Stomp Your Feet 2022 - Skye Humphries Reaction - Lindy Hop Swing Dance

[@the_wexie]

I really love that routine. This is this the type of routine that the average person would not really find impressive, but impressive it is. Even though it is not done with clean lines and fancy moves, it is technially very difficult; the way Sky does it so effortlessly, just makes it seem simpler and much easier than it is. Sky has always had this Zen quality to his dancing; it is not like he is doing anything, he is just being. It has been a joy to watch Sky evolve over the last coupe of decades, as a dancer and person. He was always a reallly nice kid...and since I'm old as dirt, I can still call him a kid. ;-)

[@streetsmartswing]

Well said. I’ve always felt he personifies a perfect blend of Fred Astaire‘s attention to upper body control and the swagger of Elvis. By the way, you can’t be that old 😁

[@HepCatJack]

I remember seeing Sky at the first or perhaps the second Beantown Camp (1997-1998), good dancer; I though at the time that he was one of the Swedish kids because of the light blonde hair. I saw some of the Minnie the Moocher performances some time later. Awesome that he kept dancing, liked that he's dancing small but nice and clean in this routine.

[@sanniepstein4835]

Ballet dancers try to appear weightless. Swing uses weight, plays with gravity, and Mr Humphries in particular excels at this.

[@Lindyhopgod]

Id love to see this routine with Sky wearing different shoes. Seems like he was a little flat footed due to shoe choice and the floor. 10 Points for his outfit and style choice. His pants sure did make his leg kicks look swinging. :)

[@streetsmartswing]

Great point. I wonder if the shoes were darker if it would have made a lesser impact?

[@Lindyhopgod]

@@streetsmartswing Wardrobe changes solo performances for sure. Also camera angle. I wish they would put the camera on the floor or have them perform on the stage as the visual of charlston/solo jazz steps is amazing from the 45 degree angle view. 0 degree angle creates a flat and uninspired image.

[@streetsmartswing]

@@Lindyhopgod yes I totally agree about the subtlety of the angles. I’ve grown to love many routines that I’ve seen originally from an angle, and hated the same piece once I saw it directly from the front :-)

[@alanbishop6937]

Genius, but, yawn. I keep watching a jazz battle where Felix crushes novel competition by doubling down on the trad. He does itches or a chicken wing flap and the crowd is _losing_their_minds_! Felix is not stretching the rubber band with new moves, but he is bursting at the seams with the *energy* of jazz improv. Thanks for the discussion, love your articulation! m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpTYnZWDg7t7gtk

[@streetsmartswing]

That’s exactly how I felt about this one. This highlights an issue I’m struggling with regarding Skye’s dancing. The majority of his impact has come from safely choreographed routines. Though they were fantastic they are not necessarily “Jazz” or creative improvisation as the original generations would have called it. Too much choreography and very few moments of authentic public vulnerability doing the “Jazz/Swing” is why I remain conflicted with Skye in terms of his overall contribution. Ironically, most of his public Jazz moments match the tone and level of artistry in this performance. Impressively controlled but can be also viewed to many as boring.

[@lindyhopperalbury]

It was well performed for sure, but I feel like he was going for a real minimalist approach to it, keep it cool, keep it small and quiet. Perhaps he was trying to show that sometimes more can be done with less. Some performances are just too busy, whereas this one we could see exactly what every move was.

[@streetsmartswing]

Great observation, Greg! The real conundrum to me is how he’s been able to do this type of “minor is major” format for over 20 years. Maybe it’s because of the impact of his memorable choreography with Frida. I always wonder if someone else tried the same minimalist approach if they would be viewed as an original or not doing enough. In a way it seems Skye has a monopoly on the simplistic approach that if anybody else tried they might be artistically pushed into the corner of comparison. I’d love to see someone try.