The annual summer dance at the Chandelier Ballroom in Hartford is on July 20. The event features ballroom dancing from 5:30 to 8:30 and swing dancing from 8:30 to 11:30. Music DJing is provided by instructors that teach these dance styles. Cost of entry is $15 with dance instructors having free entry.
The Chandelier Ballroom is one of Wisconsin’s larger open ballrooms with a pristine wood floor. The ballroom has a rich history of dances and social events. Read more of the history by clicking here. Access to the space and parking is easy. Make it a day trip and enjoy the local scenic views.
Wayward swing and blues dancers: join Good Land Balboa for a (always) free intermediate Balboa lesson followed by 2 hours of swing and blues dancing this Memorial Sunday from 7:00 to 10:00 PM.
Good Land Balboa has the guest instructor Aidan Patrick from the Twin Cities dance scene giving the lesson at 7:00.
The event is hosted at 4125 North Larkin Street in Shorewood. DJ Hot Jazz Cass is spinning.
As the regional swing dance revival continues to expand, more bands are playing to dancers’ preferences for tempo and song length, while using vintage instrumentation that fits the period when Swing was King.
In the “About Us” section where the band describes its musical styles and genres, you might see the term “Hokum.” In fact, the term has become more visible lately as bands like the Troubadours of Rhythm or Professor Pinkerton’s Irrelevant Orchestra are using it to help define their brand.
The word itself, like so many other Americanisms, defies categorization, but it can mean pretentious nonsense, bawdy burlesque performance, artful showmanship, or in the case of music, an early form of the Blues that favored adult subject matter complete with transparent euphemisms, sexual innuendo and double-entendres.
Unlike its gloomier, raunchy cousin the “Dirty Blues,” Hokum Blues took on a more upbeat, humorous and light-hearted tone. The 1920’s duo of Tampa Red and Georgia Tom combined slide guitar and piano to create the classic sound, enhanced later by clarinet, trumpet, banjo and bass around the same time that Dixieland jazz emerged as a genre.
Its metric pulse borrows from ragtime, an earlier genre that combined European chord structures with African and American dance rhythms and elements of March. Since those styles were already linked to movement and footwork, Hokum tempos are danceable in the range of 90-120 beats per minute, sometimes faster.
And because of its early connections to vaudeville and medicine shows, Hokum is fun to watch, too! You can check it out as Professor Pinkerton’s Irrelevant Orchestra performs on the historic Grand Ballroom stage at Chivaree on Park in Ixonia on February 10th. For details, go to https://fb.me/e/5031dOk2Y
Blog wording and pictures credit to Jeffrey Pierce.
Professor Pinkerton’s Irrelevant Orchestra
Pristine Wood Floor at the Chivaree on Park Ballroom
Brew Town Blues, the Milwaukee-based blues dancing group is hosting their third workshop on January 20, 2024. Titled “Blizzard Blues Workshop” will be featuring the amazing Emily Troe Djrouko (She/Her) hailing all the way from the twin cities. Emily is the Head Teacher at Collectively Blue (Minneapolis’ Blues Dance Community), and a regular national finalist in Solo Cutting, Lead and Follow.
This is an amazing opportunity to 3 hours of top level instruction without needing to travel from Milwaukee! After the classes, come back and join us for a social dance that evening.
Early Bird pre-registration can be done by sending the amount via Venmo (@Milwaukee-Stomp) or in person if you see Trevor Williams or Cassidy Kuchenbecker at a local event. Email for more questions at milwaukeestomp@gmail.com
$30 = Workshop – Early Bird Price (Social is included for Free) $40 = Workshop – At the Door (Social is included for Free) $7 = Social – At the Door
1:30-3:00 Class Session 1: Grooving and Musicality in Solo 3:30-5:00 Class Session 2: Grooving and Musicality in Partnership
8:00-8:30 Blues basic lesson 8:30-11:30 Blues Social Dance – DJ’s TBA
Both the workshop and social is being held at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center at 2133 West Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee. A bar is not present for this event, so plan accordingly if you imbibe alcohol or sodas.
