Book a private lesson in the month of September with either one of these instructors for just $50! Regular private lessons are priced at $75 per lesson so this month that’s a $25 savings.

Air Steps – Chelsea & Phil are also our Air Step specialists. Their regular rate for Air Step private classes is $140, however in September you can train with them on aerials for just $100.

Please contact us to book your private lesson today.

REALLY INTERMEDIATE?!

Now, you know how it can be… In the past, it’s sometimes been hard to uphold the level of a class to the standard that the level title describes. “Intermediate” might have been called Intermediate, but the level sometimes had to be dropped to accommodate less experienced dancers.

And as more experienced dancers, even though we love the new dancers and want to encourage their progress, we still get very tired of that.

It’s exactly for this reason that Bees’ Knees Dance has not wanted to title a class as “Advanced” up until now. Because we don’t ever want to have a class that’s called Advanced but that isn’t actually advanced. That wouldn’t be fair to anyone.

YES, REALLY INTERMEDIATE!

Well, no more. As of this fall we’re upholding the Intermediate level to be a true Intermediate class. Students who aren’t deemed to be ready for the class will be asked to move to the 1.5 level or encouraged to catch up with a few private lessons.

This will ensure that the students who are truly Intermediate (and higher) can learn in the kind of high level environment that they deserve. You’ve worked hard to get to where you are in your dancing and we’re going to help you to get even farther.

WHAT ABOUT ADVANCED?

As for Advanced, Bees’ Knees Dance is now holding a Level 3 Advanced Lindy Hop Performance & Training group. This is a limited and exclusive opportunity and we’re sold out for the fall but there will be more opportunities for Advanced progression in our winter sessions. You can sign up for Winter 2011 now or contact us for more information.

INTERMEDIATE LINDY HOP, TUESDAYS @ 8pm

So for all of you Intermediate dancers, we are very happy to bring you this opportunity and hope to see you this Thursday! Pre-register at http://www.beeskneesdance.com/registration

Thanks!

Mandi, Arthur & Heather
http://www.beeskneesdance.com
http://www.luluhop.com

Swing Toronto puts on the best swing dances in the city!

Swing Toronto (a.k.a. Odd Socks) presents Saturday Night Swing featuring a swinging live band and beginner dance lessons every Saturday Night at the Dovercourt House! www.SwingToronto.com

In addition to the fantastic weekly Saturday night dances, every second and fourth Friday night of the month is Friday Night Live Band Blues & Swing featuring an excellent blues band and beginner dance lessons, also at the Dovercourt House!

They also present special Saturday daytime workshops from time to time, and special event dance weekends with some of the world’s best and foremost dance teachers.

So head to the Dovercourt House or to the Swing Toronto website to start social dancing in Toronto today!

Yonge & Bloor Blues is a grassroots monthly blues dance movement in Toronto. The events take place on the first Friday of the month with a free beginner blues dance lesson starting at 8:30pm.

FALL 2010 Blues Dances
Friday, September 3rd
Friday, October 1st
Friday, November 5th
Friday, December 3rd.

Location:
Bees’ Knees Dance Studio, 765B Yonge St.

What is blues dancing? Well dlues dancing in partnered dance communities today range from traditional african based movements to much less historically grounded forms. The dance is based on principles of partner connection, aesthetics and approaches to rhythm and timing. Major influences for modern day blues dancing have come mainly from lindy hop, west coast swing, and tango and majority of swing dance scenes around the world also have a blues dance community associated with it. Jazz was born from the blues.

For more information, check them out online at torontobluesdance.com or at facebook.com/torontoblues.

Questions? You can give Randy a shout directly at randypante@gmail.com.

Saturday, September 18th
11am-12pm Beginner ROCK n’ROLL
12pm-1pm  Intermediate ROCk n’ Roll

Dominion on Queen
500 Queen Street East, T.O.,ON

Free lessons with purchase of a ticket:
Friday Night $15
Saturday Night $20
Weekend pass $30
Drop in $10

www.myspace.com/eastendrockabillyrio

At the vintage car show.

