We are excited to announce that five new ambassadors from the Frankie Manning Foundation scholarship program will be joining us at Beantown Camp this year! Kristan from New York, Justin from Rhode Island, Markus and Trendylon from Maryland, and Ruchi from Mexico. In addition, four of our past ambassadors, Josh, Rafal, Alexis and Cyle will all be back this summer.

We are thrilled to work with the Frankie Foundation for our 3rd year with this excellent program. Extra thanks for the contributions from Beantown campers and the Frankie Foundation to help our efforts to bring back the returning ambassadors.

Please be sure to join us in welcoming both our new and past ambassadors to Beantown this year!

Get your registration in for one of the fun competitions during the weekend. All levels are included. The competitions always come with a fantastic, supportive audience. Divisions include a nice mix of Novice, Intermediate and Advanced J&Js, Strictly, Solo Charleston and Soul! The competitions are scheduled so that we have plenty of social dance time with excellent live music on both Friday and Saturday night. (That would be the Boilermaker Jazz Band and the Campus Five in case you have forgotten!)

We are honored to have so many wonderful events sponsoring the competitions and providing prizes for each division as well as a special award. Be sure to check each one out for your future event plans!

• International Lindy Hop Championships
• Boston Tea Party
• Hart & Soul Weekend
• Lindy Focus
• Canadian Swing Championships
• The Process
• Dirty Water Lindy & Blues Exchange

Beantown Camp Sponsors.

Come on out this Saturday, June 7 to Uptown Swing Dance, featuring Boston Swing Express. Led by guitarist Mike DiBari, this tight knit combo hones in on the classic guitar driven Swing of the 30’s and 40’s. Their sound derives from guitar stylists such as Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt and Les Paul, while also paying tribute to Swing era greats such as Lionel Hampton and the King Cole Trio. With rave reviews, the band continues to get better with each appearance at Uptown Swing.

Please note that there will be a different start time in June. Both the Swing lesson and the band will start at 9:30pm and the dance will run until 12:30am! The time adjustment is due to restrictions at KI having to do with sundown. We’re thinking that a little flexibility is worth having the use of this beautiful venue!

Beginners welcome, no partner needed
Location: KI (Congregation Kehillath Israel), 384 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA 02446; entrance on Williams Street
Band: Boston Swing Express
Date: Saturday, June 7, 2014
Time: 9:30pm-12:30am
Swing Lesson: 9:30-10:00pm
Admission: $15 ($10 with Student ID)

Uptown Swing details on website.

Join the Facebook event.

The summer session of Lindy Hop classes is up on the website. As usual for the summer, we will not be holding Sunday classes. Mondays will be continuing in Boston at Ruggles Church near Fenway Park starting on July 14. Sundays in Newton will resume in September.

Full class details on website.

Frankie 100 in NYC was truly spectacular from start to finish! The organizers did an amazing job with every little detail and extra. One of the major highlights was the countdown to Frankie’s birthday and the big balloon drop. Just incredible as all those people from 47 countries, spread out over 3 floors, joined together to celebrate this extraordinary man. Frankie was definitely smiling down on us at that moment!

Another very special highlight was the gathering at the sight of the Savoy Ballroom, the inauguration of World Lindy Hop Day, and the parade through Harlem. We just wanted to soak it all in, walking the neighborhood where both Frankie and Norma grew up. It is mind boggling to think how what happened there has had such an impact on our lives today.

For us as Lindy Hoppers for just over 20 years now, it was so special to reunite with so many people from around the world that we have met and become friends with. It was a wonderful reminder of our early days and all the excitement that came with that and the amazing opportunities we had traveling to Sweden and England and other parts of the U.S. Frankie and Lindy Hop changed our lives and has given us so much. We are incredibly grateful to be a part of this worldwide community and to Frankie for teaching us how to dance and how to live!