SHAKE THE COTTON
6 / 7 / 8 APRIL
¡A new festival in Zaragoza is born!
Lu Salinas has been dancing and teaching for over 15 years now. She has mastered in lindy hop, rock and roll, balboa, blues, charleston and authentic jazz. Frankie Manning and Dawn Hampton were her teachers and inspiration among other old timers. She has been teaching with leaders from New York and Argentina. Lu is currently leading the dance school Bailá Swing! in Buenos Aires with José Zarazaga. Let her sweetness seduce you but brace yourself, intense classes are coming!
José Zarazaga is a self-taught lindyhopper who also had the pleasure of receiving classes from Frankie Manning, Ryan François and Dawn Hampton among others. Lu Salinas and him are leading together the dance school Bailá Swing! and they both perform at TV shows, exhibitions and theatres in Argentina. You will discover a generous teacher who will give you a lot of tips to broaden your perspective of swing dance. Basic rules of swing are applied through him, humour and flow!
Gabriella Rosati grew as a dancer and a teacher in Stockholm. She was trained by the Harlem Hot Shots and is now one of its most beloved members. Gabriella became well known in the swing community because of her unique combination of technique and style and her charisma. She always brings that deep magnetic smile to her classes - don’t even try not to fall for it. If you were told she was picked up from a film clip from the 30s and brought to the 21st century, you would totally believe so. Gabriella is an inspiring teacher who has an old-timer style and spirit. She empowers her students, especially the followers, to develop themselves and to trust their own technique and style.
When you talk about Fredrik Dahlberg you’re talking about the dancer without bones, the horn and tap showman, the rhythmic teacher that has an amazing facility to pass the lindy hop feeling to his students. He grew up in Stockholm and got interested in jazz, but he couldn’t imagine himself neither dancing to it with the Harlem Hot Shots nor playing it with the Hornsgatan Ramblers. He says to be working in a record store, but we all know that he mostly trains his crazy moves over there. Fredrik is a hell of a character, and he is here to broaden your rhythmic skills without you even noticing. Get ready to go back to lindy hop roots with him!
You just started your first Lindy Hop steps and you're absolutely loving it. You've already taken classes for 6 months and you know about kicks and triple steps. Wanna learn new moves? This is the opportunity to try out your first festival!
You've been dancing for more than a year and a half and your "cool moves" book just can't stop growing. You usually go social dancing and medium tempo is comfortable for you. You're exploring more complex aspects of the dance such as musicality and variations. You want to do the actual hop, enhance your style and feel that everything flows!
You've been in the swing scene for around 3 years now and you absolutely love social dancing. You've attended several international workshops. You feel confident and have musicality resources which allow you to complement and adapt to any music. You want to widen up your repertoire and you feel prepared to explore those faster tempos, improvise and, why not, learn more complex moves. You like challenges so... Challenge accepted?
You've been dancing for four or five years already and you're very active in your swing scene. You might be teaching Lindy Hop and have attended a lot of international workshops. You know a great variety of moves and the technique behind them. You're rhythmical and musical, you focus on detail to improve your dancing. You know technique, musicality and rhythm are the top 3. You want to go even further, prepare to be challenged in every way! (This level requires video audition, please contact us for more information)
Our beloved Ankle Busters are back and ready to make our ankles forget they have bones! They are bringing their good ol’ swing standards that will make us dance our brains out as they always do. Unique in the area, the Ankle Busters are a sextet of musicians based in Zaragoza who believe that swing music must be danced to, and so they cook their performance up. Do not hesitate to check them out on the dancefloor, you won’t regret it!
Be very careful with these crazy guys, they are coming full New Orleans-hyped to make us break the dancefloor with our bumpy bouncing. From Paris and Barcelona, Bumpy Roof Band is a sextet of singular musicians who got together to create something new with tons of energy. Let the bumpy swing flow through you with its explosive rhythm and you won’t be able to leave the dancefloor!
30 First Registrations
Walk the streets of our beautiful downtown, visit the square of el Pilar, the “pasaje del ciclón”, the Roman ruins… so much to discover in Zaragoza!
Another Jack&Jill already? Well yes, because we love to dance endlessly with live bands and we know what the hype for a competition feels like. But beware, we will be hosting one of our Crazy J&J… We just wouldn’t have it otherwise!
Enjoy Spanish gastronomy and the fantastic environment you will find in the narrow streets of the old district.
You will be in a role and size-balanced class to ensure the best possible environment, cozy and not crowdy!
The musicality class will be taught by Juli Aymí, who will give us some clues about swing music to better embrace the music and express it through our dancing.
The best street artists have left their footprint in Zaragoza thanks to the Asalto Festival. Discover all those artistic walls wandering through the small streets and squares of this beautiful city.
Get together again and grab a beer with friends, that is what we offer in the lindy hoppers lounge area.
We know the importance of dancing at ease and painlessly. That’s why all classes and parties will take place on wooden floors. Enjoy the feeling!
If you want to assure your spot, it is necessary to register with a partner. In case you don’t have one you will be placed in a waiting list in your role and level and we’ll contact you when there is a partner for you. If you sign up with a partner it is important that you two make sure to fill up the registration separately. Your spot won’t be fixed until both dancers have registered.
We do not refund tickets but you can transfer it to another dancer of your same role and level. Transfers will be accepted until March 30th.
The classes with Fredrik and Gabriella will be taught in English and the classes with José and Lu will be taught in Spanish. There will be someone from our team at all times who will be translating either way.
Once you filled up the application form you will receive a mail that confirms we correctly received your registration. In a couple days you will receive a mail from us confirming there is a spot for you and the payment details. In case you don’t receive anything (not even in your spam), contact us.