NORTHUMBRIAN MUSIC
NIGHTS
What we said
about The Jiving
Lindy-Hoppers
Jiving Lindy-Hoppers claim hearts in the 'Dale
It's an old, if miserly, show-biz rule that's meant to be broken -- never work with children or animals -- inevitably they'll upstage you! But the Jiving Lindy-Hoppers showed a thrilled Village Hall in Allendale last Friday night that they had a collective heart of gold, as they shared their own specially created dance studio with effervescent children from Allendale Children's Theatre, and magnanimously let tiny wee Barbie steal the show. By giving a bit of yourself away, after all, you always receive so much more in return.
People were jostling for space in the front row in the turned-about hall, the better to see the footwork, as the room's lights dimmed and the side-spots focused on a bare floor.
Russell Seargeant, the tall dark handsome one, introduced the first act, a classic exhibition of Charleston dance, soloed by Theresa Jackson, and then joined by all the Charlestoning troup, Gita Joseph, Warren Hayes, and the indomitable Carolene Hinds. Even though it came from way back in the '20s, the exuberant dance and snappy music meant that everybody's feet just wouldn't stay still.
Then came The Trunky-doos, a funny ensemble dance reminiscent, at the ending, of those party-finishers when everybody joins hands and sambas around the room, only this time it was trunk to tail! And Norma Miller's Swing, from Hellzapoppin' fame, followed by an exquisitely neat solo from Warren on Soft Shoe Shuffle.
But the audience really started to roar when the troupe did One Man Dance, showcasing Theresa in front, with Warren and Russell behind, moving as a single individual. Apparently the Lindy-Hoppers traced the history of this dance from archive films, back to Harlem and a sole surviving member of The Blazers, an original Cotton Club act, to get the steps just right. How well this understanding continued to trace itself along was a bit debatable when a handful of the audience were pulled upstage for an impromptu reprise of the professionals' tap routine.
Still, this felt like living history, especially when the group, who took turns introducing their numbers, explained how Momma Lou Parks herself had showed them how to Jive, or do the Lindy as it was known in America. And what a jive dance sensation it was!
It's a great credit to Allendale's Middle School which hosted two workshops prior to this North Pennines Highlights-sponsored show, as this dance evening was a brilliant opportunity for understanding rhythm and dance in physical education terms, as well as the role of history and investigative skills in everyday life, besides providing a scintillating snatch of wonderful cross-cultural appreciation. Whoever said education has to be pedantically informative and rigidly prescriptive needs their experiential and educative head examined! When entertainment this good comes live, to our doorstep, it just makes good sense, after all, to enjoy the learning experience together.
As the Allendale Children Theatre's Little Jazzers came bouncing and sashaying out onto the floor, to start the second half, you could see where the physical work of the past several weeks, in regular dance workshops with Lindy-Hoppers Carolene and Russell, had been invested. What's more, you couldn't help but appreciate the good fun of the dance.
Then the professionals took over again and moved on from a specialty version of the Cotton Club's Chorus Line , into the bobby-soxing '50s and Rock 'N Roll, and on to The Twist! And soon everybody was doing the Hand-Jive, a participative seated dance from the period when the big bands moved from ball-rooms into concert halls. And suddenly it was on to the '60s with Shake a Tail Featha .
Back up to the stage came a host of volunteers to help Carolene out, and especially tiny wee Barbie, whose infectious joy learning a quick Tail Feather routine had everybody in stitches. Carolene said it for everyone, 'Oh, in't she sweet!'.
The Chair Dance, and a George Sullivan inspired Stews and Steps number had everybody cheering along, hand-jiving, snapping, tapping, and calling for more. It was a very sweet evening, indeed, from a very sweet and ever-so-hard-working (I counted at least seven costume changes throughout the night!) bunch of entertainers.
