Enter the Hipster Girls. They break it down and make it easy, describing the basic Ska dance moves, distinguishing it from Annette Funicello’s Jamaican Ska, and including variations like, The Dog, The Skank, The Monkey and even a section on doing the Rocksteady. They even provide suitable tunes to practice to.
From The Hipster Go-Go Dancers’ page:
The Hipster Go-Go Dancers performed non-suggestive, early to mid 60s, original and authentic, go-go/fad dances and are not associated with todays burlesque, strippers, erotic dancers or modern go-go. (Modern go-go dancers are erotic dancers anyway). Think music shows between 1964 and 1966 and Swinging London fashion.
The only real drawback to the site, is a lack of illustration. There are, of course, very cute animated gifs at the top of the page… but beyond that, there isn’t a much of a visual element. What these hipster dancer’s lack in web 2.0- they make up for in autenticity. Absolutely fantastic!
My last post pointed you to an upcoming Rocksteady documentary, but that is far from the only interesting documentary coming down the pike. Here’s three other projects with accompanying trailers:
Legends of Ska: The Movie
This one looks to be a similar idea as the Rocksteady doc- get all the heavy hitters from around the world, film a concert, record some music, and shoot some interviews.
The Birth of Ska in Britain
Here we have a doc that will cover the migration of Jamaican music to the UK, featuring Duke Vin, Count Suckle, and Daddy Vego, to name a few.
The Skatalites – Live in Sao Paulo
Here’s one I mentioned a few months ago. Victor Rice and the folks at Radiola Records have put together a live presentation of this not-so-original line-up. Release date is as soon as April 7.
It’s way early in development but The Jamaican Gleaner reports a reunion of Rocksteady legends. The event will result in a new record and the participators will be the subject of a feature length documentary. The producer is optimistic about the films chances stating, “that it would not be a straight-to-DVD film, but a blockbuster.”
From the Gleaner:
According to Boulos [line producer], the project is two years in the making. The musicians who are flying in for the film, record and concert are singer, Dawn Penn, arranger and band leader Lynn Taitt, and singer, Hopeton Lewis. They will be joined on stage and in the recording studio at Tuff Gong by the legendary performers who still live in Jamaica, including Ken Boothe, Judy Mowatt, Strangejah Cole, Derrick Morgan, Leroy Sibbles, Marcia Griffiths, Scully Simms, The Tamlins and U-Roy.
Also in the film are musicians Gladdy Anderson, Hux Brown, Sly Dunbar, Lloyd Parkes, Jackie Jackson, Headley Bennett, Glen DaCosta, Vin Gordon, David Madden and Bongo Herman.
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May 25 2009
