#79: Behind the Scenes of a 'Walk Like an Egyptian' Practice Session

Behind the Scenes of Famous
WCS Routines

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. -WT Purkiser

___

I really love today's quote. I've definitely lived through times where I wasn't using the gifts I was given, or spending time with the ones I'd been sent. Too often I have spent my life doing what was expected of me by others.

It didn't take much on their part. All they had to do was ask, and I'd go the extra mile for them. It didn't matter who they were, where they were from or even if they cared about me or not. I would do my best to answer their wants, needs, questions, etc.

What a waste those years were. How much more I could have accomplished! And how much more I could have enjoyed them.

Their Hype and Hipocracy

Unwrapping the Hype of the
Internet Giants

No, this isn't a swing post, but I'm writing it because I think it's more important than swing. Much, much more important.

For a while now I've been hearing our online community constantly rage against any kind of boundaries when it comes to the Internet. They want endless freedoms because, let's face it, there are no consequences for any of our actions on the Internet.

There are laws and boundaries that rule us offline. Traffic laws, state laws, federal laws not to mention tax laws.

But the Internet has none.

We can be lewd. We can be criminal. We can slander and sext and twitter away without a single solitary line or boundary in sight. And so can the companies we use.

They collect, collect, collect. They collect our data here, there and everywhere. Every single company that ever sold us on them because of their privacy standards has completely reversed those standards. Most have done it without ever telling us.

And when they do, it's hidden in such jargon that a professor of law would have to break it down for you. Or CNET. CNETcatches everything - if you know how to look for what they find.

The Monopoly

Another Audio Exposé:
The Monopoly 

Excerpt from Weekly WCS Note #78: New Audio Exposé! Released Oct 21st 2013. Updated and revised. 

___

"I am speaking for all of us. I'm the spokesman for a generation."

-Bob Dylan

Dear Readers, 

This is a major heads up. Big changes in the WCS community are occurring even as I speak. Alliances are being formed, friendships are being tested and loyalty is being expected. It's big. So, so, so, so BIG.

You need to be aware. Newcomers to legends - we much all be alert and aware. Changes like these can last for decades, as we have already seen. Today's new narration, The Monopoly, will give you AMAZING tools for understanding, as do the recent Boogie by the Bay uploads.

Be well, be safe, you're loved,
K

FOUR GUYS & A CITY 

(plus The Art of War)

I am SO glad you guys are loving the new Audio Exposés. I've been listening to them over the course of the week, as I've done chores around the house, etc etc. My, my, my! They sure are captivating! 

Today I'm releasing the very first exposé I ever recorded. The first! And that's for a very good reason.

I begin with a story about the US Open and the Art of War, and finish with the story about a Monopoly that's held one huge city in its grip for ten years, driving out all WCS instructors and dancers. I talk about the "Four Guys" in great detail. Maybe you'll recognize someone. Maybe you'll know all of them! (I later reveal their names in #84: Playing Monopoly.)

The one thing that's guaranteed is that it will most definitely prepare you for the people you'll meet and come across everyday in swing - at conventions, studios and dance nights. They say that knowledge is power. Be empowered. Click Here, and listen.

THE MONOPOLY

xoxo,

Katherine

New Format! WCS Audio Exposés!

WCS Audio Exposés:
Powerful Stories, Memories & More

Two years ago... TWO YEARS AGO (I can't believe it's just two years!!!) I wrote you saying I was switching from my established Articles format and moving into something very different - a weekly format. One that was informal, off-the-cuff and rather wild...

Oh, my. Did any of us think they would get this big? How much has changed, grown and expanded with their meager start? In the beginning I barely filled a page, and now I have to work hard not to fill twelve. We seen so much together. We've come so far, haven't we?

In just two short, fast years... where so much happened that I feel like it's been twenty! not just two.

That really says something about the power of these Weekly Notes. I hope this next chapter will bring the same excitement and discussion, because...

#69: The Lobby

From Weekly WCS Note #69:
The Lobby

A couple of years ago, I was asked to grab Annie Hirsch for an important meeting. It was hard. Annie was talking, if that's what you'd call it, with the parents of a 30+ year old guy in The Ten. I didn't know who they were at the time though. I just knew that this pair of parents simply wouldn't let Annie go. They were very insistent on telling Annie just how stupendous their son was. Very very insistent.

As I tried to pull Annie away, they practically grabbed Annie to keep her there. And as I heard all the glories of their son they were sharing, I realized who their son was. Annie confirmed it for me as we finally walked away. And even thought we'd broken away, Annie kept repeating apologies and frustration about them to me, their desires and the 30 year old son/boy/adult?

You see, even though their son was in The Ten, they still weren't happy. He hadn't won. He danced well, but he hadn't won. And they wanted Annie to change things. They pressured Annie, and Annie just felt so bad for them, so bad for them that Annie kept apologizing and agreeing about their son even after the, what I would call it, confrontation. Oh he was on the podium - placed second that day, and 2nd-5th for the last ten years. But that was not enough.

It was very very clear that this wasn't the first time these parents had done this. He's been around awhile. I hope by now you've realized that members of The Ten are frustrated that the same people keeping winning. Yeah, they are on the podium all the time, but all they care about is first place. Most are Nissies after all, but you have to admit... no matter what, most aren't going to win... and most never have. Those #1 spots are reserved.

I remember the year that the teachers who always win had to take five months off. So when the podium was announced for Classic at the larger event at the time, I half laughed and half teared up. I mostly felt ill. What had we become?