My favourite red swing dress

When I first started dancing in ‘98, we all made an effort to dress up. But within a couple of years, the trend in the Lindy Hop world edged toward wearing sporty clothing with more of a skater or hip hop influence. What were we thinking?! Thank goodness the days of Modrobes and visors is behind us!

Though I started out by wearing original vintage swing wear now, other than accessories, I only wear new clothing made in a swing style. No more actual vintage pieces when going out dancing; unfortunately the vintage fabrics don’t age well they rip very easily. Many a beautiful dress has been ruined when dancing. Usually it’s a rip under the follower’s right arm as she passes under a turn but disaster can strike at any time.

So now I always wear what I call re-creative clothing; attire made in the fashion of the swing era but freshly tailored with new fabric.

Waving from the train.

Of course, I didn’t acquire all of this clothing over night. It’s a collection that I’ve built up over time. Here are some of my favourite go-to options for swing fashion:

In Toronto:
Doll Factory By Damzels

Girlie Rock n' Roll Retail Heaven

In Niagara:
Betties & Bombshells Retro Boutique

Retro clothing in Niagara!

Online:
Swing Outfits

Dancing clothes and accessories - Designs from the 30s and 40s

At the Geneseo Air Show.

Here’s a video of a performance that Phil and Chelsea did together.

Phil Bourassa

Dance Instructor (Toronto)

Phil lives and breathes Lindy Hop. After having tried other forms of dance, he was invited to a Swing dance at the Palais Royal in Toronto where he saw Lindy Hop for the first time. He was immediately hooked.

His passion for Lindy Hop, its culture and its history has sent him to cities all over Canada, the U.S., Europe and Australia, dancing and working with some of the world’s top dancers.

Phil loves to perform and usually never gives up the opportunity to dance in front of an audience. In Toronto, he’s been a part of two local dance troupes, including Capital Dance Productions. He’s also been featured twice on Much Music’s Much on Demand, CP24, Nuit Blanche, The Luminato Festival, and many other festivals and charity events in the Toronto area.

When he’s not out social dancing, Phil enjoys training, writing choreography, DJing at Swing dances, rehearsing routines, watching dance videos, tap dancing and teaching. His main goal in teaching is to share his passion for the dance, promote awareness and improve the local scene.

Chelsea Lefaivre

Dance Instructor (Toronto)

Chelsea comes from an early background of ballet, tap and jazz training, however, these interests quickly gave way to hockey and soccer. She rediscovered dance – in particular swing dance – at her University’s swing dance club and has been swinging out ever since. Her love of dance stems from a deep-seated desire to fly which she acquired from multiple, repetitive viewings of Mary Poppins and Peter Pan. From this, evolved a passion for fast dancing and aerials – her dance specialties. She is also known for her skill in Rock and Roll, Charleston, Balboa and East Coast Swing. She can often be found flying around the various dance floors of the Toronto scene and many other cities during her travels.

Beginner Swing – Sunday afternoons at 4pm
Starts September 12th

Full schedule details can be found on our Dance Lessons page.

Register now!

Due to an overwhelming response for our Fall 2010 classes in Toronto, we have updated our Registration vs. Drop-in Policy.

New Pre-Registration Policy:

In order to guarantee your participation in a class you must now register in advance. Drop-in attendants may still be admitted on a space-permitting basis, but pre-registration is strongly recommended.

Pre-registrants must also be on-time; we cannot hold spots for late-comers so please arrive at least 10 minutes prior to the class and be ready to join us on-time.

Please try to register at least 48 hours before the time of the class. We will do our best to process same-day registrations but we cannot guarantee your spot on short notice.

Thanks and we look forward to booking you for your next class!

Registration Form

The Groupon-coupon is designed for new students who are absolutely Beginners. We look forward to making the new people feel welcome in the non-intimidating and fun way that we believe in at Bees’ Knees Dance.

How Groupon works:

1. Each day they feature something cool to do at an unbeatable price.
2. You only get it if enough people join that day… so invite your friends!
3. Check back the next day for another awesome Groupon!

http://www.groupon.com/deals/bees-knees-dance/posts

Well a lot of people seem to want to learn to Swing Dance – who can blame them? – so this is working out really well. Get ready for a busy fall at the studio, and welcome to all of our new dancers!