If you are traveling from out of town and need a place to stay for the night there is housing available. Please send an email to MilwaukeeStomp@gmail.com or DM Cassidy/Trevor for coordination.
2023 was certainly the year that swing and blues dancing came roaring back to life. With new venues and more live band opportunities, workshops, and lessons than ever before, swing and blues dancing in and around Milwaukee is better now than before 2020.
This past year saw a resurgence of organizing for the blues dance scene and niche swing styles such as Balboa.
2024 also marks the second year of operation for Milwaukee Stomp. Pages on this blog have been viewed a whopping 10,500 times this past year with around 50 people also having the dance calendar available directly on their phone calendar. To sync the calendar to your phone app, subscribe to this blog with a Gmail account and you will get an email invitation. Otherwise, save a link to the calendar on your phone’s home screen.
See the Milwaukee Stomp dance calendar for many swing and blues events on danceable floors. The repeating Milwaukee area dance events to attend this year include those listed below. Our friends in Chicago and Madison also have recurring dance events catering to swing and blues that are also listed on the calendar.
Tuesdays: Traditional Tuesday at Falcon Bowl in Riverwest with weekly live swing bands with beginner Balbo lessons before the bands.
Tuesdays: Swing Explosion Big Band plays weekly at Alioto’s Restaurant in Wauwatosa.
Wednesdays: Every 2nd and 4th Wednesdays the Swing House Big Band plays at TinCan Roadhouse in Union Grove. 50% to 75% are swing tunes with latin and ballroom being the remainder. Basic 6-count Swing (‘East Coast Swing’) before the band plays.
Thursdays: Basic and advanced swing dance lessons by Cream City Swing at Falcon Bowl. Stay after for about an hour of DJ’d swing and practice what you learned.
Every 4th Thursday: Brew City Big Band plays at Bavarian Bierhaus in Glendale.
Every 1st Friday: Andy’s Events hosts a live band at Elk’s Lodge in Waukesha. Music typically skews towards early rock, rockabilly, and blues bands that swing their set.
Many Sundays: Blues bands play at Kochanski’s Concertina Hall.
Scene organizers Pate Nassalang and Marie Bernstein at Falcon Bowl for Traditional Tuesday swing dances.
The blues dancing group MKE Bluesin’ is hosting their second dance workshop on November 18, 2023.
The illustrious Siphon Lokay and Ross Blythe will be teaching a Blues Dancing mini-workshop at Puddler’s Hall, with a DJ’d social dance in the evening. Ross and Siphon are international-level instructors, have won a couple competitions, and have ran international/national events like BluesShout and CUBE. This is an amazing opportunity to get 3 hours of instruction while they are still in the midwest.
$30 workshop and social if paid before November 18 $40 at door $7 for social only
1:30 – 3:00 Body Movements (how to look cool and not hurt yourself) 3:30 – 5:00 Ballroomin’ (a popular style of blues dancing that involves travel around the floor)
Social Dance 8:00 – 8:30 Basic Blues Lesson (Trevor Williams and Tory Leigh) 8:30 – 11:30 Blues Dance Social with DJs Henry and Ross
Register and pay ahead by venmo to @milwaukee-stomp or by emailing milwaukeestomp@gmail.com.
One of the finest dance floors between Milwaukee and Madison is a few minutes west of Oconomowoc in Ixonia, Wisconsin. Built in 1949 by volunteer firefighters using donated money, the original “Firemen’s Hall” was a gathering place for dances, concerts, plays, ceremonies and public meetings for decades. A full bar and lounge was added in the 80’s making better suited to entertainment, but over time, the operations and upkeep became too much for the volunteers to handle. Facing plans for demolition, the hall was acquired by the Town in 2017. Ixonia leased it to a local florist who developed it into a beautifully renovated facility for weddings and events.
