Tampa Bay's Swing Dance News for October 28th 2014

ADVANCING YOUR SWING IN NOVEMBER — Get ready for Advancing Your Swing lessons, happening 6-7pm every Wednesday in November at the Gulfport Casino Swing Night! Learn Cool Moves, Footwork Variations, Multiple Turns, Dips, Leans, and more! Add style to your swing dancing. Become a better leader or follower, and get asked to dance much more often. (For dancers who've taken this series before, we have lots of fun new material in store!)

Put on your best costume and get ready to swing with all sorts of exciting characters! It's Swing Time's 13th Annual Halloween Costume Ball! The Ball starts with a one-of-a-kind dance lesson: Shim Sham (with Special Zombie Styling!) 7-8pm; no partner needed. Starting at 8pm, dance 'til the midnight hour to the Ultimate Halloween Swing/Dance Music Mix... that's right! — all Halloweeny music, all the way to midnight! The Halloween Costume Ball features a Costume Parade & Contest with $300+ worth of Cash & Prizes for the Best, Scariest, Hottest, Funniest, Swingiest, and Most Original costumes! The Ball features loads of Chocolate, Candy, & Trick-or-Treats; Door Prizes; a Zombie Shim Sham; a Steal Dance Mixer; plus Special Halloween Decor & Atmosphere! Gulfport Casino's vintage waterfront grand ballroom is smoke-free and provides a full bar and free parking. Just $8 admission includes EVERYTHING, and all ages are welcome! (Free passes and student specials will not be accepted for this special event.) Doors Open 6:45pm.

COSTUME CONTEST — This year's costume contest will include everyone in the ballroom...no formal entry required. Judges will roam the Gulfport Casino 7:00pm-9:30pm looking for the best costumes in each category. Be there before 9:30pm to be considered, and earlier is better. (To boost your chances, be out-and-about and visible, perhaps dancing!) Winners will be announced during the Costume Parade at 10:00pm.

Next BALLROOM FUSION NIGHT — Sunday January 11th 2015 — Ballroom Fusion Nights will resume on a once-a-month basis starting January 11th 2015...please mark your calendars. June-September 2014, we held Ballroom Fusion Nights once a month at the Gulfport Casino with great success. October 2014, we held them every week without much success. Apparently, the every-week schedule was too much for dancers...but it was worth a try! So we're going back to the once-a-month schedule starting in January. Thank-you to everyone who has attended these last five months, supporting the notion that partner dancing can be danced to modern music using a variety of dance styles. Special thanks goes to all you dancers who gave the weekly schedule a go. We look forward to seeing you once again with bigger and better events in 2015!

3 Days Left — Earlybird Special — Save $6/Ticket! — Purchase by October 31st

Tickets are now on sale for Swingin' the New Year at the spectacular St. Petersburg Coliseum! This annual Grand New Year's Eve Celebration for All Ages has become Florida's biggest annual 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! Buy tickets now to get the best seats. 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 $323 — 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. Tickets in the Swing Time Section are available exclusively to dancers who attend (and purchase them in person at) prior Swing Time events.

FRIDAY NIGHT SWING DANCE
at the Suncoast Jazz Classic festival
Friday November 21st, 6pm-Midnight+, at Marriott Sand Key

Dance to FIVE superbly swinging bands from across the USA! Each band performs one full set of music for your dancing pleasure. The lineup is:

6:15- 7:15pm - Bill Allred's Classic Jazz Band (Orlando, FL) 7:30- 8:30pm - Tom Rigney & Flambeau (San Francisco, CA) 8:45- 9:45pm - Wally's Warehouse Waifs (Michigan) 10:00-11:00pm - Midiri Brothers (Pennsylvania) 11:15-12:15am - Dave Bennett & the Memphis Boys (Detroit, MI) HUGE DANCE FLOOR — This dance takes place in the big Sand Key Ballroom (2nd Floor) of the fabulous Marriott on Sand Key. For one night only, the Sand Key Ballroom will be set up dance-style, with chairs moved to the walls and the entire floor cleared for dancing! This year's dance floor will be even bigger than last year's! Doors open 6pm.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE: Attention Dancers — Your ticket gets you into both the Swing Dance AND the other four music halls of the festival from 6pm onward! If you'd like to check out more bands, or follow your favorite bands around, you're welcome to do so. From Big Band Swing to Cajun/Zydeco to New Orleans & Dixieland Jazz to Rock'n'Roll/Rockabilly, to Funk & Blues, this festival has it all! Complete Band Schedule

Tickets are $25 in advance (deadline to purchase advance tickets is 11:59pm Wednesday 11/19/2014) -or- $30 at the door. Advance tickets are available online ( Buy Advance Tickets: $25/each ) or Wednesdays at the Gulfport Casino Swing Night.

Florida's best swing-dance weekend is coming to Tampa Bay NOV 21-23....Get ready for 3 days & 3 nights of nonstop dancing at TBLX2, the Tampa Bay Lindy Exchange...and you don't have to be a "lindy hopper" to join in; if you're a swing dancer, you're going to have a great time! More Info