Herräng - what a week!

Me and my sister Kajsa outside Folkets Hus, The Lindy Hop Shop in the background

When the world's biggest international swing dance camp is hosted in Sweden, it's quite natural that it's a given part of a Swedish swingdance enthusiast's summer vacation. This summer was no exception! This year was very special to me, as it was the first year my sister attended the camp, and the first time me and the mr were there together. My friend Elin was also there, and the four of us had a great week!

What to say? The classes were fun, the teachers great, our fellow dancers inspiring, the company the best. The social dances in the evenings a delight. The tea hot and the cookies warm =) Only bad was that the weather had shifted back from past two years glory to normal swedish summer, unfortunatly.

Me and Kajsa the last day, shivering in the not too warm evening air during Friday night party. We wore really cute outfits beneth the jackets, promise... I had cought this year's Herräng flu, hence the glasses.

Herräng is a 24/7 activity, with classes, evening events, social dancing, and lot's of eating to have energy for all the dancing =) Some snaps of everyday life at the camp:

Removal of tape after glueing the sole back on. It's a hard life to be a dance shoe...

Lunch at the Blue moon café

Brushing out pincurls on Kajsa for the evening dance

Wendenesday there's cutural activities in the "morning" and no classes starts before three in the afternoon. A lot of people take this as an opportunity to sleep, as they went to bed very, very late (or early, depending on if one refers to the evening prior or the day that had started) after Blues night =) This year Kajsa and I guided our mom and grandmother around, as they came to visit to see what all the fuss was about =)

Kajsa and Gran

As I said, the weather did not co-operate for one bit, two days in a row we even had serious thunderstorms with heavy rain and pea-sized hail!

Storm clouds coming in, one can almost see how they push away the blue-sky-and-fluffy-white-clouds-weather we had had earlier that day. It was a gorgeous effect!

However, while it of course is better with nice weather, a little rain was nowehere near eunough to spoil our mood. Herräng, it was a lovely week, and I'm looking forward to seeing you again next summer! =)

Me and Kajsa with our camp passports

All for now!
Love, Erika

Swingin it with friends

There's been a lot more "in vintage" than "swingin' it" lately, hasen't it? Have you begun to wonder if I've stopped dancing? Let me lay your worries to rest, I'm still swingin' it! =) I have however been awfully bad at documenting these evenings, but let me at least give you a hint of the fun last weekend offered.

Last weekend Mattias and Lisette, two great international lindy hop teachers visited Umeå. They gave a two day class for my local society, Swingum, and we hosted two social dance nights (Friday and Saturday), with live bands both evenings. It was a wonderful weekend! It's always such a treat to take classes, and for such experienced teachers... The socials were great fun as well, lot's of talented dancers on the floor!

During class. We did dance stop, sooo much fun! Dance until the music suddenly stops and then freeze. Lot's of laughs during this exercise, I can tell you.

As great as the dancing was, one of the biggest highs for the weekend was Malin and Johannes coming to visit, all the way from Luleå. They brought the kids, and the whole family stayed at my place during the weekend. Turned out three adults and two kids actually sleeps very comfortable in my 2 rooms (that's 1 bedroom and 1 living room for the non-Swedes reading). It was just wonderful having them here! Above is a photo from Saturday night dinner...

...and Erik and Rita was also at the dinner, they also wanted to hang out with 2 year old Alva, and cuddle 5 month old Milo =)

On the dancefloor. Yup, the kids were there as well! They really are the easiest going children! Both evenings they slept in the stroller while their parents danced the nights away =) Here is Alva, she was up on the dancefloor for a while during Saturday night, before falling alseep. And the doll also wanted to dance =)

It's been a while since I was in the show group, my problems with my legs prevented me from practicing that much and that intense dance, plus I don't really have the time. But my friends in Swingum Lindy Hoppers have continued, and they've taken the group to a whole new level. I was awed during their perfomance, such great dancing! I mean, the style, the moves, the whole set-up! So watch, and enjoy! Erik, Elin, Jimmy, Mia, Henrik and Barbara, swingin' it! =)



Love, Erika

Herräng! And not a year too soon!

This is the third part of My Summer. Want to read it in order? Then check out part 1 and part 2.

