Posted by Clayton On July 28, 2022
Join us this Friday, July 29th, for a dance lesson and live music from The Sagebrush Swingers! The lesson begins at 7 PM, and we will have social dancing from 8 PM to 10 PM. The lesson will be very beginner friendly, so no experience required! The event is being held at The Historic Fourth Ward School Museum in Virginia City. Admission is $15, or $10 for museum members. Tickets available here.
Posted by Clayton On April 28, 2022
JOIN US for a FREE Welcome Back Lesson and Dance on May 4th in Reno
It has been a long time coming… we are pleased to announce that we will be restarting weekly swing dance lessons and social dancing on Wednesdays at the American Legion Hall in Reno (877 Ralston St.)
Please join us for a free Welcome Back Dance on Wednesday May 4th. It will start with a beginner Jitterbug lesson at 7 PM, followed by social dancing from 8 PM until about 10 PM. No partner or experience necessary… and no need to dress up (unless you want to!). Bring your friends!
Admission (after the first week) will be $10 which includes both the lesson and social dancing, and $7 for students.
And we hope to see you in Virginia City this Friday night, April 29th, for the live band dance with the Honky Tonk Bums. Details are HERE.
Posted by Clayton On May 2, 2018
CONTENTS
1. Wednesday Swing Dancing Class Schedule – 7 PM (Charleston Series Starts This Week!)
2. Shim Sham Shimmy! Class on Wednesday, May 30th (One Night Only!)
3. Reno Barefoot Blues – Thursdays at 8:30 PM @ Midtown Community Yoga
4. Loyalty Program – EARN FREE NIGHTS OF DANCING
5. Get your T-Shirts!
1. RENO SWINGS! ON WEDNESDAYS
Here is our schedule for May 2018:
6 PM Intermediate Practice – We open the hall up a little early for intermediate guided practice. It is designed for experienced dancers to come work on your dancing (dancers who already have taken several months of Lindy Hop). We will focus on different topics, and encourage you to bring questions or things you want to work on. There is no cost for this practice time if you are taking either the Jitterbug or Lindy Hop class.
7 PM Jitterbug Class – Open to everyone… no partner or experience necessary. We’ll breeze through the basics and get you up and running quickly… then we’ll take you through 3-5 different moves each week. This class is drop-in. $10/General and $7/Students each week (includes social dancing which follows). NEW – you can buy a discounted 4 week pass online HERE.
7 PM CHARLESTON Class – We will be teaching a 4 week Charleston class this month, starting TOMORROW! Charleston was the pre-cursor to Lindy Hop, but continued to be danced through the swing era. PREREQUISITE: There is no pre-requisite for this class, but we do ask that you commit to the month so that we can have continuity within the class. $40 for the month, $25 for students – DROP-IN’s only allowed the first week of class. You can sign up online HERE before class starts tomorrow for a $5 discount off the month). Includes social dancing afterwards.
What is Charleston? There are several different styles. Here is a little clip from a 1920’s style Charleston class we did a few years ago: ’20’s Charleston Class Review
8 PM Social Dancing – we’ll spin the tunes for dancing and practicing what you learned in class. If you can, stay and play with us!
Reno Swings! is held at the American Legion Hall at 877 Ralston St. in Reno. Map here
We accept cash, check, bitcoin (or ETH or LTC) and credit cards at the door. You can also buy class passes online (see links above). We recommend wearing comfortable clothes and shoes, and we don’t recommend big heels. You are free to bring a water bottle, or we have water for sale for $1.
RSVP and share the FACEBOOK EVENT
2. SHIM SHAM SHIMMY
Pretty much every week at our Wednesday RenoSwings! dance, the dancers dance the Shim Sham Shimmy (sometimes just called the Shim Sham), a swing-era jazz line dance. You can see it HERE
As our series class is a 4-week series, and this month has 5 Wednesdays, we will be holding a special Shim Sham Class on Wednesday, May 30th.
This class will be at 7 PM, and is open to all dancers of all levels. Cost is the same as normal – $10 per person/$7 Students.
Hope to see you there!
3. RENO BAREFOOT BLUES – THURSDAYS
We blues dance every Thursday at Midtown Community Yoga (600 S Virginia St. in Reno… entry on the side street Moran). Drop-in lesson at 8:30, dancing from about 9:15 to 11 PM. $5 for the whole night… and the floors are super nice, so we dance without shoes (barefoot or in your fancy socks). Would love to see you… super chill environment, and fun dancing.
What is blues dancing? Blues is a simple yet creative partner dance. Here in Reno, we dance a form that is informed by the historic forms of blues dancing, but not limited to them. We also dance “fusion”, a mixture of blues with other dance elements.