NO ONE up on that podium was happy. The winners? Who finally got to win for once? Went out to bow when their win was announced... and no one was cheering. The heads of the Church weren't up there... so why should they clap? And these weren't members of The Ten... so the definitely shouldn't clap! Who cares if they are world champions in ballroom and country? That means nothing in The Church!

I was so so embarrassed for this couple. To be so completely dissed and ignored by the entire ballroom upon winning. It made me squirm. But it didn't matter. They weren't happy either. They knew their win didn't mean anything.

And the other four couples on the podium? They weren't happy either - they all thought that they deserved the #1 spot now that the heads of the Church were gone. I turned to Nick and said, "wow - everyone up their looks extremely pissed." And they did. Good gravy. What a disturbing sight it was.

But back to this guys parents. As we walked away, hearing Annie feeling so bad and backed into a corner, all I could think was... Wow. This guys parents have been pushing for him? All this years? Really?!?! 

It really made me think. My parents? They introduced me to dancing... okay. But they've never seen me perform. They never attended the Open, despite it being less than an hour away, and they've never seen any of my routines. 

So, to think of my parents lobbying for me? They have NEVER lobbied for me - not in the slightest. Though it would've been nice if they'd showed up for even one of my performances, I would never have felt comfortable with them pushing the head of the WSDC to makes sure I place. Ew. Ew. Triple Ew!!!

So I tucked that little experience under my hat and moved on to other things that weekend. But I never forgot it.

Lately I've been thinking about this aspect again. It's begun rolling around in my head once more. The "parents" angle... hmmm.

Do you know? Almost every member of The Ten has at least one parent backing them... mostly mothers? Heck, the head of the The Ten's mother works for a member of the Council - and has for the last ten years. Haven't you noticed the mom's following them around? And I wonder, when the other "kid" I mentioned in The Church piece is not hired or treated well, did you know their dad or mom places a direct phone call to chew them out? Or that they are at the Open to make sure they are respected correctly?

About a year ago a mother of one of the All-Stars emailed a really nasty, disturbing and raging note. She wasn't on my email list, and her daughter is doing very well in Abstract, so I left it alone. You can't talk a Church member out of their beliefs.

Then, exactly one year later, her daughter took off her shirt in a Jack & Jill and danced in her lace bra for her spotlight dance. Got points for it and everything.

I expect her mom was proud.

There are SO many stories surrounding the creation of The Ten and the WSDC and the Points... and I just can't believe now, looking back, how many parents were and still are, involved. And if it's not parents, it's uncles, nephew's, siblings, etc. If you don't see their parents at events, you at least see them online or texting other dancers... making sure they travel, teach in their town, etc, etc, etc.

Mothers. Fathers. Lobbying for their kids. I guess that happens in other sports, but in our case, Annie listens, acts, and even talks down their competition to the judges.

Thank God my parents never put Annie in a corner and told her to make sure I got the No. 1 spot. I might have been a member of The Ten.

And that's just the scariest future I could imagine.

I am a lucky lucky girl.

Peace.

xoxo,
K

The Rock Step

Previously released to my Weekly Note subscribers. Sign up here to join.

"Instead of standing alone in the face of challenge or temptation, they check to see which way their friends are going."

-Charles Stanley

I hope this quote really resonates with you. We've been hitting some anniversaries along the way here, and I'm suddenly aware of how and where things are right now.

I really do wonder how much happier we all would have been if those who have been complaining for all of these years about "this isn't swing," "that isn't swing," "the music" "the music" "the music!" had actually followed through with some kind of action. We would've settled for a minute pinky-lift, right? SOMEthing, anything, right?

But all of them, when they've had, what? their like, 3 MILLION opportunities to actually act on their complaints? They've followed their "friends" instead, even when they knew that 'they' weren't real friends at all.

They played dead. Dropped like a donkey and laid there, motionless. They played dead.

I have a list a mile long now with the names of teachers, promoters and ED's that swore the dance was dying, but who chose to play dead instead. Like, 3 million times now.

You are the brave ones. I love what you're doing! I like what you're saying! Quite inventive you all are too! Things I never would've imagined. Good for you.

Now, here's a little treat for your feet!

Swing's Rock Step

If you've purchased the upgraded and updated collection of Weekly Notes, good for you. You'll be on the same page with me already on this. Because in that book, I really expand on the subject of the Rock Step. It was in the Note called Triple Threat, I believe. Anyway, in short, I learned a lot while researching WCS's history - talking to people, dancing with people, listening to people, reading about people and, of course, watching a million videos.

It was while I was watching those millions that it dawned on me. They were all doing Rock Steps. Emphasis on were.

Because (now bear with me here!) 

-ONE single teacher called for the elimination of Rock Steps. 

-This teacher was and still is on the Board of Directors of the World Swing Dance Council. The WSDC. That's right. I said it. The teacher who called for the elimination of Rock Steps was, at the time, on the WSDC board... and still is.

-This teacher called for it, you guessed it, at the exact period in history when Points were enforced.

Huh.

Talk about timing.

If you read Setting Dancers Free, you'll see that I didn't connect those dots back then. I just said a single teacher said they should be eliminated, and puff! they were gone. I remember wondering while writing it, how the rest of the teachers in the USA got behind it when it was a CA teacher's idea - but now I realize the judges were told to look for that, so only those dancers not doing it were placed. Teachers got wise, and felt like they had to teach "to win."

