This the first of our outdoor dances!  We’re very excited to be throwing a dance here again this year, so come on out, it’s FREE to the public and part of BIX!  The view from the park is spectacular, it’s one of the best views of downtown Boston and overlooks the Harbor.  We will be spinning some of their finest feel good Springtime music, keep your fingers crossed for good weather (the forecast shows that it’s going to be a sunny 68 degrees as of Sunday – but keep watching).  In any event bring a light jacket, it’s by the water, so it can get a little chilly and breezy…Details below

Details:

Address: Piers Park, 95 Marginal St, East Boston, MA 02128

Date: Sunday May 30th, 2010

Time: 2pm – 5pm

Cost: FREE!!!

Here’s a link to the park for further info.  Check out that view! http://www.bostonharborwalk.com/placestogo/location.php?nid=4&sid=24

Rain Location:  The Crosby Whistle Stop.  If it rains, we’ll bring it inside so we can keep on dancin’!

We look forward every year to BIX.  It’s one of the biggest dance weekends in Boston and it’s not to be missed!  So what is BIX?  Boston Independence Exchange (BIX) is a national event that draws other dancers from around New England and sometimes the world to Boston for a weekend full of awesome dances and late nights.  Everyone comes out of the woodwork for this event and we love seeing all of the faces old and new come fill our dance floor.  This year, we’re excited to share our new venue with folks from out of town.  Check out our Grand Opening pictures for a preview of our venue.

Tonight, we have TWO live bands, TWO amazing venues and TWO themes!  High society in full attire is the main event for Friday, so start the evening out in your best black and white. Tuxedos, gowns, top hats, tails and satin glove… can it get any more stunning than that? Late night turns from bourgeois to the bawdy Vaudeville, full of life and color to overwhelm your senses. Fancy dress is optional, and all are welcome.

We will be at two venues tonight, Our own Crosby Whistle Stop for the early dance, and Springstep in Medford for the late night.  Below are the details on the bands and venues.  We can’t wait to see you!

Please note, we will not be accepting passes on this night as it’s a special event.

Early Dance – Shawn Hershey and the Fried Bananas

The Fried Bananas (www.thefriedbananas.com) were created with the goal of providing music for swing dancers and plays a mix of swing, gypsy jazz, and blues. The majority of the members live in Boston though Josh lives in New York.  The band is comprised Lindy Hoppers and this band knows what to play to get your feet moving!  Always a favorite with their music and memorable antics (like when they all dressed up as Bananas for our first Halloween dance in 2008) we can’t wait to have them as our opener for BIX!

Lesson: 8pm-9pm (included with admission)
Dancing: 9pm to 12pm
Early Dance Admission: $17 (general), $15 (students and seniors with valid ID).  Late and Early dance Package – $25 for Both (no student/senior discount). BIX registrants – included in package

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Late Night – Rusty Scott Trio

We love The Rusty Scott Trio, and he’s back for another engagement.  He is a soulful and groovy pianist who has been a fixture on the Boston jazz scene for some time.  Check out their versions of Night Train and Tuxedo Junction. His playing reminds us of a little bit of Jimmy Smith and Gene Harris combined. We can’t wait to have him back for our special late night at the beautiful Springstep.  Let’s dance the night…and morning…away!

Maps will be available showing directions from the early dance to the late night.

Dancing: 12:30am to 4am

Late Night Dance Admission: $15 (general), $13 (students and seniors with valid ID).  Late and Early dance Package – $25 for Both (no student/senior discount). BIX registrants – included in package

Springstep
98 George P Hassett Drive
Medford, MA 02155-3202

We’ve goth Rhythm, Sinti Rhythm!  We’ve got music!  Who could….you know the rest….They’re back for what promises to be another night of hot gypsy jazz.  Don’t miss these guys.  We got a lot of positive feedback on them after their BSC debut in March.  And as an added bonus, these guys had a smiles on their faces throughout the night.  Clearly they love playing for dancers, and we love them.  What’s not to love about a Django Reinhardt tribute band?  Check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/sintirhythm.  Before you see them in person!  

Lesson: 8pm-9pm (included with admission)
Dancing: 9pm to 12pm
Admission: $15 (general), $13 (students and seniors with valid ID)

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

With a new space, this means…new rent!  Which we need to pay!  So we’ll be starting a Tuesday night lesson followed by a practice session!  We haven’t agreed on a new name for Tuesday night, but when we do, we’ll let you know.  If you have suggestions, send them our way!!!

For our first Tuesday night, Shawn Hershey and Amanda Gruhl from It’s All Swing will be taking a page from the book of Tango, and leading a guided practice session – a practica – from 7:30 to 8:30PM.   This week and next we’ll be offering the lesson for introductory price of $3 a week (WHAT A BARGAIN!) and you can drop in for the offering this week or next week. Shawn and Amanda will make sure they work one on one with everyone who attends.  Most if not all of the advanced dancers and instructors have improved their own dancing by taking private lessons and working one on one with more experienced dancers. Think of a guided practice as a cheap short private lesson; an opportunity to work on whatever you want with Shawn and Amanda. 

There’s no need to bring a partner but it might be useful to drag someone along so you can be guaranteed someone to work with.  Or ask your friends and make sure they’ll be there too!!!

