Lesson.

7:00-8:30pm:   Intermediate Swing Workshop w/ Sam & Rachel
8:00-8:30pm:   Intro Swing Lesson (no partner needed)
8:30-Midnight: Live Music & Dancing w/ Wendy & the Soulshakers

The Workshop:  BACK-TO-BACK MOVES!  7:00-8:30pm w/ Sam & Rachel.  This month's workshop will cover fancy back-to-back moves, including Pretzels, Windmills, and Sophisticated Twists, Turns & Struts, with several variations & styles of each move!  Never before has a workshop like this been taught in the area; you will take home some fancy new moves!  This is an Intermediate-Level Swing Workshop in a NEW 90-MINUTE FORMAT.  No partner is needed; we'll rotate partners throughout the Workshop.  Prerequisites:  Participants must already know the swing basics, including single-step and triple-step, basic leading & following, and a few simple turns.  If you don't yet know the basics, take the Intro Swing Lesson instead this month, which will cover all of the above prerequisites, and get you ready for the dance and for next month's workshop!

The Band:  Wendy & the Soulshakers are a rockin', bluesy, power quartet fronted by singer Wendy Rich.  The band brings a unique sound to renditions of popular cover tunes as well as Wendy's original compositions.  Since 1991, they've wowed audiences at every stop, accomplishing many things along the way.  In addition to hosting the area's longest running blues jam, Wendy & the Soulshakers have opened for national acts, toured the U.S. and Germany, received national and statewide awards for Best Blues Band, and Wendy has been honored as Best Female Vocalist and Best Songwriter.

Admission is $8 for the Live-Music Dance, $8 for the Workshop only, or $12 for everything (both the Workshop & Dance).  The Intro Swing Lesson is Free with paid admission ($8) to the Live-Music Dance.

Swing Sundays are put on by the Suncoast Swing Gang.  The Zendah Grotto features a large floating-wood dance floor, free parking, and you may BYOB or buy soft drinks & snacks at the door.  Map & More Info

Saturday, April 10th, Swing City hosts a dance with Lindy Hop in one room and West-Coast Swing in the other room.  Dancing starts at 8:30pm and costs $7.  The dance is preceded by an intermediate-level West-Coast Swing lesson at 7:30pm for an extra $3, featuring national guest instructors.  More Info

The Swing Session is a class, practice session, and dance rolled into one.  It happens every Monday, 8:00-10:30pm, at the Bay Vista Center, 7000 4th St S in St Pete (727-893-7124).  Learn a variety of swing dances from other dancers, meet other dancers, share/exchange ideas, try new moves, and get comfortable with your dancing in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere.  Two classes are offered at the start of each Swing Session: "fundamentals of swing" and "progressive swing", covering a variety of topics for novices to experts.  Admission is $3.  April's classes will feature Lindy Hop Variations.

Apr 9 (Fri):  Loston Harris @ Largo Cultural Center, 8pm, $13.50.  Phone 727-587-6793.

Apr 15 (Thu):  Swingerhead @ Timpano's Italian Chophouse in Orlando.  More Info

Apr 18 (Sun):  Bill Allred's Classic Jazz Band @ Banquet Masters in Pinellas Park, 2-5pm (a Suncoast Dixieland Jazz Society event).  More Info

May 22-29:  The Frankie Cruise departs Ft Lauderdale aboard the Caribbean Princess, celebrating the grandaddy of swing's (Frankie Manning's) 90th Birthday.  The ship is almost sold out.  More Cruise Info

Jul 2-11:  Beantown Lindy Hop Summer Camps in RI.  More Info

Swing Around the State:  Daytona Beach   Ft Myers (239-415-1951)   Gainesville   Jacksonville   Orlando   Pensacola   South Florida   Tallahassee   Tampa Bay   Vero Beach  

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Events do sometimes change, so please call and confirm events before going!

© This issue of Swing News is Copyright 2004 Swing News, with all rights reserved; however, permission is granted to distribute this issue in its entirety, or to excerpt small sections provided that proper credit is given, where proper credit shall at the least consist of the plain-text or hyperlink reference, "[www.SwingNews.com]", prominently displayed next to the excerpted material. Write us at: Swing News, 4532 W Kennedy Blvd #304, Tampa FL 33609.