We found a new venue - Firethorn Dance Academy by USF! We will resume lessons and the dance on June 29th & we will be bringing back the monthly beginner lesson series. More details will come soon. In the mean time, help us spread the word by sharing our Facebook event.

It’s with a heavy heart that we have to inform you that this week might be our last dance at our current location.

It is not yet conclusive, but there is a very good chance that Stars Ballroom will be closing and we will need to look for a new place. Again, this is not 100% decided, but we wanted to make sure to give everyone a head’s up should you like to plan to attend what will probably be our last weekly dance for a while.

We can’t predict what the future holds but we can tell you that we appreciate all of the support you’ve given us over the last year, and if last week’s dance is any indication of how much Lindy Hop is growing in Tampa Bay then just maybe we’ve been doing something right.

It’s been our pleasure to host a weekly dance, sharing our knowledge in classes, bringing in guest instructors and bands, watching all of you grow in your dancing and enthusiasm, and most importantly having an awesome time dancing with each of you. It really is amazing how much we’ve all developed in our dancing over the last year, and we sincerely hope everyone continues to grow and invest in this wonderful hobby.

We are doing our best to locate a new venue, but the truth of the matter is that it could be months before we’re able to start back up again. If you have any contacts for locations that could fit us and our needs, please let us know!

Please join us this week as we teach the Franky Manning 99th Birthday Choreography. Most of you know who Franky Manning is, and if he was still with us he would be turning 99 this month. So what is a more fitting lesson for our last dance than a tribute to the Ambassador of Swing!

This week we will have a California Routine recap lesson. Join us at 7 for the lesson ($5) and then the dance will run from 8-11p ($5).

Since we didn’t have enough ladies smalls available in our last batch of tees, we’ve run a special, small batch that will be ready next Saturday, Jan 12. The new shirts will have the design in black on a pink, soft, fitted ladies tee. We will only have 20 available for sale - so grab yours quick! They’ll be $15 at the door, available this Saturday, just in time to wear to SOFLEX.

We’re kicking off 2013 with some exciting new changes to make The LC even more fun.

First, the dance will now run from 8:00pm to 11:00pm. We’re still having 3 hours of dancing, but getting out earlier allows us more time to hang out, grab some food together, or possibly hit up another dance floor.

We will have specialized lessons from 7:00pm to 8:00pm. These will be a few specific Saturdays a month, and not necessarily every Saturday.

You’ll notice that we have removed the Lindy Hop Fundamentals class. Instead, if you are new to Lindy Hop, you are welcome to come out at 8:00pm and we will work with you one-on-one instead of in a group class setting. This allows us to be more personalized in our approach to teaching dancers who are new to Lindy Hop and creates a better value, plus it’s free with entry into the dance. You can’t get a private lesson for a better price than free.

Thanks for all of the support in 2012 and I hope we all continue to grow together in our dancing. It’s because of all of you that I truly believe that we are the best Lindy Hop dance in Florida.

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to the Lindy Bomb and the Lindy Connection last night. We had a blast. A huge thank you to Fruit Stand Jam Band for the amazing live music!

Dance 9 to Midnight - $5 and includes the 8pm Lindy Hop Fundamentals Class with entry. This is week 3 of 4 wherein we play with mixing 6 and 8 count patterns and show you that it doesn’t have to break your brain and can feel very natural. With how fast the class picked up the moves from the last two weeks, this should be cake.

The 7pm Advanced Class is a $5 stand alone class specially designed for our scene. Last week Seth and Melissa cooked up some great close movements, and this week Seth and Andrea will be peppering your brains with more from the same tasty batch.

Also remember that the day and time has been updated for Lindy Bombin’ the Park 2 to Saturday at 2:00pm. Check out the link for more info: http://www.facebook.com/events/348654535210310/

So come out early to dance at the park, and then join us later for an awesome night of instruction and dancing! See you there.

This week our Silly Moves contestants will throw down THE WACKINESS and Melissa’s Routine Group will finally get to show off their awesome jazz choreography. Both are guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Who will have the silliest and most creative moves? Will they set a new trend that we all will want to copy and use in our dancing? Show up and find out!

Also this week from 7 to 8pm we are continuing our advanced classes with Seth and Melissa teaching some cool creative movements based around sugar pushes and awesome connection. The advanced classes are $5 and don’t include the dance.

Tom and Andrea continue the Lindy Hop Fundamentals class from 8 to 9pm with week 3 of 4, combining 6 and 8 count patterns. Anybody working on their Lindy Hop is welcome to join in!

As always, the dance is just $5 and includes the fundamentals class. Attending the advanced class is an extra $5.

I hope you are all super excited for a fun and silly night of dancing!

Look what’s coming this week!

