ILearn to Dance 'the Imperial' (East Coast Swing that is performed in a slot and infused with a touch of West Coast Swing styling!)
Imperial Swing Dancing is an illustrated, 450-page manual written by Skip Culver that teaches a complete, Basic through Advanced level course in St. Louis' own Imperial style of swing. This newly updated and enlarged Second Edition of the manual, which now comes with a two-hour instructional DVD, is an invaluable resource that covers all of the variables of swing dancing: footwork, lead, movement, patterns and styling. Although the text describes over 800 moves in the context of 'the Imperial,' you may easily adapt these moves to related dance styles like East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, the Shag and Country/Western. Imperial Swing inherited its name in the late 1950s from the popular Club Imperial where this unique, St. Louis style of East Coast Swing was originally danced in-the-round. Over the years, it has evolved into a hybrid of East and West Coast Swing that dancers now perform in a rectangular slot using both six-count and eight-count footwork. West Coast Swing, for example, shares the same core moves with Imperial Swing: the starter (or basic) step, the pass (side pass and pass-by), the sugar push (or patty-cake) and the whip. Although both of these 'slot bop' styles of swing are very similar, traditionally West Coast Swing lessons tend to emphasize MOVEMENT, and Imperial Swing lessons tend to emphasize MOVES. The manual successfully reconciles the imbalance between these two instructional approaches because it is heavily influenced by the classes and workshops taught by champion dancer Matt Auclair who continually reminds his students that "good dancers will never become great dancers with movement without moves, or vice versa" . . . and he teaches both!
Imperial Swing Dancing includes a supplemental DVD of selected moves taught by Matt Auclair who is both a highly qualified instructor and an international competitor. Matt is currently a six-time, national swing dance champion and in the year 2000, he participated in the Swing Dance America tour where he performed for the ambassadors of six major countries in Tokyo, Japan. The following year, he was selected to represent the United States at the Austrailian Jitterbug Championships in Brisbane. Matt Auclair teaches the instructional DVD assisted by his lovely wife Crystal. Their DVD is indexed to specific pages in the manual, and in his foreword he writes about this very effective, programmed approach to teaching dance. Learning 'the Imperial' with the Auclairs as your professional instructors is easy because they structure their lessons in an orderly progression so that every move they teach establishes the foundation for their next move. When Matt and Crystal teach a new swing move, their mantra is: “Tell them what you’re going to do; do it! Tell them what you just did; teach it!” In July 2007, when the St. Louis Imperial Dance Club hosted their annual "Academy Awards of Swing," the dance community voted Matt Auclair not only the Best Male Swing Dancer but also the Best Male Swing Dance Instructor in the St. Louis area. Over the Labor Day weekend, Matt won first place in the "Strictly Swing" category (professional division) of the Dallas Dance Championships. The DVD of their lessons, which is programmed to demonstrate all of the key "building block" moves described in the text, is bundled as an integral part of the manual and it is not sold separately.
Imperial Swing Dancing chronicles the colorful history of Imperial Swing (see Attachments above). Thanks to the generosity of the George Edick family, the enclosed DVD contains rare, archival footage of the dancers at Edick's Club Imperial filmed circa 1959 and 1970, and it introduces you to George Edick, the club’s charismatic owner. In the early 1960s, this 'media savvy' entrepreneur promoted his trendy Club Imperial by hosting a weekly television program called Party Time (the program featuring Ike Turner is included on the DVD). While Party Time showcased many talented, up-and-coming recording artists like Chuck Berry and Ike and Tina Turner, it also popularized a stylized version of the East Coast jitterbug performed at his club that became known as 'the Imperial.' During the past four decades, generations of new Imperial Swing dancers have chartered eight dance clubs around the St. Louis area that are now members of the Midwest Swing Dance Federation. The West County Swing Dance Club, for example, was formed in 1985, it was issued a state charter in 1986, and today it is one of the largest swing dance clubs in the United States with over a thousand active members.
