The Killer Dillers

In 2009 the Killer Dillers won 1st Place in the Team Division at the International Lindy Hop Championships in Washington DC, with this six-person Lindy Hop routine.

Dancers: Kevin St Laurent, Jo Hoffberg, Nathan Bugh, Evita Arce, Juan Villafane, Sharon Davis
Choreography by: The Killer Dillers (ensemble)
Song: Killer Diller Man From The South, The Cats & The Fiddle
Performance: International Lindy Hop Championships 2009 (ilhc.com)

This piece entitled Fascinating Rhythm, is a recreation of the world famous Berry Brothers’ act in the 1941 film Lady Be Good. With soft shoe tap, cane juggling and acrobatics, it requires such a high level of skill that The Killer Dillers have been the first to attempt it since the Berry Brothers themselves in the 1940s.

Dancers: Nathan Bugh, Kevin St Laurent, Juan Villafane
Choreography by: The Berry Brothers, 1941
Performance: Jump Session Show, Seattle May 2009 (campjitterbug.com)

And here is an edit of the Killer Dillers performing Fascinating Rhythm in New York in 2009, alongside excerpts of the Berry Brothers performing the original piece in 1941:

Read the rest of this entry, for more information about the legendary Berry Brothers.
Read the rest of this entry »

This burlesque feather fan dance pays tribute to the great Sally Rand, the burlesque starlet who defined fan dancing in the 1930s and became a household name. For this number, Sharon Davis dons a tight-lacing corset and ballet pointe shoes encrusted with over 3000 Swarovski crystals. Her fans are made of pure white ostrich feathers, with a span of 6-feet each.

Dancer: Sharon Davis
Choreography by: Sharon Davis, 2010
Song: La Vie En Rose, Louis Armstrong
Performance: Jump Session Show, Seattle May 2010 (campjitterbug.com)

In this act, Nathan Bugh and Evita Arce take on the age old song-and-dance tradition in a tribute to the legendary tap dancers, Honi Coles and Cholly Atkins. Singing Chick Webb’s classic, Stompin’ at the Savoy, in this performance Nathan and Evita were accompanied by Italy’s Nine Penny Big Band.

Performers: Nathan Bugh & Evita Arce
Choreography: Nathan Bugh, in tribute to Honi Coles & Cholly Atkins
Orchestra: The Nine Pennies Big Band, Italy
Song: Stompin’ at the Savoy, Chick Webb (1934)
Performance: Swing Brother Swing Festival, Italy (May 2010)

Charles Lindbergh (aka Lucky Lindy), was the aviator whose pioneering solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927, splashed newspapers that year with the headline “Lindy Hops the Atlantic.” The mother of all swing dances, the Lindy Hop, took its name from these very headlines. With a nod to Lindbergh and other great aviators of the jazz age, Kevin and Jo present a Lindy Hop routine entitled Stratosphere.

Dancers: Kevin St Laurent & Jo Hoffberg
Choreography by: Kevin St Laurent & Jo Hoffberg, 2009
Song: Stratosphere, Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra
Performance: Jump Session Show, Seattle May 2010 (campjitterbug.com)

This piece is the Killer Diller’s take on the classic tap shim sham, which we have affectionately named The Killer Diller Shim Sham. In this particular performance, the number is performed in soft shoe and a cappella.

Dancers: Nathan Bugh, Evita Arce, Kevin St Laurent, Jo Hoffberg, Juan Villafane, Sharon Davis
Choreography by: Nathan Bugh, 2009
Performance: Swing Brother Swing Festival, May 2010

Sharon Davis and Jo Hoffberg present Showgirl’s Holiday, a feather fan dance duet with brilliant red ostrich feather fans. Danced to a burlesque bump & grind classic, this act is a glittering spectacle of vintage glamour, with graceful feather fans and two sparkling showgirls in the spotlight.

