Bobby tells the story of four incredible dancers who were Frankie Manning's partners, and Chisomo and IR fam LAUREL RYAN join in and listen along.   0:00 Frieda Washington & Creative Adventurousness  19:00 Lucille Middleton & Tall Coolness  28:30 Willa Mae Ricker & Fashionable Groundedness  49:30 Ann(e)? Johnson & Powerful Smallness    SOURCES:  "Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop" by Frankie Manning & Cynthia Millman, "Swinging at the Savoy: The Memoir of a...

Another Chisomo & Bobby episode! This week, the parable of the Three Little Black Girls. What would you do? Let us know at [email protected] 0:00 Three Little Black Girls come up to us in the park… 6:00 "Too woke, Chisomo" 9:30 No one will see our dance if it's not out in the world… 20:00 Crucibles of talent 29:00 Independence vs interdependence

It's a Chisomo & Bobby episode, where they have a friend's talk that asks some questions about how Black culture relates to the dance and teaching, tells one of Bobby's most memorable Frankie Manning stories, and reveals which one of us is "the woman in the doorframe."  0:00 Mentorship & teaching 5:00 LaTasha Barnes: Balboa dancer? 7:30 The Nuances of Cultural Embodiment 11:00 You don't get to erase my lived history 13:00 The woman with her foot in the door 17:00 Of rooms and...

A Communal Circle. In this episode, (part 2 of 2) JULIA LOVING discusses her intimate history with Black New York art forms, the dances she runs in Harlem, and a controversial opinion that will make some people in Queens wanna fight. Also, Chisomo, Bobby tackle an important question from Julia. 0:00 Julia's Question 4:00 Laws, acts, amendments, mindset, What are white people doing to change that opinion? 8:00 The knitty-gritty takes place on the local scene 11:00 About Julia's dances in...

In this episode (Part 1 of 2), we're with dancer, historian, educator, promoter, instigator, designer, and business owner JULIA LOVING. We share Norma Miller stories, the historical Civil Rights legacy of Julia's family, and how both have shaped the design of Julia's incredible swing dance events. 0:00 Miss Norma enters the room… 6:00 Norma's memories 8:35 Empowerment and tough love 11:00 Norma asks you to come over and talk to her 14:30 The stories we don't remember 19:00 Continuums of...

A room with a door... Not just a great thing to have in a instructor contract, it's also a great thing to have in the swing dance scene as a whole. In part 2 of 2, instructor, MC, and Lindy Focus meeting co-host LAUREL RYAN shares with us how the standards of Black Excellence give a warped door for Black instructors to enter the Instructor room, how the swing scene is designed like FaceBook, and how the women's bathroom is the secret to good allyship.       0:00 The standard of Black...

A Sprinkle of White Supremacy... In part 1 of 2, instructor, MC, and Lindy Focus meeting co-host LAUREL RYAN shares with us the fascinating tales of learning Lindy Hop, confronting its harmful teaching practices, and how Black people are constantly battling between being undervalued and tokenized.  **Music in this episode by Barron Ryan! Go to barronryan.com and firstofitskind.net to learn more and get his incredible, new rights free album!** 0:00 Laurel grew up surrounded by exceptional...

Pretend I'm Not Bouncing.    Dancer BRANDON BARKER has his dance passion in three worlds --- the academy of a university where he is currently finishing up a BFA in concert dance, the legendary company of Black American dance Alvin Ailey where he has worked and trained, and the swing scene where he is a Lindy Hopper and Jazz dancer, performer, and teacher. See how those worlds criss-cross and collide in today's episode. 0:00 Brandon breaks down his dancing life for the discussion 6:00...

It's a Chisomo & Bobby episode, where we discuss a few topics.   0:00 A possible guest politely declined to be on our show, and we talk about it. It's all good, but we wanted to explore some things that brings up.   12:30 The art of not talking over Follower teachers, and what that tells us about inclusion.   28:30 We discuss Odysseus Bailer's great "How to Apologize" post, recently published on his professional FB page. ---------------- Welcome to Integrated Rhythm! Two Swing...

This is part 2 of 2 of our second Block Party. We are honored to have with us, MC and instructor MICHELLE STOKES, MC and instructor LAUREL RYAN --- both of which do the amazing music for our podcast, by the way --- we also have incredible swing dance researcher and history lover LEWIS ORCHARD, and 1972 Harvest Moon Ball champion and Mama Lou Parks Dancer CRYSTAL JOHNSON. Buzz Words 1:00 Question #2:  "When we come back together, it's not important that the swing scene simply be a space that...

Chocolate & Peanut Butter --- how do you feel about the combination? The discussion at Integrated Rhythm gets serious. In this BLOCK PARTY episode (Part 1 of 2), we discuss Duke Ellington, peanut butter & chocolate, tea & coffee, and high fantasy. Guests include MICHELLE STOKES, LAUREL RYAN, LEWIS ORCHARD, and CRYSTAL JOHNSON.   2:00 -- Crystal meets Duke Ellington  7:30 -- Michelle wears a shirt with tassels  10:30 -- How Michelle & Laurel live in Oklahoma  11:00 --...

My Exodus for Me to Begin. In Part II of a two-part conversation with Harvest Moon Ball champion and Mama Lou Parks dancer CRYSTAL JOHNSON, we cover her father, Whitey's Lindy Hopper Thomas "Tops" Lee, her coming back into the swing dance world, and her thoughts on how racism has changed since she was younger. 1:30 Thomas Lee, Mr. Showbiz 6:00 Maya Angelou and swing dancing 10:0 you have to feel the music 13:30 Mama Lou Parks before a show 14:30 Crystal's sign 20:30 Don't let anyone...