And so began the end of WCS. Especially at Point events.

I believe I should clarify something - the teacher originally said, and still does, to the best of my knowledge, "why do a Rock Step when you don't have to?" Well, she may have put it that way, but the word didn't spread that way. I remember exactly where I was, what spot on the floor I was dancing and who I was dancing with when I was told: "We don't do that anymore." I was like, "okay" and stopped. 

I didn't ask why or how - I just did it. I didn't realize what I'd be missing.

If you delete a Rock Step?

You delete a bajillion patterns.

For example, this lovely beast:

Traditional Tandem West Coast Swing (Bontemple, Shermoen, Sharlott, Shirley) 1987

I'd forgotten about this fun little trade-off wheel people used to dance - in jams, shows and showcases. I loved it, and after a few moments of finding and watching this video... it all came back to me! I loved watching this danced... right up until, yup. You got it. Points. The end of the Renaissance of Swing.

Some call this partner pattern Four Play (a bit of a pun), or Traditional Tandem, etc etc. I don't care. 

I just think you should learn it.

In fact, I think you should learn it NOW!

I mean, the people in this video are all in the Hall of Fame. They were and are influential and they were all highly successful on the social floor and the competition floor. These are REAL WCS Champions!!! And won't you look at that! They had fun doing this little wheel, and guess what! It's ALL real WCS!!!

In the introduction to my first book, I list the Basic Steps of WCS. One of them was the Tuck-Out... and oh! hey!!! Look! That's what they are doing. The Tuck was the first thing to go when that 'someone' killed the Rock Step. It looks really fun, right?

Right! Because it's 

SWING!!!

Okay - so I want you to learn this tandem up above because it will burn pure WCS right into your bones. That's right - the eight count whips, the six count tuck outs, the anchoring, the underarm turns - ALL of it is straight WCS and straight WCS basics!!!

I know you can do. I know you want to do it!

I DARE YOU TO DO IT!!!

Because the best antidote to non-swing?

is the sweet foundation of pure 100% West Coast Swing

coursing through your veins.

Kisses,

K

Free at Last: The 50th Anniversary of "I Have a Dream"

The 50th Anniversary of the
"I Have a Dream" Speech.

It's the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s  "I Have a Dream" Speech. I hold this dear anniversary very close to my heart, for many many reasons.

First and foremost for me, however, have been these last few years -  for his bravery in times of the most horrific backlashes from a society who did not want to "let freedom ring." He kept writing and kept speaking anyway. His heart burned for his followers and for those being hurt by the same people who were attacking him.

He wrote anyway.

He fought anyway.

He spoke anyway.

When things were ugly, when I feared for my safety or for my husband's, when the voices of my beloved dancers were drowned out by the most disgusting, disturbing, hateful and downright terrifying words, anonymous phone calls, death threats and violence upon my family and at my home... I found myself looking for a way to stay strong, stay focused and feel loved.

I am telling you this outright and straight forward. I found my strength, energy and passion could only be restored, my flickering flame could only be re-fueled back into fire... by the writing and lives of two men. Only. And Martin Luther King Jr. was the foremost of those two.

When I was hurting? I turned to his words.

When I was doubtful? I turned to his words.

When I was scared? I turned to Martin Luther King Jr.

A man who was so deeply rooted in the Truth, whose foundation was so deep and so strong... that he did not waiver. He did not stop.

Our nation has housed the most outrageous (at the time), free and whole-minded men and woman, but for me, I found my solace in Martin Luther King.

I dedicated my second book "To my forefathers, who did not waiver. And won." This is one of the forefathers I was referring to. 

He did not waiver.

And though it cost him all he had and was....

He won.

I tip my hat to you sir, I bend my knee to your bravery, I raise my hands in wonder at how strong your flame always blazed, and I will never be able to truly say, truly word or truly honor the blessing of your words.

They have saved me. They have saved our nation. They have saved our people. "Let freedom ring" indeed. Happy 50th Anniversary to a speech by a man I could not have lived as I do without. 

Amen.

Your WCS Survival Kit

The Full Year of Notes
Now on Kindle

The Weekly Notes are finally on Kindle. Think of them as your WCS Survival Kit. You'll need it. Wherever you go. Promise.

Oh, and I changed a few names. So if you hear them used this weekend, then you'll know who they're talking about. Told you. It's a WCS Survival Kit.

Over and Out,
Your Good Luck Charm...

xoxo,
Katherine

#61: April's Fool - A WCS Story

Don't be a fool!
Weekly Note #61

Where sickness thrives, bad things will follow. - Tolkein

____

This is the Note everyone needs to read. Everyone. It changed the world in one single day. Read on...

I have changed the two dancers' names in the story to protect their identities. This is a true story, from start to finish. A real life "Aesop's Fable," if you will. Read on...

APRIL'S FOOL
(aka APRIL vs. MAY )

This is a story about April and May. Two women, two dancers, two attendees of a recent new WSDC convention, only in its second year. April and May also share another quality; they are both in the Novice division. They both signed up for the Novice Jack & Jill and they both danced to the same music on the dance floor.  But this is where their similarities end. Let's get to know them, shall we?

Meet April. She's 25, but only looks 15 when she isn't at a convention. Mostly this is due to the way she holds herself. She wears torn jeans, baggy t-shirts with deep dipping V's so that you can see different parts of her bra from time to time because she holds herself "tucked in." She wraps her arms around herself, tucks her shoulders forward and down so that when she talks, she appears smaller and less pushy, no matter what she's actually saying.