Imperial Swing Dancing has the distinctive blue and red, sunburst logo of the West County Swing Dance Club printed on its front cover! The high quality of this comprehensive manual reflects the extraordinary commitment to excellence that the eight member clubs in the Midwest Swing Dance Federation have to providing outstanding dance instruction because almost all of the moves described in the text were taught in their classes and workshops. And, talking about workshops, the preface to the manual is written by Gary and Charlotte Chaney who are St. Louis’ unofficial ambassadors of Imperial Swing. Every year this talented couple travels around the country conducting workshops and performing exhibitions. Officially, Gary is the president of the American Bop Association which represents thirty member clubs nationwide and he is also the president of the South Side Imperial Dance Club. In his preface he writes: "Culver's manual now makes learning 'the Imperial' easy. Not only does it include Matt Auclair's excellent DVD, but also, the text presents the few technicalities of the dance in such an uncomplicated way that it actually reads like a book! This unique manual is a very important publication because it meticulously documents for posterity the 'fun and funky' moves which characterize the St. Louis Imperial style of swing that Charlotte and I love so much. We have no doubt that dancers of every skill level will learn from reading it."
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Imperial Swing Dancing enables you to learn hundreds of dance moves that have been taught for decades in the different swing clubs around St. Louis. This deluxe, 'coffee table quality' manual, which makes a great gift for the dancer in your life, is an inch and a half thick, it has colorful, laminated covers, and it is bound with an imprinted, blue plastic comb so that the text pages lay flat for easy reference. The instructional DVD is stored in a protective, vinyl sleeve affixed to the inside of the back cover. Each manual, which is individually wrapped and packed in a heavy corrugated cartion, has a shipping weight of 4.25 pounds, and all orders are mailed on the same day that they are received. Buy your limited edition manual today and don't forget to download the free, 40-page Bonus Supplement described below.
ORDER OPTION #1: Send $59.95 plus $8.50 shipping payable to: Henry H. Culver, Jr., 643 Old Riverwoods Lane, Chesterfield, Missouri 63017-2220. Missouri residents please add 6.5% sales tax. For your convenience, you may download the order form that is attached above.
- $pecial Offer: Order 2 manuals and the shipping for your second manual is free! Buy a second copy of Imperial Swing Dancing for a friend and save $8.50! Every manual is shipped with a colorful, laminated bookmark that pictures the beautiful St. Louis skyline on one side, and wily ole 'Swing Fox' on the other. This special shipping offer will expire on or before June 30, 2008 depending upon the number of manuals remaining!
ORDER OPTION #2: Click on www.Amazon.com . At the top of Amazon's home page, search Books for Imperial Swing Dancing and then order the manual using their online payment instructions (the free shipping offer described above does not apply to Amazon orders).
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Free Bonus Supplement
If you own a copy of Imperial Swing Dancing then download your free, 40-page Bonus Supplement (see Attachments above) which includes fifty useful adaptations of select 'moves' and learning tips from the manual, plus informative swing dance articles and errata. To open this protected file, enter the last word printed on the bottom of appendix page A-1 as your password. If you are in the process of purchasing your manual using either the attached order form, or Amazon's online bookstore then download the Bonus Supplement now because a printed copy of this important document is not included with your new text when it is shipped.
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Rollin' On The River (West County Swing Dance Club in St. Louis, MO)
Meet Me In St. Louis (Rebels West Coast Swing Dance Club in St. Louis, MO)
Boogie In The Bluegrass (Derby City Bop Club in Louisville, KY)
Move Across The River (Cincinnati Bop Club in Cincinnati, OH)
Dancin' On The High Seas Cruise - See Photo (AmericanBopAssociation)
Midwest Swing Dance Federation Clubs (MidwestSwingDanceFederation)
Biography of the Author
Henry H. “Skip” Culver, Jr. is a member of the West County Swing Dance Club in St. Louis Missouri. He is a Gold Seal Instrument Flight Instructor and the author of the bestselling book on navigation titled: IFR ‘Pocket Simulator’ Procedures. In 2000 Skip turned his attention from aviation towards the dance floor and then in 2004, inspired by his teacher and good friend Matt Auclair, he became a swing dance instructor certified by the St. Louis Imperial Swing Dance Club. With over seven years of detailed notes in hand from various classes and workshops, he began assembling the Imperial Swing Dancing manual which he published in June of 2007. Skip is a frequent contributor of articles on swing dancing to different club newsletters throughout the United States. To read his most recent published articles visit: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Skip_Culver