Last year I had to skip Herräng dancecamp, due to muscle inflammations in the front thigh muscles. You know, the muscles that are used the_entire_time while dancing lindy hop. I've been in physical therapy since then, and even took a total dance-break January through March this year. I'm not 100% well yet, but I am better and I decided that there was just no way I was missing out on Herräng another year! =)

Needless to say, I had a wonderful week. Classes were fun, the teachers awesome, my fellow dancers inspiring and socials in the evenings just magical. To be dancing for real again, to get to that point at three in the morning when the dancefloor starts to clear up a bit, and there's nothing but music and movement in mind and body... Bliss!

Erik at the piano during a break between classes. It was so cool to see the inside of the piano while he was playing!

There was a lot of "fika" for me this year. I've noticed that as I'm getting older I become less and less nocturnal. From my teenage years of sleeping generally 3-11 during holidays to waking up on my own at 8 in the morning and being happy about it for "one get's so much more done during the day", a concept 16 year old me scowled at =)
To counter-act my early habits I started each evening with cake and black tea (black! Which I never drink after 5 in the afternoon, else I can't sleep) after the evening meeting. Hanna and Rita were perfect fika-partners.

The only sad part was the weather; cold, gray and occasional rain. The last day it made a one-eighty and suddenly it was 25 degrees and not a cloud in sight! Happy dancers ran to the beach in-between classes and finally it felt like the real Herräng.

Herräng is such a special dance camp, it's not just the amount of classes or dancefloors, it's the feeling of entering a fantasy dance-world not quite set in reality. Herräng exists in it's own little universe, in a way no other dance camp I've been to does (but it reminds me of medieval events in that aspect). One week in this alternative dimension was more than eunough for my legs this year, but next year I will stay two weeks. I will! =)
 
That's all for this year from my favorite lindy place!
Love, Erika

A swingin' weekend it was

What a weekend I've had! So much great dancing during the socials, and amazing beyond words classes!
Frida Segerdahl and Skye Humphrey held classes Saturday and Sunday, with a theme we as a dance community and me personally really need to work at: the continuation of energy. To keep the energy and thus the movement flowing, to continue the movement. Sounds a bit weird and at the same time like a given, but trust me - it was neither. Very fun classes, but quite tricky. I need to keep working on this!

The social on Friday was almost a warm up for the weekend, a kick-off. The dancefloor was a bit thin, which was rather nice, no crashing into each other and space to do fun, big moves.
The big night was however on Saturday, at Sofiehems föreningshus, a wonderful danceroom. Great floor, nice atmosphere, with a big band playing on stage and a lot of dancers on the floor.

Photo: Erik Israelsson

I played it safe with my outfit for the day: the polka-dot dress and hair done with pin-curls. The curls came out rather nice, I think. Maybe because I miscalculated how long baking would take Friday afternoon, so I didn't have time to take them out before the dance and then taking them out just before class on Saturday seemed silly, so they laid for about 48 hours... =)

An unusual angle for me, Johannes got a bit creative. What do you say, does it work?


Malin and Johannes are soon moving from Umeå, so Swingum took the opportunity this night to thank them for everything they've done for the society. They'll be greatly missed, in their roles as instructors, cashier and webadministrator, but most of all as friends. They're only moving a 3 hour drive away, so we all hope they'll have lot of chances to come visit. It won't be the same, but we'll get to see them and dance with them. Don't be too long, guys!

Photo: Erik Israelsson

Karolina had made a beautiful present box for them, with Swingum-shoes. Adorable!

Photo: Erik Israelsson

One dance night each semester Swingum is in this dancehall, and we in the kitchen try to make it a special evening when it comes to the "fika" as well. (For non-swedish readers: Fika is sort of coffee/tea and cake, but it means a bit more in Swedish. One can take a coffee on the run, but never a fika on the run. It's sitting down, taking a break, usually with comapany).
Me and Rita baked the sweet bread, and Mona baked the baguettes for the cheese table.

Photo: Erik Israelsson

By now you might be wondering, "Yes, presents and fika, but didn't they dance?". Of course we did! Here's a photo of Skye and Frida performing:

Photo: Erik Israelsson

Swingum Lindy Hoppers had a little performance (before Skye and Frida danced, wouldn't want to follow them up on a stage...). I'm adding a short video, the new camera only takes 40 seconds films. An apology beforehand: this was not my best performance. I and Robin usually don't partner up, we had only practiced once. And it was the first time I heard this arrangement of the tune.
I'm also adding a movie of Malin and Johannes social dancing inbetween sets (that's why so many are sitting. They're having a fika =) ).
Enjoy!