More Answers, More Words

New Weekly Notes...
on Their Way!

Yes, you heard right. A brandnew Weekly WCS Note will be hitting your inbox this coming Monday... and the Monday after that... and the Monday after that! And if you've been around long enough, you know what that means! If you're not a member yet, click here to sign up for free!

Looking forward to sharing!
xoxo,
Katherine

#60: Swing Into Spring with Joe & Lisa

Christopher Joe & Lisa Cortez
(Now Schaupp)

History is a vast early warning system. -Norman Cousins
___

It's time to tune you in on what's been going on these last few weeks. In between working on my third book and doing some long overdue accounting paperwork, I've been taking breaks to upload never-before-seen videos up on my YouTube. I was only a teenager when I started collecting WCS videos, so being picky was already a good quality for someone on a teenage budget.

So I don't have all the videos of all the years I danced, but I do have a number of videos that I hand picked as the ones I wanted to watch and study. I've uploaded a bunch on my YouTube Channel. (Have fun checking them out! Included is the couple featured below, Scott & Amy - talk about fast and furious!)

But as I got older, I could afford more tapes, and so, in 1997, I was able to buy a couple of the US Open tapes. Thank God I did. As I'm watching them unfold in my video editor, I'm realizing just how much changed that year. It was an incredibly pivotal year in West Coast Swing.

Scott & Amy from St. Louis in 
Showcase Finals

Many did not return to the floor after that year. Many of our brightest stars quit WCS completely, and those that didn't still quit doing routines and competition in it. I can't blame them now. I just wish I'd had the insight they did back then.

Of course, back then I was so young... loving every minute of this fast, amazing & thrilling new dance I'd found. And I LOVED the music... I learned so much about so many artists and era's that I'd never been exposed to before. I was so busy enjoying everything, I never thought that anyone would want to change anything.  I don't think I'll ever make that mistake again.

Anyhow, as I was scrolling through the 1997 Classic Prelims, I ran across one of my favorite West Coast Swing routines of ALL TIME. I froze. I couldn't believe I had it!!!! And I made sure to upload it first, before all the others, and then my husband and I went on to watch it nearly twenty times in the next three days.

Because that's what HOT West Coast Swing does. It makes you watch. And learn. And learn. And learn...

The more I watched, the more I realize it literally outlined, danced and demonstrated every darn point I made in Routines 101, especially the book version. Phrasing? Check. Individual personality? Check. Dancing? Triple check!!!

I can't believe how many of her syncopations I've taught in my classes over the years. I can't believe how many of their patterns I danced on the social dance floor for years and years. I can't believe how many six count patterns, musicality "within" the beat instead of ignoring it, and... well... joy this routine has.

The first thing my husband pointed out was the community. Can you see how those watching are soaking every single movement in? Do you see the incredibly large range of ages in the background? Can you see how powerful Lisa is? How powerful Christopher is? How much they are simply enjoying each other out there... enjoying real WCS, and inviting everyone else to enjoy it with them? The swing "family" radiates off the screen.

There's so much to soak in while watching this video. So much you can copy and learn from. About everything. Watch for yourself:

And that was just prelims!!! Here's a little WCS trivia for you: in finals Lisa replaced her black pants with a matching blue skirt and... get this... her shoe buckle came undone! in the middle of the routine. The foot she kicks with! And did she stop? No sir... she kept right on dancing. A pro indeed. We talked about it for years.

When I posted Christopher Joe & Lisa Cortez's routine, it went a bit viral - a number of e-newsletters used it, etc etc. As such, I received more emails than usual upon its release. And almost everyone asked, "why isn't this danced anymore?" My answer? "I don't know, but I sure do miss it." (Okay, so I do know, but it's not fun to really think on.)  I miss dancing these patterns. I miss dancing to good dance music. I miss how men loved it when the women rocked it, and I miss how awesome it was when I danced with a man who took pride in his lead - who didn't rely on the woman to compromise. I miss powerhouse dancing. And I miss the joy of the swing family. It's the exact opposite today at WSDC comps. A total 180. What a loss.

But my local clubs are my joy. I hear they are yours too. As well a few non-WSDC events. Some of those are doing incredibly well. And when you hire amazing pros like the ones above, who were smart enough to get out of the WSDC regime when it turned on our dance, you will find joy too. The joy of dance, the joy of swing, the joy of... red hot West Coast Swing!

From Weekly WCS Note #60: Swing Into Spring with Joe & Lisa (once 'Spring and Swing.') Released April 2013.

The History of Strictly Swing

How & Why the Strictly
 Swing Category Came to Be

Think you know the history behind Strictly Swing? Think again! Get educated and show off some fancy moves for your friend while you're at it. Let's go back behind the scenes, shall we?

Strictly Swing, I mean, Street Swing made its first debut at the US Open in 1993. Other names for this same division that were used at other events include Just Dance or Strictly Swing, the former eventually taking hold, though it was resisted for quite some years. The goal of this new division was to add an avenue for others to compete outside of the 'routine' divisions. 

You see, for its first decade, the US Open was a routine based competition. Showcase Division, Classic Division, Teams Division... all were based on routines. And back then, routines took A LOT of work. And the competition was incredibly fierce. To put on a good showing rather than risk extreme embarrassment (no one cheered for bad dancing back then, no matter who was out there),partners would agree to partner for the Open up to a year in advance, and then work hard and train hard that entire year to be ready for "the big show."

