Continuing on my favorite performances from this year. Here are my favorite team performances.
The Harlem Hot Shots at the Old Skool Battle
This is part of a whole series of clips posted by YouTube user susannedr. I have no idea what the context is other than that it seems to be part of some program where they dance against a hip hop crew, but there aren’t any videos of the other team. Still, these are some inspired performances by the worlds best Lindy Hop team. This clip in particular combines everything that the new generation of Hot Shots can do individually and as a team.
The Silver Shadows at The Frankie Manning 95th Birthday Festival
There were a ton of first rate performances from this event, and its hard just to pick a few, but the Shadows stand out with this moving tribute to the man that brought us all together that weekend. It was originally going to be done to a medley of four or five songs typically associated with Frankie, but they eventually winnowed it down to “Shiny Stockings” and “Jumpin’ at the Woodside.” Astute observers will note that most of the movements in the piece are taken directly from things that Frankie taught or choreographed for various performances.
Hellzapoppin’ recreation at The Frankie Manning 95th Birthday Festival
This could have easily been the low point of the whole weekend, especially considering the near disastrous show that preceded it. However, they pulled off what the Lindy Hop community had only dreamed of doing since the dawn of the revival.
One2Swing’s California Rolls at the International Lindy Hop Championships
10 years after the first Lindy routine was performed to this song, the California Rolls proved that you can still do something different with it. Very intricate choreography where I find something different every time I see it. Check out the dude at 3:15 who slides in just in time to serve as the pianist’s “stool.” I have to keep watching the whole thing because something keeps getting in my eye towards the end.
Groove Juice Special at The Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown 2009
Great energy from a very young team with the added difficulty of performing to live music with musicians that they had just met within a day of their performance.
Wandering & Pondering 
Kevin said,
December 17, 2009 at 3:00 am
That’s super cool! I’m glad that our little routine from po-dunk albuquerque is one of your favorites! It was surprised that we got a lot of compliments from a lot of the veterans of the community, since we weren’t even expecting to place. We thought we’d be up against the Silver Shadows and the NinJammerz and everyone else, so we focused on putting as much of our heart into the routine as possible, and being as honest in our dancing as possible. I think I’d be just as proud of us either way. Thanks for the support.
The Harlem Hotshots always remind me how hard and driving Lindy hop can be, so much energy that you just want to jump out of your seat and dance with them. It’s seems like it’s becoming a more and more rare thing to watch a Lindy Hop Performance and be inspired to dance afterward. A lot of things I’ve seen lately have been very impressive, but not very moving or spirited. And the Hotshots always perform with their hearts and spirit as top priority it seems, which is always impressive. Also one of the reasons I love watching the Silver Shadows.
Jerry said,
December 17, 2009 at 9:49 am
I spend a lot of time on my blog and off line mercilessly taking apart videos, but at the end of the day I mainly appreciate passionate and honest dancing. Congrats on your performance and I hope to see more of you guys in the future.
Breanna said,
December 18, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Yup, definitely some of my favorites, too 🙂 I think one of my favorite parts of ILHC was Peter’s comment at the end of that California Rolls’ routine “Did they just make a pretzel look cool?”