Don't be stingy with it.  We're talking about gifts, and the gift of dance that was given to our guest this week, the legendary CRYSTAL JOHNSON --- Harvest Moon Ball champion, Mama Lou Parks dancer, and the daughter of Whitey's Lindy Hopper Thomas "Tops" Lee, Jr.  In part 1 of this 2-part conversation, we discuss her early dancing life, her Harvest Moon Ball experience, and working with Mama Lou Parks and her peers. In part 2, we cover her father, Whitey's Lindy Hopper Thomas "Tops" Lee,...

In part 2 of our interview with emcee, jazz dance instructor, and Lindy Focus Meeting co-host, MICHELLE STOKES, we discuss nicknames, Michelle's philosophy of emceeing and teaching, the problems of Black-based imposture syndrome, and Michelle's ideal scene.   1:00 "Stoked to be here," White people and puns, nicknames in general  7:50 Michelle accidentally fell into Emceeing  10:30 Have fun with your audience  11:45 The importance of making people feel welcome in emceeing and...

To Be Black and Snatched. Hair --- it's not only a cultural part of Black living, it's also a practical one. You might be surprised all the ways it plays a role in a Black person existing in a mostly Non-Black America, and specifically in a Non-Black swing dancing space. It's only one of the topics we discuss in today's action-packed episode.  In part I of this 2-part conversation, we talk to the renown event emcee, jazz dance instructor, and Lindy Focus meeting co-host MICHELLE STOKES...

In the late 1930s, a truly Black American dance experience took over America.  This episode is a reading of this week's Swungover article on the rise of the "The Big Apple" dance craze, the problematic news articles affiliated with it, and how Whitey's Lindy Hoppers adopted the dance in Harlem. You can read the article and see the Whitey's Big Apple footage over at www.swungover.com or on the YouTube version of this podcast.  

Indeegnance. A word that beautifully captures all that we talk about in today's episode, including genetic-based racism vs assimilationist racism, language and perception, code switching, Beyonce's "Black is King," the burden of representation, and action verses emotion. 1:00 Bobby's sloppy set up: Genetic-based Racism vs Assimilationist Racism 4:30 Both kinds are present in the Swing dance scene 6:30 The wrong end of many conversations 11:00 Language and perception -- the code switch...

In this episode, Blues Dances instructor, DJ, and proud nerd KENNETH SHIPP discusses getting thrown into the middle of learning Line Dances, the dance lessons gotten from church, working first hand with Blues dancing pioneers, and how each has shaped the way he teaches dance and helps people chill the f&$% out. (1:00) Kenneth on learning growing up,  (7:00) My first experience at a white church… (12:30) Church and improvisation, (13:30) Broadening horizons via movie theaters, (16:00) The...

In this episode, Bobby & Chisomo talk with swing historians and history lovers LEWIS ORCHARD (a White British man) and SHANI BROWN (a Black American woman) about not being Black and researching Black people in history. Specifically, they will tell the story of researching the great Whitey's Lindy Hopper John Wesley "Tiny" Bunch, and discuss the process.  (1:30) It all began when…, (3:00) A really interesting sentence to read, (4:30) Lewis takes on the investigation, (8:00) Using draft...

SHORTY: Short bonus episodes.  This "Shorty" is a reading of the Swungover Article "The Life of "Tiny" Bunch," about famous Whitey's Lindy Hopper John "Tiny" Bunch. This is a companion piece to podcast Episode 09: "A little Stalker-y"  where we discuss the act of researching People of Color. 

This week we talk with international instructor of Balboa and Lindy, Shani Brown , about learning from the original SoCal swing dancers, the reality of their culture and lives, and the invisibility and visibility of herself as a Black woman in the scene. We also briefly reflect on and respond to the events that happened at the Capital on Nov 6, 2021. (The day before this podcast was released.) Chisomo mentions a Black woman who stormed the Capital in 2013 and was killed.  Her name was Miriam...

CHECK IT OUT! Short tidbits where we point listeners to awesome things. In this episode, we briefly tell you why you should watch The Buzz's interview with Soul Train dancer & Breakin' star Adolfo 'Shabba Doo' Quiñone, who recently passed away ahead of his time.  Here's the link to the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZFjQSmveA8&  

In this episode, Chisomo & Bobby discuss White people complimenting Black people, and many of the layers involved. (0:00) The setup. (4:00) compliments & microaggressions. (8:30) talking with the other person? It gets tricky. (10:30) looking at the context. (19:00) Black women's hair. (22:00) The exaggeration of Black people as a tool of oppression. (23:30) Black People and being suspicious of compliments. (28:30) It's just not a Black/White binary. (32:00) Game: Yay or Nay! Chisomo...

(Part 2 of 2!) This is a special holiday episode with the Integrated Rhythm family and all of our guests so far --- LATASHA BARNES, JOEY OTENG, LAUREL RYAN, MICHELLE STOKES, and STEFFANIE AK SCHILLING! CONTENTS: (0:00) Question #3: What's a time when you've seen two cultures overlap unexpectedly? (1:07) Product of an interracial AND international couple (8:00) Immigrant kids tend to find each other (12:30) Empire & Art (16:00) Culture can be invisible (18:00) How we present...

Special 2020 Holiday Party Episode! Perfect for being cooped up in your house in a Holiday quarantine! (Part 1 of 2) with LATASHA BARNES, JOEY OTENG, LAUREL RYAN, MICHELLE STOKES, and STEFFANIE AK SCHILLING! (Also check out the visual of the party on YouTube!)  And if you're a cheesy holiday movie fan, Joey's Hallmark lovefest is a must-listen (at 37:00) CONTENTS (Approximates, may vary with commercials) (0:00) Slave talk, or more fun racial things? (4:00) Introductions (9:40) "Black...