After all, there weren't a lot of other events to choose from, and that's about how it should be for the size of the demographic that's drawn to real West Coast Swing. But it made the competitions just that more fierce.

But I'm thrilled with their addition of the Street Swing category. You could pick your partner, but you didn't pick the music. Kenny Wetzel's music was used, and get this... only 15 spots were allowed. When those 15 spots were taken, they closed the registration. Other exciting factors? ANYONE could sign up. 

Any skill level that dared could register themselves, as long as they did it before anyone else. But once they did, the pressure was on. Why? Because every single Street Swing couple had a spotlight dance. Back then, it was terrifying. You'd be in "the pit" as we called it, and two thousand dancers with extremely tough standards would watch you. They cheered for good dancing. And if they didn't cheer? uh oh. The silence would be deafening.

The idea behind the rules of Street Swing (Just Dance, Strictly Swing) was a) to give those who didn't find partners to do a routine with a place to compete (back then you could only enter one category) and b) to show off real swing. No tricks. No lifts. Just plain old West Coast Swing. And man, did the brand new category pay off, as you will soon see.

As I stated, all of the music in the videos below were luck of the draw, and yet, how amazing and well-phrased all of these dances are! The leaders knew what they were doing, let me tell you. I see so many videos posted of pros performing "demo's" nowadays... pros that have been partners for years... and NONE of them look as clean as any of these amazing dancers below.

All three of these videos demonstrate and awesomely high level of the Three T's: Timing, Technique and Teamwork. On the fly, their technique is awesome and their lead and follow is perfect. The men have power but so do the women. The timing, phrasing and syncopations are impeccable and the footwork is totally amazing. Clearly they practiced together beforehand, and were comfortable with each other... enough to perform under the scrutiny of the uniquely hard eye of this audience.

Get to know these videos well. It will help you identify West Coast swing during social dancing, Jack & Jill's and Strictly Swings. When you see a real West Coast Swing demo or couple today, they will look much more like these below, where all of the new West Coast Swing Essentials are clearly danced, and danced well. You'll notice how incredibly different all four dances are. The music is all swing music, but watch how the dancers' individuality is allowed to be displayed, all within the confines of the rules of West Coast Swing.

Now, it's time to enjoy! You can follow this link to my Street Swing Playlist, where the following dances will play automatically in a row for you on YouTube. Or just enjoy them below. Have fun stealing moves everybody! Watch and learn, watch and learn...

Ramiro Gonzalez & Sylvia Sykes

1995 Street Swing - 1st Place

Jason Colacino & Gina Amato Brown

1996 Street Swing - 1st Place

Christopher Joe & Melanie Roberts Dawson

1995 Street Swing - 2nd Place

Louie Juarez & Rosie Campos

1996 Street Swing - 2nd Place

xoxo,

Katherine

(the original text sent out with these videos can be found here)

#55: The Connecticut Shooting - A Look in the Mirror

Let us dare to read, speak, think and write. -John Adams

I wonder... I wonder if you had a morning like mine. I woke up, I made up the bed, I tucked in my sheets and I even collected a little laundry. I dressed, did my hair, looked in the mirror and I went on with my day.

A bowl of cereal. A few bills paid. Some tidying here and some tidying there before I settled down, before my desk, to start my day of work. Emails checked, phone checked... ah, Facebook... not yet checked.

All is well I see. A friend has a new job opportunity, another has a new skiing photo and another... has a post... about Connecticut? About assault weapons?  And then another post, and another, and another and... I immediately jump over to the BBC to see what is going on.

And there it is. A single headline. 27 dead. Kindgarden. Kids. School. Dead. in Connecticut.

I wonder... did you feel like me when you heard? Did your insides drip fire, blood and water down its insides and did your skin go cold? and numb? And did your brain freeze? Freeze with disbelief and belief all at once?

Because you know you've been here before. We've been here before. Always. And did the crossroads fill you? Did you feel the trap closing in around you as I did? "We've been here before... We've been here before."

And we will be here again.

For nothing, you are suddenly so incredibly aware, nothing has changed. Nothing. It's as if you can see the book twenty pages ahead... the candlelight vigils, the weeping mothers, the debates on the screen filled with nothing but the angry buzz of interruption and bullying and interference with each others sides. Bickering. Nagging. Seeping...

Can you already hear them, the raised voices, in your heads? The biting, the chaos and the pre-adolescent hand slapping fights that we have settled on for the term "public debate"? And can you see the news four weeks from now, six weeks from now, with side reports of autopsies, of 'his' Facebook page, of the warning signs, of what his hobbies were and of what he did on the social networks, in school, in life... and you've heard it before and could write it now. Page, after page, after empty page.

Can you see it now before you? Can you taste the dust and the debris of the hopelessness already in your mouth?

And did you, like me, turn to the news stations for answers, for the mirroring of your soul, and pain, for clues to help you process? How did it feel, when they did nothing but slip the pre-warmed syringe into the vein of your arm, lulling you to sleep with words of our president's "tears," and "emotion" and the governor's political two stepping... "we did our best to be prepared but you can never be prepared" speeches? Did the disconnect and the void of neutrality in their eyes dull you as well? Did it lull you back to sleep? Did it convince you, once again, that the Second Amendment will once again, as before, be debated and, once again, will make all of "this" nuisance of a recurrence "null-and-void" and old news?

