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Name
Daniel Newsome, Lindy Instructor
Contact Phone:
no phone inputted yet
Contact Email:
danieljnewsome@gmail.com
Location:
Seattle, WA, United States
Hometown:
Denver, CO, United States |
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My Story:
My name is Daniel Newsome, I'm a dancer from Seattle Washington (formerly Denver Colorado). I started dancing in 1996. My girlfriend had just broken up with me, and my friends took me (slighly against my will) to a Big Bad Voodoo Daddy concert, I got to see and experience swing music and swing dancing for the first time in my life. I remember thinking that dancing wasn't a particularly cool thing, but near the end of the night I saw a few dancers from Colorado's Jumpin Jivecats really tear it up... Particularly Dave Madison and Corrie Rajala toward the end of the evening, they did an aerial called an Acid Drop.. (I didn't know the name at the time), but I did think it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. By the end of the night the band had really lit up the crowd and everyone was dancing... except me.. I nervously tapped my fingers to the music but I had NO idea how to dance to any kind of music.
Feeling pretty defeated, a couple of friends took pity on me and dragged me to some dance classes. We took a class at a local ballroom studio, but alas, this was not the hardcore, street dance with energy and aerials that I had witnessed at the concert. In fact I was so bad at moving my hips in the ballroom swing way, and counting music that my teacher told me that I should find a new hobby. Well, it didn't sit well with me that there was something I couldn't do. I resolved to get good, or die trying.
In reality, this was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. What was an offhanded insult by my first teacher ("find a new hobby") turned into a personal quest. It was hard for me. I couldn't count music, I wasn't coordinated, I didn't know how to memorize these patterns, I didn't have the tools I needed to learn movement. I had always been pretty successful at other things, but why not this? It turned into a life-long journey of personal discovery and growth that has given me some beautiful gifts. I got my girlfriend back after I taught her all the dancing I had learned. I've met people all over the world, travelled everywhere, heard inspiring stories from the inventors and innovators in swing dance. I've collected jazz music for 10 years, and feel connected to a world-wide community of jazz dancers, musicians, and people from all over. I saw the movie Swing Kids, and that sealed the deal. This was it, this was the art form, the lifestyle, and the feeling I connected with in life.
Over the course of my dancing career, I have visited Seattle many times. One of the first times was in 2000, when I went to Swing Out Northwest. This was where I first really learned Lindy Hop, from many of the greats like Paul and Sharron, The Harlem Hot Shots, Frankie Manning, Rob and Dianne, Sylvia Sykes, Steven and Virginie and more. I was living in Denver at the time, and I came back and my partner at the time, Tiffiny Wine and I taught our local community what we had learned, and I began collecting the music I had heard there, playing it at out local dances. Now I have thousands and thousands of jazz and swing albums that I catalog and play for dances here in Seattle, and for camps and events around the country. Part of my mission is to discover, catalog, and educate myself about the Jazz era, the music and the culture of this bygone era. I now have one of the best collections of jazz music in the world, and I've put thousands of hours into cataloging, learning, and playing this music for people.
On another visit here, I attended Century Masters. One unique aspects of this event is the chance to sit down and hear stories from the original innovators and dancers of swing in the 1930s. They spoke to us about how we, the modern generation of swing dancers are responsible to keep the dance alive, because no one else will. They told us how the steps were invented, what they fell in love with about the dance and the music. They told us of their travels, of their trials with racism, World War II, and how swing came to die out, and how it came to be rediscovered again. This came to be my inspiration to learn about the history and read books, interview people, and retell the stories of Swing's creation, revival, and the stories about our history and how Jazz became both a reflection and a guiding force in who we are today.
The in 2008, I came to visit Seattle again, and realized that it was home to so many people who inspired me, and shared my values about dancing. I needed a change, and this place became a place I could both contribute to, and grow from. I now use this as my home base, and travel as much as possible, sometimes 3 weeks out of each month to dance with people, collect music and to learn and grow as a dancer.
Instructor Bio:
Daniel Newsome has been a professional dancer, dj and historian for the last 10 years. In addition to teaching tens of thousands of students at Denver's Mercury Cafe Daniel has also travelled to learn, teach, compete and has won at major national competitions such as the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown, Midwest Lindy Fest, Reno Dance Sensation, National Jitterbug Championships and the Rhythmic Arts Festival. He also co-founded, choreographed and coached 23 Skidoo, Denver's nationally recognized swing team, which placed 1st at every competition they went to in 2006 and 2007. Daniel's lifelong pursuit is touching as many lives as possible with the beauty and artisty of Lindy Hop, Shag, Balboa, Solo Jazz Dance and Tap. His goal is to bring music and dance to people in a way that inspires them and develops talent in anyone, regardless of background, age or ability.
Website:
http://danceonline.tv
Additional Questions
When/where did you first start doing Lindy Hop?
1996
Why did you first start doing Lindy Hop?
I wanted to throw people
What is the size of your local Lindy community?
large
How often do you go out dancing or take lessons?
4 nights a week
What is your favorite thing about Lindy Hop (both as an activity and as a community)?
artistry and community
What do you do for a living?
dance, program computers
Male/Female:
Male
Year you were born?
1977
What bit of non-swing info about you would the Lindy community find interesting?
I am not intimidating
How has Lindy Hop changed your life?
Its given me love and purpose
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