Dancers: Sharon Davis, Jo Hoffberg
Choreography by: Sharon Davis, 2009
Song: Stripper’s Holiday, Sonny Lester & His Orchestra
Performance: Barcelona Spain, April 2010 (barswingona.org)

In this number, Sharon Davis pays tribute to the great Josephine Baker. Inspired by her dance in the 1935 film Princess Tam Tam, the act ends with a recreation of Josephine’s infamous banana skirt dance. Wearing an exact recreation of Josephine’s dress in the Princess Tam Tam finale, the banana skirt that follows consists of over 30 bananas, each encrusted with Swarovski crystals!

Dancer: Sharon Davis
Choreography by: Sharon Davis, 2009
Song: Golden Wedding, Woody Herman & His Orchestra
Performance: Jump Session Show, Seattle May 2009 (campjitterbug.com)

Click on the main photo to view the next one, or navigate through the album using the thumbnails below. Click on “Link” to be taken to the original image, hosted at Flickr.

Photo credits:
Allison Michael Orenstein
David Woolley
Bryant Gover
Marcell Bendik
Ana Luz Crespi

As dance instructors, The Killer Dillers’ expertise is sought after by both amateur and professional dancers world-wide. The members of the Killer Dillers have travelled across Europe, Asia, Australia, North America and South America, as master instructors. Classes are available in Lindy Hop, Charleston, Acrobatics, Vernacular Jazz and a variety of other vintage jazz dances, both partnered and solo. The Killer Dillers teach as individuals, as couples with their respective dance partners, and also in a variety of combinations when together. Contact us to find out rates, availability and booking information.

Here are some of the festivals and events around the world which have featured the Killer Dillers as dance instructors:

Herrang Dance Camp, Sweden
Rock That Swing Festival, Germany
Summer Jamboree Festival, Italy
Camp Jitterbug, Seattle USA
Swing Out New Hampshire, USA
Boston Tea Party, Boston USA
Camp Swing It, Seoul Korea
Great Southwest Lindy Fest, Houston USA
Barswingona, Barcelona Spain
Waterkant Jam, Hamburg Germany
Grenoble Swing Dance Festival, Grenoble France
Wicked Lindy Weekend, Boston USA
Camp Hollywood, Los Angeles USA
Beantown Camp, Beverly USA
Swinglandia, Kiev Ukraine
American Lindy Hop Championships, Stamford USA
Swing Crash, Como Italy
Swing Brother Swing, Genoa Italy
Swingin’ in the Rain, Liege Belgium
Goodnight Sweetheart, Hertfordshire UK
Montpellier Swing Dance Festival, Montpellier France
Inspiration Weekend, Orange County USA
Boogie By The Bay, San Francisco USA
Lindy on the Rocks, Denver USA
Sving du Nord, Minneapolis USA
Virginia State Open, Richmond USA
Hullabaloo, Perth Australia
Lismore Dance Camp, Australia
Harlem Dance Camp, Vilnius Lithuania
Prague Spring Swing Festival, Prague Czech Republic
Swingin’ Spring, Gotenborg Sweden
Swing Spring, Turku Finland
Crep’ Swing Festival, Rene France
Hop The Castle, Herefordshire England
Tononto Open Swing Dance Championships, Toronto Canada
Sugar Swing, Alberta Canada
Studio Hop Summer Camp, Eauze France
Melbourne Swing Festival, Melbourne Australia
Lindy Hop Argentina International Festival, Buenos Aires Argentina
New Year’s Dancin’ Eve, Boston USA
La Santa Swing, Lanzarote Canary Islands
Grenoble Lindy Exchange, Grenoble France
Boogie Swing Toulouse, Toulouse France
Les Fou de Swing, Paris France
Swing Blast, Perth Australia
Reno Dance Sensation, Reno USA
Rockin’ in Rhythm, Dublin Ireland
Rocktoberfest, Columbus USA
Jumptown Jam, Canberra Australia
Margaret River Summer Camp, Margaret River Australia
Lindy 500, Baltimore USA
Vienna Hot Swing Jam, Vienna Austria
Halloween Swing Camp, Stockholm Sweden
Be-Lindy Zena Camp, Genova Italy
Lindy Focus, Asheville USA
Southern Belle Swing Bash, Atlanta USA
Stompology, Rochester USA
Provence Swing Festival, Provence France
Lindy and Blues Weekend, Philadelphia USA
Northwest Girl Jam, Seattle USA
Followlogie, Quebec Canada
Swing Camp Oz, Adelaide Australia

The term “swing dancing” is an umbrella term for any dance done to swinging jazz music, from the 1920s, 30s and 40s. The most popular (and spectacular) of these dances was the Lindy Hop.

