In Full Swing

Like many newcomers to swing dance, Terri and Lee Moore were quick to fall in love with the bebop, wop-wop, skiddly-dip music and the jumping, stomping, bouncing movements it inspires.

Unfortunately, the husband and wife became immersed in the swing scene six years ago, when they were preparing to relocate from a hoppin’ Los Angeles to a markedly less hoppin’ Ventura.

“When we first moved to Ventura, we thought, ‘This is a pretty damn small town, we’ll probably never dance again,” Terri Moore said. “We were working at the Chart House and we asked some of the employees where we could do the swing thing. A guy suggested Raging Arb at the Metro and the next night, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at Nicholby’s.”

The Moores weren’t about to charge onto the dance floor and do the Lindy or the shim-sham to the blaring rock tunes of Raging Arb & the Redheads. But with the edgy, bouncy, jumpin’ and jivin’ sounds of the other band? Well, the couple could hardly wait to cut some Nicholby’s rug.

And there was plenty of rug to cut.

“There was this humongous dance floor with big ceilings, which was great ‘cause we like to do flips,” Terri Moore said. “But there was nobody out on the dance floor.”

That was then, this is now. In fewer than five years, Ventura has managed to make that tricky leap from boogie-woogie wasteland to a veritable Land of Lindy.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is touring the country, the Moores (with Terri’s sister Tammy Finnochiaro) are the Flyin’ Lindy Hoppers performance and instruction team, and dance floor space is at a premium for Monday and Wednesday swing nights at Nicholby’s.

“Now, people outside of California think, ‘Wow, Nicholby’s. Wow, Ventura,” Terri Moore said. “Yes, some of it has to do with the Flyin’ Lindy Hoppers--we do have a Web site and video tapes and a national event [the annual Monsters of Swing competition, which attracted 400 people this year.] And Big Bad Voodoo Daddy started here.”

The growth of swing in Ventura has attracted the attention of leading dancers and media from across the country. The Flyin’ Lindy Hoppers have appeared in national publications including the Wall Street Journal, on the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies’ “Zoot Suit Riot” music video on MTV and in a Broadway supper club show in New York.

“Before, it was just typically people who went to ballroom classes who would swing--it was a small market,” he said. “Big Bad Voodoo Daddy brought it to the nightclub scene. And we’ve been fairly aggressive, performing all over the place.”

Lee Moore sees no end to the local, national or even international swing fling. “There’s a whole bunch of parts to why swing is [popular], but the main thing is that swing music and swing dancing is incredibly cool,” he said. “Every guy would like to get dressed up in a zoot suit, and for women it’s a glamour thing. There really isn’t a cooler form of dancing. It’s just a neat feel, a neat vibe and everybody digs the acrobatics.”

Much of the attraction of swing dance, Lee Moore said, is the upbeat mood set by the upbeat beat. “I can’t think of a swing dance that says, ‘I’m gonna kill my dad, I hate my mom, school sucks,’ ” he said. “It’s very rare for people not to enjoy swing.”

That includes the musicians who play the music. From Glenn Miller and the Andrews Sisters, to Brian Setzer and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, swing has had plenty of high-energy, high-talent proponents.

Contributing to Ventura’s hip, jumpin’-jivin’ dance hall image are frequent visits by swing and boogie-woogie musicians such as San Fernando Valley music-makers Rob Rio and Flat Top Tom and His Jump Cats. “Swing is up-tempo blues,” Rio said. “It’s got an infectious beat unless you’ve got a hole in your soul.”

Rio and his small band have been playing swing parties hosted by Santa Barbara dance instructors Jonathan & Sylvia for about 10 years. “There is an interchange of energy when people are really dancing along,” Rio said. “I might be doing boogie-woogie and they might be dancing the shim-sham shimmy, but even though they’re not really focusing on the music, we could play all night. The dance is the star.”

Flat Top Tom (Hall) would take it a step further.

“Basically, swing is the evolution of the human mind,” said the hipster. “There’s a lot more to swing dancing than to any other dance. You have to connect with your partner, lead your partner, learn different moves.”

For Hall, swing music is also a social advancement.

“Rap music’s got maybe two chord changes, rock and roll has three chord changes, but with swing, you have all kinds of chord changes and arrangements, so it’s very hard to play,” he said. “You basically need a syncopated beat--the bada-da-bop. That’ll keep you dancing all night long.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

BE THERE

The Flyin’ Lindy Hoppers offer weekly classes in Ventura County.

Mondays: Lindy Hop instruction at Nicholby’s. Beginning class at 7:15 p.m., intermediate at 8:15, and general dancing until 11 p.m. $7.

Tuesdays: East Coast swing at the Borderline Bar & Grill. beginners at 7 p.m., intermediates at 8, general dancing until 11. $5.

Wednesdays: East Coast swing at Nicholby’s; beginners at 7:15 p.m., intermediates at 8:15, general dancing until 11. A live band plays every other Wednesday (next is N.Y. Jimmy & the Jive Five this Wednesday.) $7 on live band nights, $5 on others.

Nicholby’s is at 404 E. Main St., Ventura, 653-6488; Borderline is at 99 Rolling Oaks Drive, Thousand Oaks, 446-4435.

Coming up: The Flyin’ Lindy Hoppers will lead a Lindy Hop and Charleston workshop from 10 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Aug. 22 at Borderline. $10 per class, $25 for three classes, or $40 for the five-class program. Registration is at the door. Information: 643-3166 or 446-4435.

In Santa Barbara there is swing dancing with Jonathon & Sylvia at Carrillo Recreation Center, 100 E. Carrillo St.:

Six-week swing dance sessions will run Tuesdays and Wednesdays beginning Sept. 15-16. Tuesdays: Beginners at 6:35 p.m., with advanced at 7:30 and intermediate at 8:30. Wednesdays: Intermediate swing at 6:35 p.m., Lindy Hop at 7:30 and beginning swing at 8:30. $45 for full six weeks.

General swing dance parties are held the first and third Fridays of each month. Dance lessons are offered from 7-8 p.m. with dancing to live music from 8:30 p.m.-midnight. $10.

Upcoming special classes, also at the Carrillo Recreation Center: Beginning Lindy Hop, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Aug. 20 and 27; $15 for one class, $30 for both.

Lindy Hop legend Frankie Manning will lead a Lindy Hop workshop from 1-5 p.m. Sept. 19-20; $45 for one day, $75 for both. Call (805) 569-1952 or 569-2535.