Dying at the Savoy
Tonight, DJ Betsy Kipperman!
Dear Jam Cellar Readers: We received news two weeks ago that the livestock-cargo plane carrying Naomi and Nina to Herrang disappeared over the Swedish Alps. However, in a bizarre streak of luck, Nina's Iphone still picks up a signal, and she has sent us some updates to let us know that she and Naomi are uninjured. Where we left off, Nina had just chased a rabbit down a hole that turned out to be a hatch to an underground building, eerily inscribed with Nina's phone number on it. Because many of you are friends with them, I have included their next correspondence at the end of this email. R.W.
Intro to Balboa (Week 4 of 5)!
More of that incredible dance that's sweeping a small portion of the nation. Learn why the California swing dance has such a passionate cult following in the already cult-sized swing dance scene. Drop-ins for tonight's class only for people who know the basic and comearound. Taught by international Balboa instructors Bobby un der partner Kate.
Sign up for the 1-Minute Showcase (August 12)
Do you love watching incredible dance choreography, but the thought of spending three minutes in front of hundreds of people in the middle of a contest makes you curl into the fetal position? Then this is the perfect event for you! It's the one-minute showcase, inspired by a similar event at the great Lindy Hop camp called the Inspiration Weekend (see how inspiring it is?).Basically, you sign up, you come up with one minute of choreography (partnered dance or solo jazz) to a song of your choice, and you perform it along with others Aug. 12. You even get in free to that dance. Sign up downstairs, and members of the Jam Cellar crew will be on hand throughout the month to help you with anything you need.
Pillars of Looking Fancy in August
We at the Jam Cellar concentrate a lot on how the dance feels, so that everyone who learns at Jam Cellar will forever be mentioned by attractive members of the opposite sex as "feel-good dancers." Now it's time to check ourselves out a little bit, and talk about looking good. This series will focus on the dimensions of a great-looking dance, and moves that best illustrate those dimensions. Coming in August.
This week, a Jam Cellar mini-workshop at Glen Echo!
Bobby and Kate and the Jam Cellar will be offering a two-hour workshop at Glen Echo this Thursday night for your quick fix needs. Beginning Uptempo Lindy (8 to 10 p.m. July 24 in the bumper car pavilion; warm up and stretch starting at 7:30 p.m.) will breeze you through lightening lindy hop, concentrating on making it as relaxed and effortless as possible. $22 per person. Presented in cooperation with the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts & Culture, Inc., the National Park Service and Montgomery County, MD.
Email from Nina Gilkenson,
Subject: Lost…and tired and hungry.
Hey Bobbers,
DAY 10: (continued) While I collected my thoughts and stared at the hatch in front of me, double and triple checking that it was indeed my phone number on it, Naomi came down the ladder.
"Should we knock?" She said.
The next thing we knew, a bright light came through a small window in the hatch door and almost blinded us. I mean, who puts a spotlight facing a hatch window? Anyway, soon the outline of a man reaching up blocked out most of the light, and the hatch door opened, Naomi and myself falling through.
We landed on the ground and were helped up by a six-foot-four blonde mountain man with blue eyes and chin-length blonde hair, and I could tell Naomi totally liked him. She claims she was more worried about getting off the floor and making sure she hadn't broken anything, but best friends can tell these things. He was wearing orange parachute pants and a neon-green double breasted coat, which was awesome.
Hello, my name is Jarl. You are American, yes? I am very glad to see you!"
"Yes! Yes!" I said, "And you must be some mountain man who hasn't seen another human being since the 1990s!"
"No, no, I understand. This is actually the cutting edge of Swedish fashion," he said, "In fact, I'm actually a few years ahead of the times here. But, listen, I need your help. There is something very important happening here."
"We'd be happy to help, but, here's the thing," I said, getting down to business. "First off, you have to explain to me why my phone number's on your hatch, and I'm not talking about a tattoo. Second of all, we haven't eaten in days. Do you by any chance have any food, or cardboard, or anything besides snow or each other we can eat."
"Don't worry, I have plenty of food, yes?" he said, and held up a tube with a cartoon tuna on it, and big bright letters that read SPISH.
"You have heard of spam?" he asked.
I threw up a little in my mouth.
Ten minutes later, we had eaten three tubes of SPISH each, and had fallen asleep in IKEA bunk beds in the guest room, which happened to be full of automatic weapons, grenades, and armor suits, but we were too tired to ask about it."
DAY 11: The next day, while we dug into our SPISH cereal with Tuna Milk, Jarl blew our minds away by revealing a television season's worth of secrets all in one conversation.
He was really excited to see us because we weren't one of those "others."
"Others?"
I asked, picking a bone out of my cereal.
Yes, what you know, Swedes. On Skis.
"If you think Swedish skiers are bad, you should see some American Skiers. They're so Waspy they think the MiddleEast only refers to Newport."
"No, no, you don't understand." He said. "Or at least, I don't understand a single thing you just said. But that's not the point. The point is, we are all in great danger. I know a secret that very few others know. You see, Sweden is no longer my country."
"What do you mean?"
"It no longer belongs to the Swedish people, it was secretly bought by an American corporation for suspicious purposes. I think it has a secret plan to own the world."
"Which corporation?"
I'm not quite sure yet, but I am very close to finding out. It is, how do you say, right under my nose." He said, taking a bite from an apple.
"Wait a minute," I said. It suddenly dawned on me.
"Yes?"
"You have apples?"