Tampa Bay's Swing Dance News for November 9th 2015

LIVE-MUSIC EXPLOSION — Many of you have asked, "When's the next live-band swing dance?" Coming up...three huge events! Friday November 20th's Swing Dance at the Suncoast Jazz Classic Festival features four amazing dance bands from across the USA. (Get advance tickets in person for just $22 this Wednesday or the next...last chance!) Wednesday November 25th's Pre-Thanksgiving Bash features the always incredible, Keith Jones & the Makeshifts, live at the Gulfport Casino Swing Night! Thursday December 31st's Swingin' the New Year features the world-renowned, Mitch Woods & his Rocket 88's, live at the St. Petersburg Coliseum! (Buy advance tickets this Wednesday in the Swing Time section for some of the best seats in the house, and save $4 by buying in person.) Full details on all events are below, or just click each event's name above. Don't miss this year-end live music explosion, or you'll have to wait months for the next band.

Triple-Time Swing lessons happen 6-7pm Wednesdays November 11th, 18th & 25th at the Gulfport Casino Swing Night. Triple-Time Swing forms the basis for most advanced swing dancing (including Lindy Hop, West-Coast Swing, European Boogie Woogie, Ballroom Jive, and Advanced East-Coast Swing, to name a few), for the simple reason that if you add more steps, you can perform more intricate moves. So kick your dancing up a few notches with these lessons, and learn some very cool moves in the process! Triple-Time Swing lessons feature Swing Time instructors, Sam & Bri.

FREE FULL-DAY PASSES ($100 VALUE) — Enter the prize drawing at this Wednesday's Swing Night. We'll give away two free full-day passes to the Suncoast Jazz Classic festival! Your pass is valid all day, either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday of the festival. That means you can use it Friday 11/20 to enjoy daytime at the festival and evening at the festival's Swing Dance! We'll also give away several Swing Night and Fusion Night tickets this Wednesday!

FRIDAY NIGHT SWING DANCE
at the 25th annual SUNCOAST JAZZ CLASSIC festival
Friday November 20th, 6:15pm-12:15am, at Sheraton Sand Key Resort

The weekend before Thanksgiving, the Suncoast Jazz Classic festival happens at the Sheraton and Marriott on Sand Key (Clearwater Beach). This year, the Suncoast Jazz Classic hosts its 6th annual Friday Night Swing Dance with an amazing lineup of all-new bands and a new/bigger venue at the Sheraton Sand Key! All lindy hoppers, swing dancers, balboa dancers, etc, who appreciate swinging big-band and traditional jazz are encouraged to attend. Support your very own Tampa Bay jazz festival by bringing your dancing self and friends, and get ready to dance to some world-class live music! Dance to FOUR superbly swinging bands from across the USA! Each band performs one full set of music for your dancing pleasure. The evening's lineup is:

6:15- 7:15pm - Swing Time Dance Lessons (Swing, Charleston, Balboa) 7:30- 8:30pm - Tom Rigney & Flambeau (San Francisco, CA) 8:45- 9:45pm - The Fat Babies (Chicago, IL) 10:00-11:00pm - Miss Ida Blue & the Yerba Buena Stompers (Brooklyn, NY) 11:15-12:15am - Dave Bennett Quartet (Detroit, MI)

Advance tickets are available online for just $22,
or in-person Wednesdays at the Gulfport Casino Swing Night.

EXPERIENCE THE FESTIVAL — Attention Dancers! Your ticket gets you into both the Swing Dance AND the other three music halls of the festival from 6pm onward! If you'd like to check out different bands, or follow your favorite bands around, you're welcome to do so. A total of 14 bands will play during the 6:15pm-12:15am time frame on Friday Night! From Big Band Swing to Cajun/Zydeco to New Orleans & Dixieland Jazz to Blues, this festival has it all! Complete Band Schedule

LARGE DANCE FLOOR — This dance takes place in one of two ballrooms (Zorch's Place, 1st Floor) of the beautiful Sheraton Sand Key resort. For one night only, this ballroom will be set up dance-style, with chairs moved to the walls and the dance floor cleared for dancing! This year's ballroom will be even bigger than last year's. Doors open 6:00pm.

TICKETS — Tickets are $22 in advance (deadline to purchase advance tickets is 11:59pm Thursday 11/19/2014) -or- $25 at the door. Advance tickets are available online ( Buy Advance Tickets: $22/each ) or Wednesdays at the Gulfport Casino Swing Night. This dance is presented by the Suncoast Jazz Classic. 100% of ticket proceeds go to support the Suncoast Jazz Classic festival, now in its 25th year as one of the USA's premier traditional jazz fests!

