My Weekend at Greenwood Swingout

Although I had never been to the event before, I was extremely excited to attend Greenwood Swingout in Tulsa, Oklahoma last weekend.  I wasn't disappointed! 

I met Jamin Jackson and took one of his classes at the Heartland Swing Festival in March.  I got a very positive first impression from him — first impressions mean a lot to me — and I knew that this was going to be an event that I wanted to be a part of from the very beginning.  Jackson is very upbeat, positive, encouraging and motivating, which becomes infectious.  I took notice and enjoyed that he took the time to dance with just about every follow, no matter the skill level.  Because of the experience I had at Heartland, I immediately began to follow Jamin's blog.  I enjoy many reading about his concepts and ideas for growing swing dance communities.

Landon J. Smothers/Landon J. Photography

Not only did the organizers of this event graciously invite me to attend their event, but I had several messages back and forth with Jamin's wife, Gina, beforehand.  I was very anxious to meet her and the many other dancers in the Tulsa Lindy Hop community, given the enthusiasm I saw from Jamin and Gina.  I quickly learned that they are doing some wonderful things for their swing scene!

Dan Pfeifer and I arrived in Tulsa on Friday evening around 5:30 p.m. after a 12-hour car trip that started after work on Thursday.  Leaving early turned out to be well worth it.  We were able to make the evening dance with the Steve Ham Jambalaya Jazz Band, meet up with Jamin and Gina, and also meet a lot of new and friendly people.  We also saw two other familiar faces that we were pleasantly surprised to see when they walked in the door: Michael Brafford, the Executive Director of the Heartland Swing Festival and his amazing dance partner, Dee Daniels Locke.

Saturday afternoon was Chalkfest in downtown Tulsa, where we were literally dancing in the streets!  I'm sure many of you have already seen the YouTube video that Dan put together that highlights a lot of the dancing from that windy and warm afternoon.  I was very pleased to have a dance with both Jamin Jackson and Michael Brafford, as well.

We closed our weekend at Greenwood Swingout with the Saturday evening dance and The Rebecca Ungerman Combo.  They had a swing dance competition that night which was run differently from any other competition I had ever seen.  Every lead and follow had a number, and during one of the sets the band played, you danced with anyone.  After the dance, you rated your lead or follow as good, great, or excellent based on how they made you feel during that dance.  The result was a competition based more on a showmanship, attitude and even courtesy than than skills.  It turned out that Brafford won the award for best lead, while Grace Cowan from Dallas, Texas won for best follow.  The prize consisted of tickets to Southern Fried Swing in Fort Worth, Arkansas.  Congrats to the both of them!

Overall, I had an excellent time.  I met some great people, I danced a whole lot, and am always happy to represent the Heartland Swing Festival and swing dancing in the Midwest at any event as Miss Heartland Swing.  Jamin and Gina said they enjoyed having me at their event, which makes me happy because I'm so glad they invited me!

Now, it's just about looking forward to those I'll be attending in the future.  The fun continues!