Dancing on the deck in a new old skirt

Me and Karolin

What a great weekend I had! It was midsummer here in Sweden, and the sun was very un-traditionally out and shining! We kicked off the weekend on Thursday with a potlock for the instructors and volunteers in Swingum, and of course lindy hop on the sun-deck afterwards. A bit like last year which you can find here and here.

The music came from a vintage non-electrical grammofon.

I wore my newly altered and now wearable skirt (more about that later in this post). Here I'm demonstrating the width of it to Elin.


A summerpicture of Malin.


For the main course we were too hungry to have time for photos, but here's the desserts (both of the cakes were made by me). I did a raspberry-cheesecake and a blueberry pie. The blueberries I picked myself last summer. Can't wait for the season of berry-picking to begin! =)

As for the alteration of the skirt: This is a skirt that has just hung in my closet for ten years. I bought it in France, on a school trip. I loved it, but the length was 1) a bit unpractical for such a wide skirt and 2) not very flattering (as shown below).
Also, I really don't like elastic waists, they always dig in so uncomfortably.

So I shortened it from above, made a waistband and inserted a zipper in the back seam. A point of interest: the skirt actually only have one vertical seam! The 7 meters in the last wide section is in one piece! I'm not even going to guess how long the solid blue fabric at the bottom is... The only tricky part with the sewing was getting a seam allowance wide enough for a zipper out of the overlock-seam in the back, but it worked!


Not the best pose, but here's the new old skirt! All comfy and with a much more practical hem length.


I know I was complaining all winter about how dark it was, and it was just that dark. Here's the reward for enduring the winter darkness and cold; the northern view from my balcony! This is really straight to the north, at 30 minutes past midnight some evening last week. Summer solstice: I adore thee!
Summer in these parts rarely get very warm (it's actually warmer inlands and further north), but I don't really miss it, as long as I get the light at night. I love how it feels; a bit gray, fragile and cool. I remember the summer I spent in California, and that I felt a bit cheated on the real summer. It was hot, it was sunny, but it was pitch-black at night. And I never really felt that it was summer. Strange, isn't it? =)

Has summer arrived in your part of the world? Or maybe even winter, if you're on the other side of the world? What is summer to you?

Love, Erika

A swingin' birthday

Sunday the 9th of May was my birthday, and it was a great weekend! Rikard and Johanna, two wonderful teachers from Luleå, came to Umeå to hold classes Saturday and Sunday, and on Saturday evening there was social dancing to live music (a local big band-orchestra). I did pincurls friday night, and took them out in time for the dance. Curly indeed! =) Since spring is finally here in earnest, I chosed a pale green 50s dress I got at Herräng dance camp last summer.


Kajsa was cute in the skirt she made herself and a darling new top (although the top doesn't really show well in the photo...). I did her hair in hot rolls, but we came to the conclusion that for hot rolls to work in her hair it needs to be a great deal shorter. Sure, there was a bend to the ends, but it has that anyway. We'll try again after she's cut it a bit.


As everyone who has tried to capture dancers with a camera knows, it's very tricky. Esp when it's dark! =) But here's a little picture anyway, just to give you all an idea. I must say I thought everybody had done a very good job with their outfits this evening! Remember, this is people who are into lindy, not into vintage. We say that we encourage to an attempt at vintage-inspired; a very mild dress-code with other words. You can see Kajsa in the almost center of the photo, just look for a purple skirt =)

My friends had arranged a little surprise for me: at exactly midnight the band leader said "Before the last song, I'm going to tell a story. A story about a girl that was born at this day..." and then the whole room sang for me! I can't remember the last time that happened. Or ever! Anyway, thank you so much, guys, that was so very sweet of you and it will sure be a birthday to remember!


Coming home from the dance I of course started playing around with hair-do's. I don't want to sit down in front of a movie after dancing, but I have too much energy to just go to sleep. Anyway, I tried the new hair-binds and this is the result. What do you think?


I've always loved the late 30s-look, but assumed it wouldn't work on me (considering my very strong jaw-line). Now I'm seriously considering if maybe next time I go to the hairdresser... What do you think? Cutting it this short would make any of my other favorite hairdo's impossible. But I like this style. And hair grows back really fast. But I like variety as well... Decisions, decisions!


Sunday, when it actually was my birthday, I was so tired after the weekend that a quiet evening with Kajsa was perfect. We had a very nice dinner, and the best china came out of the cupboards.
Sorry for the slow update on posting btw, the camera batteries has died completley. 1 day in the charger - 3 photos taken - another day in the charger - those photos transferred to the computer ... Better late than never, right? =) The pictures of presents and the last results of the shopping spree on ebay will have to wait, though. Until I get new batteries...