And I wonder, how many of you turned off the screen like me? Seeing no solace, no anger, no answers and most definitely, no leadership. Did your body fill with the mist-like-grey that comes... feather light, with no weight, and you suddenly know that you are alone? That nothing but burnt soil and bits of black on ashen plains surround you for miles? That the fight within you, that the justice that pounds behind the right of your heart... is not echoed? It's not real? It's not true? And it's not right??? "How can that be?" you wonder. "How can that be?"

I wonder. I wonder if you are like me.

I am mad. I am furious. I am doubtful and I am faithless. I see, with the channels and the flickering and the news and the media... all I see is the emaciated skeleton of what once was. I see the leaders and the fury and the justice and righteousness of those that came before us... I see the fury in their eyes!!!

I see their eyes fixed upon the blood of the children that flows past each of our feet... I see them looking down, while the cameras of today do nothing but look up and zoom in on the tears.. of the wiping of the sadness... of the "emotion." I hear the media of today saying "look! look to your leaders! they are weeping! they are... sad!!!"

But I do not see them. I do not focus on the shed of a tear... I only see the fire. I see the fire of our forefathers, the fire of the children we have lost and I see the fingers of those we have lost before and I see the fighters of our freedom with their arms raised, forward, straight and powerful and full of accusation and knowledge. They are pointing, they are pointing... their arms are raised and they are pointing... to the ancient and the new blood of the innocent that flows upon our feet, that empties from our bowels and that rains upon our hands and that we? We do nothing.

They know that we do nothing. They know that we are numb and content to be numb! That we want that syringe and we want that "emotion" and that all we want are the candlelight vigils and the mourning and the sorrow and perhaps, most likely, that glass of wine that we shall sip and sip and sip and sip until we feel no more. They know that we don't want to fight. We've forgotten how to fight. They see our hands, and they see they are soft and supple and free of worry, war and care.

Oh, yes. We shall make memorials. We shall. But if we look inside, we know that they are the memorials that will stand...  that will stand and will surely and knowingly see the blood come again. It most certainly and most definitely will, as we all know, flow again. And we are content with that. We are satisfied with that. We have chosen again and again and again the bickering over the thinking, the drama over the true feeling, the cover-ups and shams that replace our true justice and true knowledge of what is out there.

The rage. Oh! The rage I see burning in the hearts of those that penned our first words!!! The words of our nation have been corrupted to the point of blasphemous infamy. I can see their accusations and I know that they are right. They are so very very right. "We?" "We the people?" I hear them mock. "We the people???" I hear them accuse... "You are not a people anymore."

"You are heathens and you are greedy and you are weak and your hands have no work upon them..." Oh, do I hear them behind me... I hear their skin crackle like the fire that first lit their hearts.

Do you really believe, my people? Do you really believe that our forefathers, the ones who fought and the ones who thought and the ones who showed bravery that the likes of history has rarely seen.... do you really think they would let the blood of children stand? Is that what we really are content to believe???

Do you think that when they wrote their words, that when they wrote their Constitution and their Amendments... do you really think their main goal and purpose was to create some holy scripture that none of us could question or deny? That we were to go on as a people, unthinking and uncompromising and uncaring? Do you really think they wanted us to believe that? Do you really think we could EVER stand before the high court of their judgments and of their minds and find them happy? Content? Proud? of our decisions to stand by some old relic they created for a different time and a different purpose???

As if! As if they thought life was unchanging... as if they thought revolution was a thing to be abhorred... as if they thought that their way was the only way for all time and all creation???

Shame! Shame upon our nation and upon our heads and upon our hearts for believing the most unthinking and most corrupt media to ever ever grace the planet of this earth and the weakest, the weakest of all governments on this planet, that has so quickly and so suddenly fallen from its great heights of only a generation or so ago... Shame! that all now fight for one thing and one thing only! To be "heard." To be "popular." To be "Nice. Right. Kind." That perfect, playing soundbite. Worthless.

We have become a nation of worthless thoughts and of worthless deeds when the blood of our fallen soldiers and the blood of other nations is bantered about like some rodeo rally under the banner of "entertainment," while the blood of our own innocent children flows past our feet and I hear... oh yes, I hear them crying out from that blood... "Why?"

I think you can hear them too.... "Why?"

"Why?" they ask, "are you allowing us to die?"

I wonder if you are like me. I wonder if you are really content with what we have been given? I wonder if you are like me. If you are sick of repetition with no action?

And I really do wonder??? Are you really like me? Are you willing to fight? Are you willing to speak? Are you willing to set axe to bone? To fight for our kids, our lives and fight for real change? Fight for truth and justice and what really happened out there?

Are you like me? Do you really want to look into the mirror? Do you really want to look into the faces of our lost and fallen and do you, like me, feel willing and free and able to turn your eyes away from the sick, flacid and nameless lenses of the cameras and "perspectives" that our medias give voice to... to look down?

To look down at the blood? To hear their names, one by one, as they pass across our feet... and say, "we are sorry. We have failed you. We shall take your names upon our hearts and we shall etch them in our minds and we shall not stand for what others want for us, but we shall stand for you."

Will you join with me, in unison? In voice? In real, true and heady reaction? Asking the question, "when is enough, enough?" Did your heart split in two and cry, "it is finished?" Did you know the end had come? Did you know this must be stopped? Did you feel your foot plant firmly in the ground at the news... and know that the time has now come? The foundation must now shift?

I know that reason does not prevail anymore. I know that reporting no longer exists either. I know that the days are gone when we can turn on our televisions and see an older, wiser and solemn face looking back at us and saying, "This is the line. It shall never again be crossed." When we knew that there would be action to make it so.

