jazz with ramona

Jazz with Ramona

5-7 October 2018, Sydney

A day of solo jazz workshops with Ramona Staffeld, parties with live music and DJs, and plenty of fun.

Friday 5 October
7-9pm: Evening lindy hop classes with Ramona.
9pm: Social dancing with Andrew Scott's Pocket Five.

Saturday 6 October
10.30am-4pm: A day of solo jazz workshops with Ramona.
8pm: Social dancing with Andrew Dickeson's Blue Rhythm Band.

Sunday 7 October
1-3pm: Teachers' Workshop with Ramona.
3-7pm: Social dancing with with the Unity Hall Jazz Band.

Jazz with Ramona

Workshops

Fri 5 Oct: Lindy hop

7.00-9.00pm, Friday 5th October, Ruby's Dance Hall, 14 Cadogan St, Marrickville (MAP).

Evening lindy hop classes with Ramona.

Sat 6 Oct: Solo Jazz

10.30am-4.00pm, Redfern Community Centre, 29-53 Hugo Street, Redfern (MAP).

Ramona teaches a day of all-levels solo jazz workshops which focus on: developing your own personal 'style'; preserving historic moves and choreography; understanding (and enjoying!) music and the concepts of rhythm and timing.

Sun 7 Oct: Teachers' Workshop

1.00-3.00pm, Sunday 7th October, Ruby's Dance Hall, 14 Cadogan St, Marrickville (MAP).

Another of our popular teachers' workshops, where Ramona leads a discussion and practical class focusing on teaching lindy hop and solo jazz dance.

parties

Parties

Friday 5 October

7.00pm Friday 5th October, Ruby's Dance Hall, 14 Cadogan St, Marrickville (MAP), $35 at the door (or included with Everything Pass), feat. Andrew Scott's Pocket Five.

We begin the weeked with a casual dance with serious live music. Ramona will be teaching lindy hop classes, then we'll all get down with Andrew Scott's Pocket Five.

BYO drinks, and dress for comfort.

Saturday 6 October

8.00pm, Saturday 6th October, Ruby's Dance Hall, 14 Cadogan St, Marrickville (MAP), $35 at the door (or included with Everything Pass), feat. Andrew Dickeson's Blue Rhythm Band.

The big night of the weekend, when we throw off our work hats and jump into our party shoes.

Our guest band is Andrew Dickeson's Blue Rhythm Band. They know what to do for dancers.

Sunday 7 October

3.00pm, Sunday 7th October. The Workers Bar and Kitchen, Level 1 292 Darling St, Balmain (MAP). Free.

The Unity Hall Jazz Band's gig in Balmain has been on for 43 years, and dancers adore it. Join us at this stalwart of the Sydney jazz scene for dancing, dinner, drinks, and good company.

Jazz with Ramona

Registration

Registration for Jazz with Ramona 2018 opens 9am Monday 20th August, and closes at 5pm Wednesday 3rd October.

Everything

  • Everything pass $200

    (All Friday evening classes, Friday evening party, all Saturday daytime workshops, Saturday evening party.)
    The Everything Pass may be shared by two parents or carers as part of the Carers' Pass. Email info@swingdancesydney.com for more information about the Carers' Pass.

Friday Classes

  • Friday classes included with party entry
    (Note numbers are strictly limited)

All Saturday workshops

  • Saturday workshop pass $150

    (A day of workshops with Ramona.)
    The Workshop Pass may be shared by two parents or carers as part of the Carers' Pass. Email info@swingdancesydney.com for more information about the Carers' Pass.

Sunday Teachers' Workshop

Parties

  • Friday party $35
  • (Pay at the door, or included with Everything Pass)
  • Saturday party $35
  • (Pay at the door, or included with Everything Pass)
  • Sunday party
  • (free)
ramona

Who is Ramona?


Ramona is one of the highest profile lindy hoppers and jazz dancers in the world, performing and teaching at all the major international events, including Herräng (Sweden), Lindy Focus (USA), Swing Out New Hampshire (USA), SeaJam (Singapore), Authentic Jazz Weekend (Korea)....

She's placed first in heaps of the biggest dance competitions in the world (ILHC pro-classic 2016, ILHC invitational jack&jill 2016; ILHC pro-classic 2015, ILHC invitational jack&jill 2015, ILHC lindy hop pro classic 2015), she's danced in big name troupes, (Jazz at Six, Silver Shadows), she taught with Frankie Manning, she taps, she solos, she lindy hops, she sings, she slow drags...

...and she likes Sydney because we have good bands and restaurants. She's also one of the friendliest, nicest people in lindy hop, and she just loves social dancing. More than anything. Make sure you ask her to dance.

Jazz with Ramona

Music

Andrew Scott's Pocket Five


The members of the Pocket Five have been playing for dancers locally for aaages, in this combination and in bands like the Basement Big Band, the Cope Street Parade, and the Finer Cuts. But the Pocket Five is custom-designed for lindy hop, mostly because Andrew started taking lindy hop classes and decided THIS was his sort of jazz. And we're lucky it's our sort of jazz too.

What sort of music do they play?
Solid, swinging jazz. Andrew plays piano, the drummer Alex is one of Andrew Dickeson's former students (!!) and the brass and reeds are recruited from jazz-loving young locals. They play solid, swinging jazz: four solid beats to the bar. They know Basie, they know Hamp, they know Ellington. And they love them.

The Blue Rhythm Band


Andrew Dickeson is our live music manager for the weekend, heading up the Blue Rhythm Band, currently one of Australia's favourite jazz bands. Andrew and his musicians have been working closely with dancers for a year now, figuring out what works for us also makes them happy. They have played music for lindy hop, balboa, and solo jazz contests, they've played for social dances, they've worked with tap dancers in improvised shows, and they've played live music for performances.

What makes them so great for dancing?
Andrew is a jazz history scholar, and he knows what musicians in the swing era did to make such great music. As a drummer, he understands the importance of a good rhythm section, and as a band leader, he knows when to rein in the band, and when to let them fly.

The musicians in this band all really enjoy playing for dancers. We even attract musicians from interstate, who've found like minded people in the lindy hop community. And that is what makes this band so great for dancing: they love the same things we do.

The Unity Hall Jazz Band


This band has held down the longest running jazz gig in Sydney for 41 years, and they know what they like. They like hot jazz, they liked a rowdy, crowded room, and they like a good time.

Though there's a good dance floor, this is a band's gig, and the music is the thing. This is drinking and talking music. This is shouting and laughing music. This is dancing music. It is hot jazz in the New Orleans revivalist vein. There is a grand piano, a handful of regular musicians, and always a few guests.