From now on between 7-8pm, for only $5, we will have higher level classes every week, and we’re starting this off with a great deal for the regular price. It’s rare that we get traveling instructors in Florida, especially for such a low price, so take advantage of it this weekend! If you are comfortable on the social Lindy Hop dance floor then you are ready for this class.

Check out the instructor’s pages on their website (www.livinghistorydance.com) for more info.

As always our Fundamentals Class will continue with week 2 of 4. We had a great turnout this week and will move forward to 8 count patterns and everyone’s favorite move, the swingout!

The regular $5 admission will get you into the Fundamentals class and the dance. Please remember to bring $5 extra if you’d like to take the class with Dan and Mike.

Otherwise there is still room to sign up for the Silly moves competition happening in 2 weeks, so please let us know if you’d like to jump in!

This Saturday we will have another open lesson from 7-8p. Everyone is welcome to show up and work on whatever they’d like! We will have several instructors available to help with any and all of your questions.

From 8-9p we will have the first lesson of our fundamentals four week track, taught by Tom and Melissa. The class is excellent for learning or reviewing the organics of Lindy Hop.

Come at 7pm for 2 hours of open practice time before the dance with all of The Lindy Connection group!

I know that most of you are working on very specific things in your dancing, so we are facilitating time to practice with everyone. Bring questions and ideas. Look up videos ahead of time and post links in the comments and we’ll figure stuff out together.

Do you have questions about new moves? Are you working on your swingouts? Do you want to figure out how somebody does something in a video? Would you like some new challenging ideas or fun jazz steps? Or maybe you’d like a general critique about your form and dancing in general?

Come on out and we’ll all work together on improving our dancing and we’ll have a blast doing it.

7pm to 9pm before the dance THIS Saturday. See you there!

Have YOU signed up yet?

If you can swing out, you can enter. The contest will be judged primarily on the creative and coordinated silly movements you mix into your dancing. So find a partner and use the next few weeks to invent and practice your silly moves.

Entering the competition is FREE! There will be a limited number of slots, so find a partner and sign up as soon as you can.

Prizes will be awarded!

Submit your e-mail address using our neat-o little form (look to the left of this post)!

We promise not to spam you - just to send you totally relevant and cleverly prosed information on what’s going on with the dance and exciting upcoming events.

Come out and jam with us!

Mark your calendars for July 28th for The Lindy Connection’s very first competition - The Silly Moves Competition!

If you can swing out, you can enter. The contest will be judged primarily on the creative and coordinated silly movements you mix into your dancing. So find a partner and use the next few weeks to invent and practice your silly moves.

Sign ups will begin this Saturday at the dance and entering the competition is FREE. There will be a limited number of slots so sign up as soon as you can, and you must have a partner.

Prizes will be awarded.

Also, during the month of July we will begin a new series of higher level classes before the Fundamentals Lesson. Attending these classes will surely help you to prepare for this competition and will contain some other awesome information you won’t want to miss.

This weekend begins a new month and a new series of beginner lessons! To celebrate a successful first month we’re having a special deal this week.

When you bring someone to the dance this Saturday who hasn’t been to The Lindy Connection yet they get in for only $2! Share the cost and that’s just $7 for two people.

It doesn’t matter if they are new to dancing or Lindy Hop pros, if they enter with someone who has been to our dance at least once they will save money.

Lessons start at 8:00pm and, as always, are no extra charge. So invite your friends, your siblings, your neighbors, whoever. Now’s a especially a great time to start for new dancers.

See you this weekend!

Les, with the help of Hurley and Scot, will be choosing top-notch music this week to help us celebrate Frankie Manning’s birthday.

Our main DJ, Les, will not be here this week, but never fear! DJs Scot and YoungWoo will be spinning fantastic lindy tunes all night long.

The four week course will run from June 2 to June 23, with a group performance showcasing what we have learned on June 30.

The classes will focus on incorporating individual and partnered jazz movements into Lindy hop. The movements covered in this course will help expand your dance vocabulary as well as help build confidence in your individual style and solo dancing.  Along the way, instructor Melissa Reilly will craft a special group routine for us to perform for our friends at the dance at the end of the month.

This series is designed to accommodate all levels of dancing, so everyone that is comfortable with swing-outs is encouraged to participate.

The classes will run from 7-8p, just before the normal lesson at the Stars Ballroom. The cost is a mere $10 for the entire course. Please sign-up in person this Saturday at the dance.

If you have any questions, please e-mail us at thelindyconnection@gmail.com or contact Melissa Reilly through facebook (you can find her in our facebook group).

Hurley and Scot will be accompanying our main DJ, Les, at the DJ table this Saturday.

We will have chocolate cake on Saturday to celebrate. Make sure you save him lots of special birthday dances and give him extra thanks for all of his hard work!

The night was a huge success and we can’t wait to dance with you again this Saturday.