Those days are so far gone... they no longer exist. We can't even remember the taste of them. We suckle at the teat of mindless neutral words that do anything but inspire us to fight, feel, heal and most of all... take action.

"We the people."

Are you like me? Will you join me? Will you turn off your screens, tweets and feeds and remove the feeding tube of apathy from your throats. Will you fight back? Will you flood congress? Will you flood your legislature? Will you flood the social networks, your newspapers, your communities... will you vote with  your justice and your minds and your hearts... and will you write? Write in your journals and in your families and in your corners and in your harsh realities?

Will you, like me, choose to think freely, think clearly, and admit all of our wrongs and all of our past rights and finally... finally... choose what is right. What is sane. What is true. And what would make our forefathers and our fallen innocents proud.

Will you?

From one soul in agony to my beloved kindred hearts across the globe...
Katherine Eastvold
Excerpt from Weekly WCS Note #55.

#53: The Church of Jordan and Tatiana

Today's Competitive
WCS Community:
Church or Cult?
Weekly Note #53

Unless you become more watchful in your states and check the spirit of monopoly, you will, in the end, find that the control over your dearest interests has passed into the hands of these corporations.

-Andrew Jackson

___

While putting together Setting Dancers Free, my first collection of Weekly WCS Notes, added discussion questions for my Word groups to nearly twenty Notes. That included the infamous Weekly Note #9: The Results are IN!, where I gave my own scores for the US Open's Classic Division, along with a breakdown of how and why I came to those scores.

This Note proved a uniquely difficult one to write discussion questions for. So much hate had been violently poured out in an effort to silence people after it was released that the memory of it made it difficult for me to encourage people to speak... speak their own thoughts and their own minds. I knew that if they did so publicly, not just in their groups, that they would face horrific and immediate harassment.

But freedom is freedom, and in the end I succeeded. The questions ended up becoming some of my favorite discussion questions ever.

But there was one that shocked me... yes, me! You writers out there know that you can stand back sometimes and go, "What in the world did I just write!?!" And this question was one of those moments:

Discussion Question #5:

Right before the US Open (2011) I was told that the Open, and the WCS community that attended it, was The Church of Jordan and Tatiana. In what ways does that title fit? Do you feel that you are a part of that church? What do you think your duties as a member of that church are?

Yeah. Quite a question, isn't it? I so dearly wish I could be there for some of those discussions, because I can think of some of my own answers from personal experience. My, oh, my.

And then, shortly after I wrote that question, the US Open released an announcement proclaiming a "new" anniversary tape. "In celebration of our thirtieth year," it said, "we have created a compilation of the last ten years (2002 thru 2011) Classic and Showcase winners."

"What the heck???" I thought. "Are they TRYING to sell my books for me???"

Because, as anyone who has read me over the last two years knows, I've said a whole darn lotta things about the last ten years. And now they are putting out a new "tape" of the last ten years just to prove it. Cool.

But if you don't wanna spend the $40 buckaroos to watch the same people dance swing and then, slowly but surely, unravel and stop dancing swing, then go ahead and let me not only recap "The Next Ten Years" as they call it, but also break it down a bit for those of you who weren't around at the time.

__________________

Okay, so I put 12 years up there for you, not just 10, but aren't you glad I did? I hope you really paid attention to my notes. On the years that they did not win, did you see why? Either they didn't compete, or messed up so badly with a new routine that they stopped and turned bright red. But even then the judges worried incessantly that they'd made some huge mistake, just because they didn't have Jordan and Tatiana in first.

And did you notice something else? Benji has never lost a US Open since he stopped competing against Jordan and Tatiana, and Matt and Meagan, for that matter.

And the names of those who won in his absence, or in the only three years Jordan and Tatiana did not reign for various reasons? Nothing's changed much up there in the last 10 years, just like I've said in everything I've written.

If you watch the tape of the first 20 years of the Open, you'll see some names repeated, like Lance Shermoen, but they don't tell you how he placed or competed in the years he didn't win. Both Robert Royston and Lance Shermoen placed 6th the year before or after their wins... it really was a competition back then.

So thanks again to the Open for putting out that new tape of the last decade. The first time I didn't have to publish proof on my own! How very sweet. And by all means, go ahead and get the tape if you want, just know what you're getting- a total 180 from the previous tape, and a total monopoly...

by the Church of Jordan and Tatiana.

xoxo,
Katherine

PS- If you want to know who founded this Church, and who keeps it running, just take a look at the WSDC (World Swing Dance Council). Jordan didn't start winning till he joined the GSTDA (the owner of which is one of the founding members of the Council), and the Open is owned by a GSTDA instructor. And even though, as Jordan told me in 2011, "I haven't taught that stuff in over 5 years," and that his teaching is "completely different now," ("split weight is a higher form of movement," anyone?), the GSTDA still promotes them, hires them and says they still do everything the GSTDA teaches, despite all evidence to the contrary... complaints from students, video proof of workshops and obvious 'on the floor' proof. (Just try to count that "Rolling Count" while watching any routine in the last five years... shoot, just try to count Rolling Count to the music they've chosen! I can't believe people are still drinking the spiked Kool Aid.)