Now known as “Chivaree on Park,” its grand ballroom is adorned with floor-to-ceiling drapes, a chandelier, and raised stage; and the original maple floor has been refinished to satiny smooth perfection. Dancers from Madison and Milwaukee discovered the Chivaree Ballroom on June 10th, 2023 when Milwaukee Hot Club and Robin Pluer performed for about 115 people. The next dance is on Saturday night, October 21st, when The Westerlees bring their six-piece Western Swing band to play from 7-10pm. There’s free parking, plenty of chilled water, and a cash bar with good drink prices. “Pick your price” advance tickets are $10-20 each; $25 at the door. Chivaree on Park is located at N8345 Park St, Ixonia, WI. For tickets, go to www.take16.com/tickets
Swing and brass bands now play at the Falcon Bowl every Tuesday evening. With over 2,000 square feet of original wood dance floor, this newly renovated ballroom is a quite a dancer’s paradise. “Traditional Tuesdays” was started and managed by Gregory Cramer, band leader of Sliphorn Jazz Band and the ever popular Extra Crispy Brass Band. The four-band lineup repeats each month with a swing DJ on 5th Tuesdays (which occurs every third month).
During the 7:00 to 8:00 DJ dancing, volunteers will give mini-private Balboa and Shag Swing lessons.
The cost of entry is free. Keep this going by tipping the band, the bar, and tipping for water.
Come early or stay later and bowl in the historic bowling alley that is below the ballroom.
7:00 – 8:00 – DJ Hot Jazz Cass
8:00 – 10:00 – Rotating Swing/Brass Bands
Not sure how to swing dance yet? Come and listen (many do just that) and be inspired and then come back to Falcon Bowl each Thursday for group swing dance lessons by Cream City Swing.
Stop just listening to blues and start dancing to it! Blues dancing is an incredibly approachable dance with the basic steps typically taking only minutes to learn. This form of dance got started in the juke joints at the end of the 1800’s. People were tired at the end of the day. They crammed into little juke joints and started to cling and sway to the soulful music.
Over the next 130 years blues dancing styles were created and have evolved. Started in the United State, blues music and blues dancing is now enjoyed worldwide. You will locally find a vibrant blues dancing community in Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago.
This 3-hour workshop is being taught by guest instructor Andi Hansen, a nationally-recognized member of the blue dancing community hailing from our neighboring State – Michigan. The event and evening social is at Puddler’s Hall in Milwaukee.
The evening of the workshop is a 3-hour blues dancing social by guest DJ Brandy of the Chicago blues dancing scene followed by a DJ dual between Andi Hansen and local blue DJ Trevor Williams. Many of the songs can be danced to with Lindy Hop and 6-count Lindy (“East Coast”).
Register
Register by emailing MilwaukeeStomp@gmail.com. Payment by Venmo @Milwaukee-Stomp or credit by phone.
Blue dance social ↠ DJ Brandy from the Chicago blue dance scene ↠ DJ battle between Andi Hansen and local blues DJ Trevor Williams
More about Andi Hansen:
“Hallmarks of Andi’s dancing include playfulness, enthusiasm, and a focus on partnership. In classes she likes to focus not only on the exciting and interesting varieties of blues dancing that you can enjoy, but on being comfortable in your body and dancing like yourself while you do them. Andi dances primarily as a follow and often as a lead, competing whenever she can, as well as making solo and partnered choreography for events like Sweet Molasses and bluesSHOUT! Based out of Grand Rapids, MI, she enjoys organizing locally, road-tripping to events with friends, and spreading the joy of blues dance!”
Old Sam and the Teardrops and Professor Pinkerton’s Irrelevant Orchestra will be getting into the ring on July 20, 2023 at Falcon Bowl for Milwaukee’s first ever battle of the swing bands. This isn’t just one band playing a set after the other – it’s a true back and forth battle to win the hearts and applause of the crowd. Lindy Hop, Balboa, Charleston, Blues…
3 hours and 2 fantastic band for only $20!
The newly renovated Falcon Bowl has an amazing 2,000 ft2 wood floor dance space with bar. Pay at the door or guarantee your spot on the dancefloor by paying ahead through Venmo @Milwaukee-Stomp.
For dinner consider Nessun Dorma for a vintage aesthetic, Company Brewing for fantastic craft beer with dinner, or Wonderland for a more relaxed dining experience.
The Falcon Bowl’s renovations are going very well and are expected to be nearly completed by the event!
Milwaukee Stomp 