Love, Erika

Umeå Dance Festival 2010

It's been very quiet here for a while, but for a simple reason: Umeå Dance Festival 2010! An entire weekend of workshops, dance-introductions and shows. And not just lindy! This is a cooperation between all sorts of dance societies, from capoeira and oriental dancing to folkdance, medieval dancing, to tango, salsa, lindy etc etc. Oh, and I didn't just participate, I was in the planning-group. (Above: Swingum Lindy Hoppers, aka me and my friends, performing)

I held an introduction to medieval dancing, did two shows (one lindy and one in the medieval gear) and attended some classes. Above is me and my dancepartner, Per, warming up for the lindy show. Johannes and his darling cute daughter Alva ended up in the bottom corner as well. I think Alva stole most of the show this weekend!

And me and Per in full swing...

...and some more swinging! =) Look at the skirt, it really twirls. It's a full circle skirt my mom made for herself about 25 years ago, and has now passed on to me. The fabric is gabardine, and it has a great drape. The skirt is actually a bit much for a crowded social dancefloor, one gets in the way of other dancers. For our smaller social dance scene it works great though. And for shows, of course! =)

Both Friday and Saturday there was social dancing to live music, great bands both nights. Here's me just come home from dancing on Saturday evening. As you can see I went with the sailor dress...

...and my favorite hairdo...


...with a little bow in the center back.

For the weekend, wonderful dance teachers Hanna Zetterman and Mattias Lundmark came up to hold some classes with us. They gave us lots of really useful things, both for lindy hop and authentic jazz. The weekend ended late Sunday afternoon with a class in acrobatics (aka "air-steps"), and it was so much fun! Since I was a bit busy flying thorough the air and trying to land properly I didn't get a chance to film or take photos, but hopefully we'll master some of those "acros" soon, and incorporate them in a lindy routine I can show you.

All for now! I hope I'll get back at the latest this weekend with an update on my sewing (all the crafts has been in the background while I've been working with the festival).

Love, Erika

Snow sculptures and lindy

Past Saturday was a busy and fun day. We had a small lindy hop-show in a mall at town. It was "pay-weekend" (first weekend after pay-day, which is the 25th for most Swedes), so there was a lot of people out shopping, hence a fairly good crowd that stopped to watch us dance. Fun! Since it was indoors and we were dancing I'm afraid I don't have any pictures to share with you =(

I recentley realised I haven't really said much about the outdoors here in Umeå lately. The reason is simple: it's been dark, cold and snowy. Snow is great, but not when it's falling or when I'm riding my bike to work... I love winter, but this winter has been a bit too winter-y. Now we're starting in on the best part of winter, though. To kick off the "spring-winter": some pictures from the snowsculpture contest downtown past Saturday! It's an annual competition, where ordinary people participate. We were very happy it wasn't a week earlier, as the temperature then was -28C, and past Saturday it was only -8C and snowing. Basically spring ; )
Ok, the pictures:

It's an ogre! With a mountin on it's back! Oh, and me in front of it of course.

My sister Kajsa and the creature on the cute frog-snow-mobile.
Loved these shoes! Please excuse the old-lady style outfit, it's tricky to protect a hair-do from falling snow.
Isn't it amazing what they can do with snow? This one was called something along the line of "people in the world". I could see right through the globe!
The back of it, with Kajsa imitating the sculpture =)
The last one was a baby in a womb. That's the umbilical cord that run's up from the sleeping baby (not a very good shot, I'm afraid).
So much for Saturday at town! At the evening we had a Lindy Hop Live, with a great band playing, a good crowd of dancers and a very nice evening it was.
Here's Karolin, modeling her stylish outfit for the evening. Loved her skirt! Her mom made it about 20 years ago and now she has given it to Karolin. The pattern is a bit blurry in the small picture, but take it up and you'll se the fine checkers-print.
Kajsa was so cute for the evening. She isn't really very vintage, and since she has such a youthful look she sometimes looks a bit like someone dressing up in their granny's clothes when she's all vintage. I like this style on her, it's cute, colorful and suits her, I think. Modern and young with a just a vintage twist.
And the two of us, happy after a nice evening with lot's of dancing and almost as much cookies and tea =)
Love,
Erika