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Years ago, when big bands ruled the radio airwaves and American nightlife
was defined by the energetic, acrobatic and joyous dance known as Lindy Hop, Swing was the popular culture
on the street, with its own style, attitude, fashion and vocabulary. Hepcats wearing zoot suits
used slang to express themselves creatively and to separate, via a special code, those who were square and those who were
copasetic to the jive. A myriad of terms and phrases were used to show approval. Whether the case was a daddy-o
perceiving a new dance step to be the cat's pajamas or a jitterbug describing a particular juke joint as
the bees knees, hipsters were constantly inventing ways to testify their slickness through
language. Every now and then, however, something would happen that would flat out knock the cool from the most laid-back gangsters
and the least impressed Bettys. When something (anything be it a band, a club, a dance or a new dress) was so stupefyingly
great that you just couldn't reign in your excitement, the appropriate exclamation was "Supermurgatroid!"
Run by instructors/performers Joel Domoe and Melanie Myers, Supermurgatroid Productions is centered
on creating communities of dancers, something we believe to be not only a benefit, but also a necessity for a healthy society.
For that reason, we always make efforts to ensure that our work benefits the communities we operate in over the long term.
This normally means either establishing or coordinating with already established institutions that offer consistent, high
quality service and genuine investment in the dance community.
Swing is a social dance, and we gear our public lessons to make dance accessible to regular people
quickly. While we teach the fundamentals as building blocks that can be used to develop into performance quality dancing,
we keep in mind that everyone has different goals regarding dance, but the primary one is usually to have fun.
Supermurgatroid also encourages individuality and creativity in swing dance. We recognize that
swing is not only a social, but also a living cultural art form that varies in style depending not only on the personality
of the individual dancer, but also according to regional and musical influences. Our instruction and performance recognizes
this. We teach and perform many specific styles, but stress the tools of dance, providing them for use in creating your own
specialized art.
It is the mission of Supermurgatroid Productions to promote, educate, invigorate and empower the
communities we are fortunate enough to interact with and be part of. We do this both through our own work and through collaborative
efforts with other businesses and organizations.
Maybe it will only be once in a blue moon or maybe it'll be everyday, but our hope is that, no
matter who you are, we'll see you on the dance floor!
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