The head of the Council? "LOVES Tatiana," I was told, "and does anything she asks." Including trying to get a non-GSTDA judge (Mario Robau Jr., who isn't a Georgia Peach either- not a fan of growing a community, freedom of thought or considering anyone to be his equal, but does still teach swing and handles himself quite a bit more professionally than anyone in The Ten) off of the Classic Division panels. When lobbying for the judging panel these two wanted, they both went directly to the head of the Council. It was the head of the Council alone who did all that pressuring of the head judges,  of Mario and of the event directors. No one else. Just the head of the Council.

Wow. 

Is this why the WSDC refers to these 30 year olds as "kids" still? I don't hear anyone else but their parents still calling them kids. And yes, as you can probably tell from the chart above, Benji is also called one of their "kids" too. Why so narrow in their choice of favorites? Do they really think anointing these few chosen ones will establish their eternity? Despite the fact that their "kids" have not only left the fold, but have waged war against it? At the cost of the dance, ethics, soberness and fraud? Hmmm... you'll hear me expand on that later...

I shall be writing more about how the Church was established, how it was ingrained and how it has become, literally, a cult, in my third book, One Word at a Time. Knowing really is half the battle.

Peace.
-K

March 2014 Update: 

This piece was written for a Weekly Note all the way back in December 2012. So much has changed since then. The most powerful founder of the church has passed away. The so-called cardinals and bishops of the church still remain, but they have been exposed - called out into the open. Scandal, treachery and bribes have been shoved into the light. 

I have done some of this, yes, but not all of it. Members of the church itself are doing it. Oh my. Now, don't get me wrong. The church still stands, and quite frankly, I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon. But this time things are very, very different. All the players may be the same... but... as you may have heard... some of the players have... well... changed. 

Look, I talk about this a bit in The Monopoly and even in the BBB Exposes, but these people who I'm about to discuss down below are not people I watched from far away. I was there. We were the young ones. We only knew each other. I did not hate any of them. I just witnessed everything. But I didn't understand the consequences at the time, and left to open my studio just after the church was established. 

Looking back, I realize why opening a studio was so easy for me. I didn't miss the world the Swing Dance Council was creating. I missed the people, but not the dancing - it had already changed too much. I just hadn't put a finger on it yet.

But the point of this update is to also clarify something: I don't think Jordan and Tatiana set out to set up a church. I don't even think they played integral parts in its foundation. I remember Mario once wrote that when he attended dance events he was "treated like a god," which was wonderful and addicting, but that the dance life meant that he'd missed out on time with his boys. 

This is the piece of the pie I know Jordan always wanted. He never lied about the fact that he wanted 1st place and 1st place only pretty darn bad. It was kind of a cute joke at the time - we all knew it and he always admitted it. Wink-wink-nudge-nudge... but that was when Jordan didn't always get 1st. A long, long looooong time ago.

Now, a reader reminded me that a church follows a set of beliefs, but a that a cult follows a person. And while Jordan was a Nissy back in the day (we giggled about how he couldn't pass a mirror without looking in it) he certainty wasn't the worst of the day. He could be cruel when the pressure was on, but, let's face it, that's not Jordan today. And he isn't a sociopath. He isn't a psychopath. Nor did he introduce the drugs into our community. But others did.

So when I talk about the Church of Jordan and Tatiana here, it is not a huge finger pointed at them. Oh, I think they may love it, just as Mario did, but this cult was family built. Quite mafia-esque. Others did the heavy lifting when it came to building this church/cult. The cardinals and bishops of this church literally moved heaven and earth to make sure that everything you are about to read below came to pass. 

I know J&T knew some of it, but I also know they didn't know all of it. They have made some bad choices and Jordan has ushered in a completely new dance, wiping out the "old" one in his wake. Well, I still love him. I sure as hell don't worship him. But I don't hate him. And I love Tatiana. I want to kick his shins, and I cry sometimes, looking at what he's done, and sometimes I look at the ugliness that comes out online under his regime and I never want to talk to him again...

...but what you are about to read could not ever be without the vast amount of money, resources and politicking that was done behind the scenes by head members of the World Swing Dance Council and The Ten. And others. I'm sure you could name them. They don't judge themselves, after all. Or run every event. Or pick out the lights, sound or music at an event... this church is HUGE and it's world-wide and it's powerful.

Just remember, as we look back, that my most recent Notes have said that Annie Hirsch, Skippy Blair, Sarah Vann Drake and Deborah Szekely had, in one way or another, by the time J&T won their first US Open, already established a regime of fear, terror, drugs and blackmail. The competitive (points) community had already separated from its roots by then. 

The LA Swing Dance Club, the San Diego Swing Dance Club and other clubs that still remain today... that are highly active and dance much much much MUCH more than any of the rest of us ever do, had split away by then... not liking what they saw coming. There was a time we all danced in the same halls - when they attended events with us and we could see, in one single room, every single generation of swing dancer that ever walked the earth. No longer. And not because of J&T themselves.

My point is that it is now two years after I published this Note.  Certain people have recently made certain "new" choices. They want better things for the community. They want to undo what they have done. They are not the majority now, but since they are the ones who matter, the writing is on the wall for the future of WCS. The Revolution has gone above-ground. And we are winning.

(Note: the PS section at the very bottom was not included in the original Note, but added a few months later when it was posted on this blog)

Sneak a Peek

Great News! Amazon's "LOOK INSIDE!" Feature is now up on both books! Feel free to browse through both Telling the Truth and Setting Dancers Free with just a few clicks of the mouse! Here are the links:

Look Inside: Telling the Truth

and

Look Inside: Setting Dancers Free

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Katherine