HERE is a video made by a former Reno dancer, Joe Gray, of Fusion Dance Life that captures the feeling of Fusion dancing.
RSVP and SHARE the FACEBOOK EVENT
4. LOYALTY PROGRAM
Our Loyalty Program is rocking and rolling…. As a thank you to those who attend on a regular basis, this program will reward you with free nights of dancing! Here is how it works – pretty simple:
A. When you come dancing, we’ll ask you if you want to be in the loyalty program.
B. All you need to do is enter your cell phone number each dance night when you check in, which will automatically earn you a star.
C. Collect 5 Stars and you get in a free night of dancing! No punch cards, keeping track… we track it all and will let you know when you’ve got a free night to use.
D. BONUS FEATURE – this loyalty program works for BOTH RenoSwings! on Wednesday nights AND Reno Barefoot Blues on Thursday nights. Redeem your free night of dancing at either venue, and receive a star for attending either dance.
5. GET FUN RENOSWINGS! T-SHIRTS
We just rolled out our next RenoSwings! T-Shirt design. We’ll be sporting them at our events this week. If you’d like to get one, you can order in your preferred size and color HERE. They are also available in long sleeve and hoodie options.
Posted by Clayton On March 6, 2018
Lots going on this month! Reno Lindy Hop is growing like crazy, and blues dancing is back. We hope to see you out dancing with us…
CONTENTS
1. Wednesday Swing Dancing Class Schedule – 7 PM
2. New Loyalty Program – EARN FREE NIGHTS OF DANCING
3. Reno Barefoot Blues – Thursdays at 8:30 PM @ Midtown Community Yoga
4. Shows, plus Workshop Special Deal
1. RENO SWINGS! ON WEDNESDAYS
Here is our schedule for March, starting TOMORROW:
7 PM Jitterbug Class – Open to everyone… no partner or experience necessary. We’ll breeze through the basics and get you up and running quickly… then we’ll take you through 3-5 different moves each week. This class is drop-in. $10/General and $7/Students each week (includes social dancing which follows). NEW – you can buy a discounted 4 week pass online HERE.
7 PM Lindy Hop Class – THIS WEDNESDAY is the first week of a 4-week progressive Lindy Hop class (building from week to week). This month we’ll be focusing on swing outs. PREREQUISITE: We ask that you have a couple months (at least 6-8 weeks) of jitterbug under your belt before tackling Lindy Hop. We also ask that you commit to the month so that we can have continuity within the class. $40 for the month, $25 for students. You can sign up online HERE before class starts tomorrow for a $5 discount off the month). Includes social dancing afterwards.
What is Lindy Hop, you ask? Here is a short video explanation: What is Lindy Hop?
8 PM Social Dancing – we’ll spin the tunes for dancing and practicing what you learned in class. If you can, stay and play with us!
6 PM – We will open the hall up a little early for intermediate guided practice. It is designed for experienced dancers to come work on your dancing. We will focus on different topics, and encourage you to bring questions or things you want to work on. There is no cost for this practice time if you are taking either the Jitterbug or Lindy Hop class.
Reno Swings! is held at the American Legion Hall at 877 Ralston St. in Reno. Map here
We accept cash, check, bitcoin (or ETH or LTC) and credit cards at the door. We recommend wearing comfortable clothes and shoes, and we don’t recommend big heels. You are free to bring a water bottle, or we have water for sale for $1.
RSVP and share the FACEBOOK EVENT
2. NEW LOYALTY PROGRAM
We are excited to announce our new Reno Swings! loyalty program. As a thank you to those who attend on a regular basis, this program will reward you with free nights of dancing! Here is how it works – pretty simple:
A. When you come dancing, we’ll ask you if you want to be in the loyalty program.
B. All you need to do is enter your cell phone number each dance night when you check in, which will automatically earn you a star.
C. Collect 5 Stars and you get in a free night of dancing! No punch cards, keeping track… we track it all and will let you know when you’ve got a free night to use.
D. BONUS FEATURE – this loyalty program works for BOTH RenoSwings! on Wednesday nights AND Reno Barefoot Blues on Thursday nights. Redeem your free night of dancing at either venue, and receive a star for attending either dance.
3. RENO BAREFOOT BLUES – THURSDAYS
We blues dance every Thursday at Midtown Community Yoga (600 S Virginia St. in Reno… entry on the side street Moran). Drop-in lesson at 8:30, dancing from about 9:15 to 11 PM. $5 for the whole night… and the floors are super nice, so we dance without shoes (barefoot or in your fancy socks). Would love to see you… super chill environment, and fun dancing.