WANT TO STAY LONGER? Consider getting a Friday All-Day Ticket or a Weekend Package instead of a Swing Dance Ticket. Both of these alternatives include admission to Friday's Swing Dance! Get Tickets/Passes here. You can also get special Jazz Classic rates if you'd like to stay at the Sheraton or Marriott or two other nearby hotels.

More Info / Band Info / Tickets

Saturday November 21st is Jazz Night in Tampa, a dance where you can Lindy Hop or Balboa (or Shag, Charleston, Shim Sham, etc) all night long! Dance to the best of Big Band and Traditional Jazz, featuring multiple DJs from all across Florida! November 21st's Jazz Night will include a Lindy Hop Lesson 8-9pm, followed by Dancing 9pm-Midnight+. Doors open 7:45pm and admission is $8 (which includes both the lesson and the dance). Jazz Night happens at Simone Salsa, 8336 W Hillsborough Ave, Tampa, FL 33615. Mark your calendars for future Jazz Nights on the 3rd Saturday of each month.

8pm- 9:00 - Lindy Hop Lesson with Jony Navarro (Orlando) & Cynthia Lyons (Tampa) 9pm-10:00 - Dance! Music Set 1 featuring DJ Hurley Francois (Orlando) 10pm-11:00 - Dance! Music Set 2 featuring DJ Margie Sweeney (Tampa) 11pm-12:00 - Dance! Music Set 3 featuring DJ Les J Wardell (Tampa) After 12:00 - Keep dancing to keep the party going!

Wednesday, November 25th — With Thanksgiving on Thursday, the weekend starts Wednesday night, when Swing Time hosts a special evening of live music and swing dancing! Join in celebration at the Gulfport Casino Swing Night for Swing Time's Pre-Thanksgiving Bash! This huge swing-dance party is always one of the biggest Wednesday Swing Nights of the year, attracting not just locals but out-of-towners who are home for the holidays.

The Bash features live & swingin' music by Keith Jones & the Makeshifts! One of the best groups to ever play the Gulfport Casino, this Cincinnati band swings hot jump-blues and traditional rock'n'roll for your dancing pleasure. The evening starts with a Triple-Time Swing Dance Lesson 6-7pm, followed by East-Coast Swing Dance Lesson 7-8pm, then Live Music & Dancing 8-11pm. Admission's just $12 (get your tickets at the door), all ages are welcome, no partner is needed, and it all happens in the spectacular waterfront ballroom of the Gulfport Casino!

Making their fourth appearance at the Gulfport Casino Swing Night, Keith Jones & the Makeshifts were a huge hit with dancers when they played for us before. In fact, the band currently holds the Wednesday Swing Night attendance record!

Sunday December 13th is Fusion Night at the Gulfport Casino Ballroom. Dance 8-11pm to a solid mix of music for all of your favorite dances — West-Coast Swing, Cha Cha, Waltz, Tango, Blues, Rumba, Hustle, Salsa, Bachata, East-Coast Swing, Fusion...you name it...all requests welcome! The night starts with two dance lessons 6-8pm (lesson topics & instructors to be announced). Just $8 admission includes both lessons and the dance, students get $5 admission, and all ages are welcome!

LESSONS 6-8PM:
Beginning-Level 6-7pm
Intermediate-Level 7-8pm

DANCING 8-11PM:
Modern Musical Mix — Ballroom/Fusion/Requests

All Ages No Partners Needed Admission $8 (Students $5) Door Prizes Cash Bar More Info

Swingin' the New Year happens 12/31/2015 at the spectacular St. Petersburg Coliseum! This 8th annual Grand New Year's Eve Celebration for All Ages has become Florida's biggest swing-dance event...make plans now to join us! This year's Celebration features the world-renowned Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88's! Get ready to jump & boogie, rock & swing! Get details & purchase tickets at www.NewYearSwing.com.

Purchase Tickets now securely online to save $3 AND secure the best seats! Tickets are $27 if purchased by December 10th, or $30 after December 10th. Group discounts and VIP Alcoves and Tables are available for parties of 10 or more, so start organizing your group today.

Free Alcove SuperSpecial — Save $239! — Only 6 Alcoves Remain

SWING TIME SECTION — We've reserved a central block of 60 of the best seats in the house for Swing Time regulars, and are selling these Wednesdays at the Gulfport Casino Swing Nights, while they last! Buy one of these tickets and you'll be among friends and fellow dancers, AND you'll save an extra dollar by buying in person (currently $26). Tickets in the Swing Time Section are available exclusively to dancers who attend (and purchase them in person at) prior Swing Time events.