Vintage Swing Spokane
Colleen Robinson
Address: Spokane, WA 99201
E-mail: vintageswingspokane.@gmail.com
Tel: 509.919.9162
Story of How I Started
I began dancing somewhere in 1996 in San Francisco where I grew up. I had two been invited out to separate events by different people. The most memorable was a trip out to the Transmission Theater with a friend I played volleyball with. We went to go see a band called Lee Press-on and the Nails. They were Goth and Swing. How could you go wrong?? The Band leader was very Cab Calloway in his performance and I got to learn the Charleston. I was bitten by the bug.
Soon I began taking lessons from local instructors, like the Fabulous Juan, Johnny and Cari, Micah and Jenna, Paul and Sharon, and Rob and Diane. Nearly from the beginning had a partner. We became members of local performance teams: The Heretics of Swing and The Swing Cats Rhythm Review. These opportunities to learn and practice were complimented by the countless workshops and dance camps I attended. I was fortunate enought to be able to attend the highly regarded Herrange Dance Camp four years in a row. Over time, I progressed and was able to give back to my community by performing and teaching.
At the time I was able to go out social dancing seven nights a week at venues across town with lots of fantastic local artists like Indigo Swing, Stompy Jones (Fromerly knows as Little David's Swing Session), Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers. I would work in the mornings, rehearse with the team or my partner in the evenings, then dance until my feet fell off at night.
This is when I took on the name "Swing Alleycat." For about a year or so I had moved out from a roommate situation and was saving money by living with my grandparents. My grandmother described my activities as "trapesing about" and "carrying on" like a "g. d. alleycat." I am sure you can figure out what the "g" and the "d" stand for.
I began working on projects that were more my own than someone else's. One of the first and very memorable of those was an invitation by Chris Lee to help coach a team in Sacramento. I was fortunate enough to have been able to work with some fantastic kids there. We performed at the Arco Arena as part of the halftime show for the Kings. Later I moved to Seattle and helped form the team called Zah Zuh Zay. I then came to Spokane where I currently teach and organize Lindy Hop events.
Organizational experience
SWINGtoberfest
Organizer- 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015
Weekend Workshop dedicated to the study of all of the forms of Vintage Jazz Dances with particular focus on Lindy Hop and social dancing.
Design a relevant dance experience for the Inland Empire: select instructor/s and form class content; establish and manage budget; develop and create marketing plan and collateral, and manage volunteer staff.
2011- Peter Flahiff
2012- Chris Chapman
2013- Todd Yannaconne & Ramona Staffield
2015- Chris Chapman
Spokane Vintage Swing Festival
Organizer- 2012, 2013, 2015
Spokane Vintage Swing Festival is a three-day long event of musical performances of swing music from the Jazz, Big Band, and Post WW II eras played by bands from the Spokane area and across the nation. These performances will occur in venues throughout Spokane and promote music appreciation as well as dance.
2012- Hot Club of Spokane & 6 Foot Swing
2013- Heather Villa Blues Trio & Hot Club of Spokane, Variety Pack
2015- Johnny J & the Flat Foot Floogie & Hot Club of Spokane
Swinging the Blues Weekend
Organizer- 2014, 2015
Progressive weekend workshop dedicated to the study of Blues dancing and its history.
2014 - Damon Stone
2015- Damon Stone
Lindy Education
Herrang Dance Camp
Herrang, SWEDEN- 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
Taught with Chester Whitmore as assistant. 2001
Taught with Frankie Manning as assistant. 2001
Camp Jitterbug & JItterbug Weekends
Seattle, WA- 1999, 2000, 2004, 2015
Emerald City Shuffle
Seattle, WA- 2013??
Swing Camp Catalina
Catalina Island, CA- 1998.
Camp Hollywood
Los Angeles, CA- 1998
Monsters of Swing
Ventura, CA- 1998, 1999, 2000
Taught with Damon Stone. 2000
Workshops
Monsters of Swing
Boston Swing Weekend
Monterey Swing Weekend
Whitworth Workshops
Eastern Washington University Workshops
Gonzaga University Workshops
Mead High School Swing club lessons
Spokane Swing Club Workshops & Lessons
teams
Triple Threat- Coaching Consultant ('12-'14)
Swing Devils- Coach/Dancer ('04 - '06)
Seattle
First Night- Coach ('03)
Zah Zuh Zay- Founding Member ('00-'01)
Pacific Northwest Lindy Hop Champions
Sacramento Team- Coach/Dancer ('00?)
Sacramento Kings Game
Swing Cats Rhythm Review- Member ('97 -00)
Catalina
Camp Hollywood
Monterey
Dance Through Time Show
Ethnic Dance Festival audition
Norma Miller's 83 Birthday- Oakland
Heretics of Swing - member ('97-'98)
performances
Talent Show- LDS- dancer ()
PED show- dancer ()
EWU Library- dancer choreographer ()
Now You Has Jazz (Encore)- Hot Club of Spokane (12/15)- dancer choreographer
Competitions
USS Hornet- 98,99
Pacific Northwest Lindy Hop Championships
American Lindy Hop Championships 98, 00
Learn from a passionate instructor who was trained by the original dancers. Colleen Robinson has been teaching Spokane swing dance enthusiasts since 2003. In class she focuses on each person's progress and development. Classes are meant to be fun and educational with the express purpose of teaching social dancing.
Swing music evolved out from a variety of influences, but is simplified as a combination of African and European musical elements. Swing, considered one of the earliest forms of Jazz, would later develop into Rock and Be Bop alongside the more modern forms of Jazz and Rock and Roll.
Dancing evolved, reflecting the changes in music. Steps were local and because of this "Swing dancing" is not a term for a specific kind of movement or rhythm.
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Vintage Swing Night:
weekly drop-in and series swing classes, for beginners and intermediates.
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Workshops:
special topics (one- hour), technical classes (two-hour), and full-day workshops for all levels.
2010 - present
2010 - present