RSVP and SHARE the FACEBOOK EVENT
4. SHOWS + WORKSHOP SPECIAL DEAL
There are several shows coming up with danceable bands. Thought we would share some of that info, in case you want to come dance:
– MARCH 8th (Thursday) – Squirrel Nut Zippers @ The Saint in Reno – this show is sold out, but they said they would have a few tickets available at the door when they open at 7 PM. I think they were about $34 presale including fees. This is a 21+ Venue – details: LINK
– MARCH 16th (Friday)- The Ponderosa Playboys @The Red Dog – this little trio played at The Loving Cup a couple months ago, and it was delicious! They are the opening band on March 16th at the Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, which does have a little dance floor space. All ages venue… still working on start time and cover charge (if any). Keep an eye on our Facebook page.
– MAY 12th (Saturday) Beats Antique @ Cargo in Reno – These guys are amazing for blues/fusion dancing. Tickets aren’t cheap, but should be a killer show. Info: LINK
Sacramento Lindy Hop Workshop Special Deal
On March 24th, a great pair of teachers from Arizona, Dabney and Karen Hopkins are coming up from Arizona to teach a Lindy Hop Workshop. One of our swing dancers, Alison, has worked out a special deal with the organizers for a reduced price of $40 (normally $50) per person for Reno-area dancers, as well as help finding a place to crash if needed. For the special deal, you’ll need to message Alison or the Wolf Pack Swing Dance Club as they are still working out final details. There may be carpools going over the night before (Friday) to dance at Midtown Stomp.
BONUS….
WORLD DOMINATION PLAN STEP 1 – SOCIAL MEDIA BLITZ
We have a dream to see vintage partner dancing absolutely take over Reno and Northern Nevada. We really feel like Reno Lindy Hop and Reno blues dancing could be something really special. It’s growing, but we’d like to supercharge that growth. So we have an idea – will you help us?
For the next 4 weeks, we want to blitz Facebook and other social channels with our events. If you’ve got a Facebook account, we’re asking you to RSVP to our events… as well as like, comment and particularly share them. If our dances show up over and over, we believe that it will build positive momentum and grow our numbers quickly.
Facebook, like it or not, is like high school. The popular kids get all the attention, so the more you interact with us, the more people will see out stuff!
So if you can, please take a moment to interact and share our events. Let’s see if we can make them show up everywhere and get a bunch of new people to join us.
Swing Dance Event LINK HERE
Blues Dance Event LINK HERE
Thanks so much! We’ll see you on the dance floor!
Cheers-
The RenoSwings! Crew
Posted by Clayton On November 9, 2015
Lindy Hop Workshop coming up at UNR on November 21st.
We are excited to present our first Lindy Hop workshop. Clay and Cullen will be teaching a 3-hour workshop on Saturday, November 21st at the University of Nevada Reno from 1-4 PM. This workshop will benefit UNR’s Wolf Pack Swing Dance Club, and will be followed by social dancing until 7 PM. The workshop will be held in the Rotunda at the Knowledge Center on campus.
The workshop is open to the general public in addition to students – reserve your spot and purchase your workshop pass HERE. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions at info@clayandcullen.com
Here is a short bio on the teachers, Clay and Cullen:
Products of the swing revival of the late 1990’s, Clay & Cullen Mitchell met (officially) on the dance floor in late 2000, and started teaching together shortly thereafter. They have traveled throughout North America, dancing socially and honing their skills. They have taught regular group classes, private lessons and workshops in Northern California. They moved to the Reno area almost 2 years ago, and are excited to share their passion for Lindy Hop, their favorite partner dance.
Lindy Hop is an energetic, engaging and most of all fun partner dance that was incubated in the ballrooms of Harlem to the sound of some of the premier swing bands of the early 1930’s. Lindy Hop underwent a revival in the early 1990’s when small, dedicated groups of Swedish and American dancers searched for, and found, some of the original professional swing dancers and convinced them to share the dance. Vintage swing dancing, and especially lindy hop, now exists in cities throughout the US and is also popular across Europe, Asia and the rest of the world.
This is a dance for everyone, there’s no need to have any previous dance experience and people of all ages, shapes and walks of life are part of the lindy hop community. The Wolf Pack Swing Dance Club and lindy hop scenes around the world focus on inclusivity, providing a fun, safe space for socializing and dancing, and on having fun while connecting with another dancer for about three to four minutes (the typical length of a swing tune)!
We hope to see you at the workshop – if you’re coming, wear comfy clothes, bring a water bottle and shoes that have some slip to them.