Travel Back In Time To The 1940's With Swing, Jazz & Ballroom Music And Dance of Fleur Seule Tonight At Roosevelt Island's FDR Four Freedoms Park

You're invited to a free music and dance party tonight with Fleur Seule at the Roosevelt Island FDR 4 Freedoms Park August 4 Music at Sunset Concert Series. According to the FDR 4 Freedoms Park:

Travel back in time to the 1940s with swing, jazz, and ballroom hits by Fleur Seule. Led by songbird and band leader Allyson Briggs, Fleur Seule's 7-piece band plays the music popular in FDR's time, evoking a bygone era.

From 6:15pm - 7:15pm, learn to swing-dance with lessons for all levels by dancing couple Jerry and Celia Feldman. Then, visitors can practice their new moves from 7:15pm - 9pm.

Food, beer, and wine will be available for sale at the Katchkie Truck. Members will receive 2 complimentary drinks. Become a member today!

Free; no registration required.
About Fleur Seule

Fleur Seule is an authentic 1940s Jazz & Swing band that plays hits from all around the world. Songbird/Bandleader Allyson Briggs sings in 6 languages to accommodate a wide variety of New York audiences. The band size ranges from 2-9 pieces and can provide the perfect ambiance for an intimate cocktail lounge to filling a dance floor with inspiring swing dancers! Whether an All-American USO style set, or an exotic voyage through Europe, Fleur Seule will take you on a memorable musical journey, as they revive hits made famous by Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Edith Piaf, Marlene Dietrich, Dinah Shore, and more.

Here's a little taste



of Fleur Seule.



Have a good time.

UPDATE 8/5 - From the Roosevelt Island Twitterverse:

Sunset swing courtesy of @fleurseule 💃😍 https://t.co/kwq4aWYRbb

— Four Freedoms Park (@4FreedomsPark) August 4, 2016

Sunset swing courtesy of @fleurseule 💃😍

A photo posted by Four Freedoms Park (@4freedomspark) on Aug 4, 2016 at 4:36pm PDT

It don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing... Our swing dance class is in session in prep… https://t.co/OCDzMhgCIG

— Four Freedoms Park (@4FreedomsPark) August 4, 2016

It don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing... Our swing dance class is in session in prep for @fleurseule's performance at 7:15!

A video posted by Four Freedoms Park (@4freedomspark) on Aug 4, 2016 at 3:39pm PDT

SPONSORED POST, You're Invited To Free FDR 4 Freedoms Park Music At Sunset Concert Series Thursdays July 21, 28, August 4 & 11 - Harlem Renaissance Jazz, Salsa Lessons & Dance, Swing Dance And Joyful Jazz

You're invited to the Roosevelt Island FDR Four Freedoms Park free Music at Sunset Concert Series starting Thursday July 21.

On select Thursdays in July and August, Four Freedoms Park will host a Music at Sunset concert series with performances ranging from jazz to salsa to swing dance.

The series also includes two opportunities to learn how to dance. On July 28, visitors are invited to learn salsa from acclaimed instructor Rodney Lopez, and on August 4, they can learn to swing dance from Jerry & Celia Feldman.

Performances include:
Thursday, July 21, 6pm – 9pm: Harlem Renaissance Jazz with Art Baron & Friends

Thursday, July 28, 6pm – 9pm: Salsa Lessons & Dance Party with Rodney Lopez ft. Funky Guajiro

Thursday, August 4, 6pm – 9pm: Swing Dance with Jerry & Celia Feldman ft. Fleur Seule

Thursday, August 11, 6pm – 9pm: Joyful Jazz with Sammy Miller and the Congregation

Renowned jazz musician, Art Baron, kicks off the season with sounds of the Harlem Renaissance and the Jazz age on Thursday, July 21, and Sammy Miller and the Congregation closes it with their unique style of jazz – joyful jazz.

The Katchkie Farm Food Station will be selling beer, wine, and various meals and snacks from 5pm-9pm.

Performances are FREE. Click here to learn more.

Swing Dancing Comes To Roosevelt Island In Celebration Of Black History Month Saturday February 26 At Good Shepherd Community Center - Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing

Image From RIOC

The Roosevelt Island Seniors Association (RISA) together with the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC)  are celebrating Black History Month with A History Of Swing Dance night from 6 - 9 PM this Saturday night at the Good Shepherd Community Center.

According to RIOC:

In Celebration of Black History Month, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation presents in partnership with the Roosevelt Island Senior Association: A History of Swing Dance!

Join us at the Good Shepherd Community Center 543 Main St. and bring your dancing shoes! Light Refreshments will be served immediately afterward at the Senior Center located at 546 Main St.

Wikipedia describes swing dancing as:

...a group of dances that developed concurrently with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s, '30s and '40s, although the earliest of these dance forms predate swing jazz music. The best known of these dances is the Lindy Hop, a popular partner dance that originated in Harlem and is still danced today. While the majority of swing dances began in African American communities as vernacular African American dances, a number of forms (Balboa, for example) developed within Anglo-American or other ethnic group communities.

Swing jazz features the syncopated timing associated with African American and West African music and dance — a combination of crotchets and quavers (quarter notes and eighth notes) that many swing dancers interpret as 'triple steps' and 'steps' — yet also introduces changes in the way these rhythms were played — a distinct delay or 'relaxed' approach to timing.

Today there are swing dance scenes in many countries throughout the world. Lindy Hop is often the most popular, though each city and country prefers various dances in different degrees. Each local swing dance community has a distinct local culture and defines "swing dance" and the "appropriate" music to accompany it in different ways. ...

and here's a pretty good example of swing dancing from the 1941 movie Hellzapoppin

You Tube Video Of Lindy Hop From Hellzapoppin

Remember, it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.

You Tube Video Of Duke Ellington's It don't mean a thing...