Apologies for the quick set of the weekend tweets today. Someone’s just become a father, you know Here’s what’s on this Bank Holiday Weekend.

• Fri: Lindy Circle & Balboa Night: http://tr.im/LCcal
• Fri: Swing Mon Amour at Volupté: http://sn.im/smamour
• Fri: @SwingPatrolLdn Easter Hop / Swing Night at Stokey (*FREE*): http://tr.im/spsocial
• Sat: Mouthful O’ Jam:http://vintagedancing.blogspot.com/
• Sat: @LSDS Suzi Q: http://tr.im/lsdssuziq
• Sat: @SwingPatrolLdn Swing Den: http://tr.im/SPhome
• Sat: @SwingPatrolLdn Learn to Dance in a Day: http://tr.im/SPhome
• Sat/Sun: @SwingPatrolLdn Outdoor dancing (*FREE*): http://sn.im/spat003
• Sat: Saturdays at the Last Days of Decadence: http://tr.im/tldod
• Sun: @SwingPatrolLdn Harlem Jump: http://tr.im/SPhome
• Sun: @LSDS Balboa Workshop/Performance Class: http://tr.im/LSDScls
• Sun: Gangbusters: http://tr.im/hellza
• Sun: @Swingland Swing Cellar: http://tr.im/slsc
• Sun: Swingsters Sizzling Sundays: http://tr.im/swstrs

Hi, @lestmak here with the tweets. Bit busy today, so no video, but here’s what’s going on this weekend:

• Fri: Lindy Circle & Balboa Night: http://tr.im/LCcal
• Fri: Rock-a-hula: http://tr.im/rockahula
• Sat: @Swingland Beginners/improvers workshop: http://tr.im/slws
• Sat: @SwingPatrolLdn Swing Den: http://tr.im/SPhome
• Sat: @SwingPatrolLdn Flight School: http://tr.im/SPhome
• Sat: Blues Revolution Down Home Blues: http://tr.im/blrev
• Sat: Saturdays at the Last Days of Decadence: http://tr.im/tldod
• Sun: The Legendary Monthly Jive Joint Sunday Tea Dance (*FREE*): http://tr.im/tljjstd
• Sun: @LSDS Rock ‘n’ Roll/Lindy Charleston Workshops: http://tr.im/LSDScls
• Sun: @Swingland Swing Cellar: http://tr.im/slsc
• Sun: Shirt Tail Stompers at The Selkirk: http://sn.im/ststomp
• Sun: Swingsters Sizzling Sundays: http://tr.im/swstrs

Have a great weekend!

Some of you may have noticed there was an explosion not long ago. No, I don’t mean the Icelandic volcano, but a host of new swing dance events popping up organised by Swing Patrol. Like all good things, some of those are even free (such as their fortnightly Stokey night) which are the types of things we love to hear about! But what’s great is that Swing Patrol also have workshops and social nights all across our fair city, which keeps us all out of trouble.

But aside from the dance events, the thing that caught my eye recently is their magnificent blog. Featuring video clips from the interweb, discussions on style icons and experiences from newbie dancers (such as Laura’s hatred of tandem Charleston), it’s a very interesting read.

So much so, that we’re now attaching their feed to our sidebar – along with those brilliant event listings from Swing Junction.

Wonderful!

P.S. Before all of you shout, “what about me/my site/my blog?”, well let us know. If it’s brilliant enough, we’ll post it up too!

It’s London Lindy Exchange Weekend! So make sure to dance with everyone more than ♫♪ Four Or Five Times ♫♪

• Fri-Sun: LONDON LINDY EXCHANGE: http://tr.im/brithop #LLX10 #LLX
• Fri: @SwingPatrolLdn Swing Night at Stokey (*FREE*): http://tr.im/spsocial
• Fri: Lindy Circle & Balboa Night: http://tr.im/LCcal
• Sat: Swingsters Blues Workshop: http://tr.im/swstrs
• Sat: @SwingPatrolLdn Learn To Dance In A Day Workshop: http://tr.im/SPhome
• Sat: Rock ‘n’ Bowl Club: http://www.myspace.com/rocknbowlclub
• Sat: Saturdays at the Last Days of Decadence: http://tr.im/tldod
• Sat: Jive Party feat. The Jiveoholics: http://www.jiveparty.com/
• Sun: @LSDS “Bridging the Gap” Workshops: http://tr.im/LSDScls
• Sun: @Swingland Swing Cellar: http://tr.im/slsc
• Sun: Swingsters Blues Angel: http://tr.im/swstrs

Hope everyone has great fun at LLX. And don’t forget, the London Swing Festival follows up in May. Volunteers wanted! http://tr.im/lsf2010

UPDATE 16/4:

Also on Sat: Hellzapoppin with Tim’ and @Swingland Martin Ellis: http://tr.im/hellza

In the meantime, here’s a 1941 clip of Sister Rosetta Tharpe singing Lucky Millinder’s version of Four Or Five Times (and featuring some wonderful swing dancers!):

You may have noticed at the start of our set of weekend tweets every week that we usually add a song title in it. Not by accident, there’s a lot of music out there, and often a lot of classic videos that many of us don’t get to see. For many keen dancers, we hope these give an idea of the wide range of music out there, and what might inspire a swingin’ DJ for a track.

Usually for me, the inspiration behind the song title in a tweet comes from a topical keyword, which leads to a search for classic song titles and then an appropriate video on YouTube. Occasionally, through this effort, one might stumble upon a related video that you can’t help but share. The following is one of those and what a way to start a new theme on this blog.

Oscar Peterson and Count Basie were two legendary musicians and composers who did much to shape jazz in their time. Peterson, a pianist. was regarded as one of the “Jazz Royalty”. Basie, also a pianist, was regarded as one of the most important bandleaders of his time, regularly playing at the Savoy,which was noted as a home for Lindy hop. The two dueted with each other on a number of occasions including in the following clip.

Unfortunately, I haven’t beeen able to identify the exact date of this clip, but I’m sure one of you will be able to. Nonetheless, I was left in awe and astounded when I saw this wonderful arrangement of Basie’s Jumpin’ At The Woodside. If only we could go back in time to be there. In the meantime, though, here’s the next best thing: