May 31 is the last day to get the last Discount prices for camp registration! There is still time to pay by the 2 month installment plan if you register by May 25.

Everything is coming together for an amazing week of classes, socializing, entertainment and fun! If you would like to have a vacation immersed in dancing and good times, Beantown is for you!

View the website for more information!

Join the Beantown Camp 2015 Facebook event.

Leaders are still needed! Please help follows get off the wait list. If you are already registered and know of leads you can encourage to sign up, we would very much appreciate your help!

Frankie 100 in NYC was truly spectacular from start to finish! The organizers did an amazing job with every little detail and extra. One of the major highlights was the countdown to Frankie’s birthday and the big balloon drop. Just incredible as all those people from 47 countries, spread out over 3 floors, joined together to celebrate this extraordinary man. Frankie was definitely smiling down on us at that moment!

Another very special highlight was the gathering at the sight of the Savoy Ballroom, the inauguration of World Lindy Hop Day, and the parade through Harlem. We just wanted to soak it all in, walking the neighborhood where both Frankie and Norma grew up. It is mind boggling to think how what happened there has had such an impact on our lives today.

For us as Lindy Hoppers for just over 20 years now, it was so special to reunite with so many people from around the world that we have met and become friends with. It was a wonderful reminder of our early days and all the excitement that came with that and the amazing opportunities we had traveling to Sweden and England and other parts of the U.S. Frankie and Lindy Hop changed our lives and has given us so much. We are incredibly grateful to be a part of this worldwide community and to Frankie for teaching us how to dance and how to live!

Time has flown by since Beantown and we are still working on our follow-up and going through a ton of photos. The spirit of Lindy Hop was alive and well at camp this year! What a fantastic week with so many wonderful moments.

Beantown Highlights

Here is a selection of just some of the many highlights:

Friday Night Instructor Demo

Seeing all of the instructors together filling the floor was truly amazing. So much talent all in one place! Seeing it on paper is one thing. Experiencing it in person is another! A great start to the week to come.

Camp Social on the Winthrop Lawn

The cool breezes, the beautiful view, a chance to relax and just enjoy time with other campers.

Beantown Bounce

Awesome from start to finish. Listening to Norma rave for a good 15 minutes afterwards was the icing on the cake. She kept mentioning how her spirit had been renewed. What better compliment could there be? Kudos to Evita and Michael and all the performers and crew who contributed to such a spectacular show!

Bobby’s Presentation with Norma

I may have seen all the dance clips before, but never with Norma’s off the cuff comments full of interesting information and a participant’s point of view. Priceless!

Taryn’s Performance in Beantown’s Got Talent

When we added Maduka and Taryn Chidebelu-Eze to our camp staff, we had no idea we were getting such an amazing talent on campus. Taryn treated us to several wonderful performances during the week. My favorite was during Beantown’s Got Talent. Watching her young son singing along with a huge smile and much pride in his face was truly special.

Class Performances

The class performances at the end of the week are always a camp highlight, although this year’s were extra wonderful. Rose provided an excellent setting and the audience was the best ever giving a rousing standing ovation after each group.

Special Award Presentation

This year we added two special awards, Top Student to Jonathan Chen and Spirit of Lindy Hop to Cynthia Simonds. My favorite part was when Cynthia ran down from the back of the room to hug Jonathan, not knowing that she was soon to be called up for her own award. If that didn’t confirm we made the right choices, I don’t know what would. Thanks to Dave Lasagna for the insight to pass the mic to these two wonderful recipients. If there was anything that brought us all together, it was this moment. This one gets added to the all-time best Beantown moments EVER!

Wednesday Night Last Dance

Closing out our last dance with Gordon Webster is a guaranteed fun night! The last 20-25 minute version of “I Like Pie, I like Cake” included a sing along, a jam, some unique improvising from Gordon, and even some crowd surfing from Josh Mclean. You couldn’t plan this stuff if you wanted to!

Happy Campers

Seeing everyone at camp, catching up with friends, meeting new campers, watching everything enfold, seeing the happy faces, feeling the positive collective spirit, having that sense of community. The pure joy is what brought us to Lindy Hop and why we still do it!

Beantown Thanks

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us at Beantown this year, everyone who supported us and encouraged others to attend, our amazing staff and awesome crew and every single person who chipped in one way or another. We appreciate every one of you and could not do Beantown without you! In addition, we must send a huge thank you to Patrick and the entire Endicott College staff for providing us such an amazing environment and helping us to have the best camp possible.

Beantown Campers, you have once again exceeded expectations! We wish you all the best and hope to see you back in 2014!

Ready or not, another year has come to an end. It is not possible for me (Aurelie) to reflect on it without the one overriding feature of losing my Dad in May. I and the rest of my family miss him very much. He was the focal point, so there is a big gap to fill. We are learning to find our way as we move forward. Thankfully I come from a large family and we have each other.

2011 did bring many wonderful moments and here are a few of our biggest highlights:

• Not only did we hold our 15^th Beantown Camp, we received many comments of “best ever” and we think we agree. A gathering of many wonderful people for a week full of joy, tons of positive energy and just so much fun!
• Hop to the Beat had its 16^th anniversary this September, something we find pretty amazing.
• Passing our 1 year mark in our Monday night Boston location. It is always a big challenge to start something new and we have really enjoyed our classes and the people we have gotten to know from them.
• A truly phenomenal Uptown Swing dance with Gordon Webster during the Skye and Naomi weekend. The house was absolutely packed, however, what made it exceptional was how the room was on fire! Gordon surpassed himself, Naomi was incredible, she and Skye entertained and inspired us, and everyone present contributed to such an awesome, happy night. We couldn’t have ended our HTTB year any better.
• A non-dance highlight was adopting our two rescue kitties, Izzy and Luna, in August. They have brought much cuteness to our home.

Something that continues to be a major force are all the fabulous people who have touched our lives through our classes, dances, camp and other activities. We are very grateful for the opportunity to be a part of your life and there is nothing that makes us happier than seeing new friendships made, smiling faces and everyone having a good time. We caught the Lindy Hop bug back in our early days and are thrilled if we can help pass that on to someone else. Neither of us could ever have imagined back when we each started dancing what it would become in our lives. It has brought us each other and so much more.

So here’s to a new year which we hope will give you all much joy, happiness and of course plenty of excellent moments dancing!

Our best to you,
Aurelie & Tony

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