We’ll follow the lesson up with a practice session from 8:30 to 11pm.  DJ’s to be announced!

Lesson: 7:30pm-8:30pm
Dancing: 8:30-11pm
Admission: $3 practica/lesson, $3 practice session

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

After a nearly year long process, we’ve come to the end, (or is it the beginning?) of our journey. A journey which began when we started looking at every church, VFW, Italian working man’s club in the Cambridge-Somerville area. After looking at musty basements, ginormous gymnasiums, tiny parqueted floors, we finally found our home last summer, the Crosby Whistle Stop. We quickly came to an agreement with the landlord and a move-in date of September 1st that he told us was, “easily do-able.” Well, much to the chagrin of our landlord, there was a new sprinkler system and bunch of other rules and regulations he had to adhere to in order to get the building up-to-code so that we could inhabit it. It took up until February to pass through all the electrical, plumbing, and building inspections. And then, just as we were acquiring the chairs and tables through our “Chair-ity Drive”, we thought we were a few short days away from opening, and then like Lucy taunting Charlie Brown, the ball was yanked away yet again, this time by the Boston zoning board known as Inspectional Services. They denied our zoning request to become a dance studio/hall.

All of this lead us on our current trajectory which we’ve outlined extensively in recent weeks on our website and via many email communiques. But we’re happy to say that we’ve finally done it!

We’re opening the Crosby Whistle Stop in a grand fashion next Friday, May 14th!

It has been a long journey, so please plan to come celebrate with us and check out the new digs! We will also have a band that night, the Jailhouse Five Plus Two!  The name, The Jailhouse Five Plus Two is inspired by the lawless participants in the prohibition era when Dixieland was adopted as the popular music of the time, “The Roaring Twenties.”  Bootlegging, speakeasies, bath tub gin, gangs and lawless activity was the way of life in major U.S. cities.  TJFPT tries to capture the freedom exuded by the musical genre and provide a connection to a past era of our society.  Happy, fast, boisterous, free, and improvisational are all descriptors of the music.  A new band, a new venue, a new beginning!

Our new Address is: 24 Roland St, Charlestown, MA. We will be a 4 minute walk from the Sullivan T-Stop, and there is FREE parking right in front of our building!

Please note that because this is a special event, we will not be accepting passes or have an active guest list.

Lesson: 8pm-9pm (included with admission)
Dancing: 9pm to 12pm
Admission: $17 (general), $15 (students and seniors with valid ID)

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

If you have ever volunteered, taught, DJ’d, donated to our organization, or been a former board memeber we’re opening our doors early for you to come and see our new space!  We will have pizza and ice cream!  Yeah!  And if you donated through our “Char-ity” drive, come and sign your chair!

If you wanted to donate and didn’t get a chance, there’s still time if you would like to through Paypal by clicking the button below.

For directions to our new space see the “Directions” Tab.

Cost: Free

Hours: 7pm to 9pm

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

A fragrance-reduced environment helps create a safe and healthy social dance environment for everyone! We respectfully request that all patrons at Boston Swing Central refrain from using fragranced products before entering and while in the building as some of these products can cause adverse health effects for our dancers with fragrance sensitivities and allergies. While we recommend good hygiene and deodorant use, please take care to avoid highly fragranced personal care products such as cologne, perfume, aftershave lotions, scented lotions, and/or scented hair products. Our chemically-sensitive dancers thank you!

For those with peanut allergies, we do not regularly serve food except for our complimentary mints. We provide an assortment of candy during our Halloween and Valentine’s dances – some candy might have peanuts in them. We also might have peanut butter as a snack option at a late night exchange dance (Dirty Water, which is once a year).  Some patrons may bring a granola bar that has peanuts in it, and this could be in their bag.  If you are highly sensitive to peanuts please let us know and use caution.

For the rest of us, please be considerate of your fellow dancers and do not bring peanuts or peanut products for a snack.

No, we do NOT serve alcohol and most dancers prefer to drink water to avoid dehydration.

You should be 18 years of age or older to attend Boston Swing Central.

Our Friday night dance includes a lesson in the price of admission from 8 to 9pm.  Prices are as follows:

– On DJ nights, our dance is $11 for General Admission.

– On Band nights, our dance is $18 to $30 for General Admission. The admission rate depends upon the band size and where the band is from.  Bands that are more expensive are usually bigger like a 14-piece big band or from further away like the Gordon Webster who is from New York State.

– We have a mix of 70/30 band and DJ nights.

– We offer a discount to students and seniors with a valid ID.

Boston Swing Central is happy to present guest DJ Gina Helfrich tonight for a heapin’ helpin’ of Southern Fried Swing.  We’re happy to report that Gina has finally made her long-anticipated return to life in Boston. Originally from Texas, Gina spent the last six years getting a graduate degree in Lindy Hop and Philosophy (or was it Philosophy of Lindy Hop?) in Atlanta. 

Before that she was a hardcore member of the Boston Lindy scene and first learned to swing out at Boston College. While in Atlanta, she became a superstar lindy hop addict running dances, teaching all over the place (including Swing Out New Hampshire), and of course, djing. This is her BSC debut, so let’s come on out and welcome her back, officially!

Lesson: 8pm-9pm (included with admission)

Dancing: 9pm to 12pm

Admission: $10 (general), $8 (students and seniors with valid ID)