Lindy Hop is a partnered swing dance, that evolved out of the Charleston in the late 1920s, in the ballrooms and on the streets of the African-American district of Harlem in New York City. The dance evolved alongside swing music itself, emerging in the late 1920s when hot jazz (born in New Orleans) was transforming into swinging jazz, and died out (as we know it) in the late 1940s as the swing era gave way to bebop and rock ‘n roll. Throughout the 1930s and 40s, as swing music spread across the USA and the world, Lindy Hop spread with it.

Legend has it that Lindy Hop earned its name in 1927 when one of its original dancers, George “Shorty” Snowden, was asked its name by a reporter, and dubbed it Lindy Hop after aviator Charles Lindbergh and his famous solo flight across the Atlantic that year (newspaper headlines read “Lindy Hops The Atlantic”). It is sometimes simply called The Lindy, and some parts of the world knew it as The Jitterbug.

While the acrobatic aspect of Lindy Hop is perhaps most familiar to many people, Lindy Hop has many characters. Though it can indeed be danced wild and fast, with spectacular airsteps, it can also be slow and smooth, elegant or sexy.

Lindy Hop is the mother of a variety of other dances, that evolved out of Lindy from the 1950s onwards, including Rock ‘n Roll, Boogie Woogie, Jive, Ceroc and West Coast Swing. Lindy Hop is the original swing dance!

Burlesque is a feminine and sensual kind of performance, reserved for the lady Killer Dillers! It brings together a sizzling dance style with elaborate vintage costumes, cool retro tunes, and a whole lot of sex appeal. Today, burlesque (or neo-burlesque) is one of the hottest trends in town, but just like jazz and swing dancing, it’s original heyday was in the first half of the 20th century.

Burlesque as an entertainment artform evolved from the late 1800’s through to the “bump and grind” era of the 1940s and 50s. In burlesque’s heyday (those golden days before television, when people had to go out to be entertained) burlesque was a grand affair! A burlesque show combined live music, comedians, variety acts, a chorus line and of course, glamorous burlesque headliners, in an elegant theatre with a full orchestra, grand sets and elaborate costumes.  A burlesque queen in this golden era would enchant with her beauty, delight with her dance, and captivate her audience with the art of the tease!

As a dance form, burlesque brings together the glamorous and sensual elements of a myriad of dance styles: vintage jazz dances, showgirls and chorus line dancing, European cabaret, sensual blues dance, and even exotic Middle Eastern, Oriental, African and Latin styles. Add to this the fine art of the Tease, as these burlesque glamazons slither out of their satin gloves and silk gowns, with grace and finesse. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of tease, but definitely no sleaze!

The Killer Diller brand of burlesque brings you a glittering spectacle of vintage glamour, sophistication and fantasy. Don’t miss their graceful feather fan dances and sparkling showgirl numbers, all a whirlwind of ostrich feathers, Swarovski crystals, tightlaced corsetry, silk stockings and high heels.

Blues dance is the slow and sultry counterpart to swing dancing - just as blues music was to swing music, during the jazz age.

Blues dance, like Lindy Hop, originated and evolved from African rhythms and movements in the United States, alongside the music from which it takes its name, the Blues. Blues dancing was an intimate, after-hours dance style that thrived in juke joints, honky tonks and house parties from the early 1900’s onwards. Blues dance is strongly tied to blues music, with its elements of call and response, tension and release, and emotional intensity. Danced slowly and with your partner held very close, blues dancing is sensual and dramatic.