FRINGE 2019: It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that SWING!
Swing Showcase
Stage 18 (Sugar Swing Ballroom)
Ah, the Fringe! At 258 shows, if you turn to the right you might enjoy one of a couple of burlesque shows. If you turn to the left – you might come up with Swing Showcase.
Such was the case last year when we were pleasantly surprised by an unexpected treat. Sugar Swing has their own ballroom where they hold popular jazz and dance events. They take it all very seriously and, if you have ever attended any of their soirees, you can see that there are a number of excellent dancers out there. Participants who never went through the rigors of childhood dance lessons are dancing just for the fun of it.
This year’s show is dedicated to Norma Adele Miller, a black American dancer, actress and comedian – known as the Queen of Swing. Miller is probably best remembered for a single unforgettable scene in the 1941 movie Hellzapoppin’ when she tore up the screen with a series of black flips, slides, kicks and lifts. Her long career continued right up to Vegas with performances with Sammy Davis Jr. She died in May of this year. The show runs the clip on a big screen – and it will take your breath away.
From the moment the large company piles onto the dance floor to a spirited version of Sweet Georgia Brown, the breathless pace doesn’t stop. The Charleston, The Lindy Hop, swing dancing, big apple, jitterbug, jive, even an adrenalized waltz – the entire catalogue of the dances of the ’30s and ‘40s pops up in this high energy time space. And if that weren’t enough, their special guest tap dancer is Jenna Werhun. This lovely dancer is a human percussion instrument who fires off polyrhythms, multiple meters, elements of swing and jive, percussive staccato taps that bounce off the far wall and all delivered with a smile that would melt what’s left of the Greenland Ice Cap. Her solo version of Laura gave a whole new reading to the tired old war horse.
The too-short 45 minutes, with its movie scenes featuring the dancers of the time, is hosted by the knowledgeable Matty Lovegrove. An added joy is in the music. Pop music has run aground in recent years, but popular music from The Charleston to the coming of the Beatles remains as exuberant as it ever did. It sure swung – and so does this groovy company.
4 out of 5
