Amy Smart to Bring Swing Dancing Back
Filed under: Comedy, Independent, Music & Musicals, Romance, Casting, Cinematical Indie
Hey, remember that fad about ten years ago to bring swing music back? Well, the music and the dancing may return to the spotlight once again thanks to a film called Love N' Dancing. The independent project, which begins shooting this summer, is being produced by a four-time U.S. Open Swing Dance Champion named Robert Royston (check out his pic!), along with Sylvia Caminer. Written by Tom Molloy, who will also co-star, the film follows a bored English teacher who partners with a West Coast Swing dancer in order to win a world title. Of course, she has a workaholic fiancée, who she likely abandons in order to fall for the dancer. Amy Smart (The Butterfly Effect) has been cast as the teacher. Much of the popularity of swing back in the '90s was due to the success of Swingers, so there's a chance that this film could rejuvenate the past-time (look around L.A. and NYC -- swing isn't dead; it's only sleeping). However, if this means that we have to suffer through neo-swing garbage like "Zoot Suit Riot" again, I might have to kill someone. Love N' Dancing is being helmed by choreographer-turned-director Robert Iscove, whose American Idol-spawned From Justin to Kelly should give good evidence for why this new music-based film will not be the success that Swingers was. That and the fact that Vince Vaughn will not be in it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-10-2007 @ 9:37AM
Aaron said...
The popularity of swing dancing wasn't because of the movie Swingers, it was primarily what long-time dancers refer to with venom in their voices as "the Gap ad", which caused Cherry Poppin' Daddies (originally a ska band), Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and all those other neoswing groups to suddenly get lots of airtime...
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5-10-2007 @ 10:18AM
Rich Drees said...
I wouldn't be too hard on the neoswing bands though. For many, they were a "gateway drug" for many to discover classic big band swing and jump blues. And swing dancing in NYC is nowhere near sleeping. It may not be as vibrant a scene as it was in the mid-90s, but there are still a few good nights out a week.
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5-10-2007 @ 12:03PM
Christopher Campbell said...
True, Rich. By sleeping I mean hiding. And by hiding I mean that nobody has been looking for it. I get weekly emails about all the swing nights around the city -- not that I've been to one since the mid 90s.
As for the gateway, I'm sure it did turn on some. But then there were also more, likely, that only paid attention to the new stuff, eventually crashing hard with that awful Mambo #5 redo.
Personally I got into the old music with the film Big Night, which turned me onto Louis Prima, and with the Dinner and a Movie program (what channel, I forget), which turned me onto Louis Jordan.
And Aaron, I truly do think Swingers had a bigger impact than the Gap ad.
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5-10-2007 @ 1:43PM
Tom Malloy said...
This is Tom Malloy, the writer and co-star of the film. Just to clarify Chris, because you have your facts wrong. This film does not feature Swing in the sense of the big band 1940's era swing and lindy hop. This is West Coast Swing, a slinky, smooth dance that looks nothing like the swing you have in mind. Type in West Coast Swing on YouTube and see what comes up.
The music we dance to (I've been dancing it for 8 years) is hip-hop, pop, R&B, country, funk and soul. We dance to Black Eyed Peas, not Cherry Poppin Daddys. I have much respect for the old swing, but West Coast Swing is the dance that's going to sweep the nation!
If we were making a salsa movie or something like that, people would have to like that type of music and those clubs, and it would be a limited audience. The beauty about West Coast Swing is that wherever you are dancing right now, you can dance WCS instead. A country bar, a hip hop club, a blues bar, whatever. Mark my words, after this movie comes out, WCS will be the new disco, and this movie will be the next Saturday Night Fever.
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5-10-2007 @ 2:00PM
Christopher Campbell said...
Sorry, Tom. I think the Variety article is a little misleading then. It does mention both swing and WCS. And the WCS part sounds more like a regional thing rather than a separate style. We'll have to take your word on the idea that your film will be the next Saturday Night Fever.
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5-10-2007 @ 5:25PM
beano said...
The Black Eyed Peas are the worst band ever. Zoot suit riot any day!
Just for the record.
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5-10-2007 @ 11:24PM
Rich Drees said...
Chris- If you actually get an itch to get out dancing, I've got two recommendations- Thursday Night's Frim Fram Jam, sponsored by Yehoosi.com and anytime George Gee's orchestra is playing.
Tom- While I wish you luck with the film, I have to say that I'm skeptical that something like West Coast can be made really exciting cinematically, simply due to its nature of being performed in a slot. (I've been a lindy hopper for about ten years and have taken a few WCS classes along the way.) Dancers will see the movie and be able to appreciate the technique f the dancers, but will it look exciting and interesting enough to the average moviegoer? Will this movie have its equivelant of Whotey's Lindy Hoppers' HELLZAPOPPIN' routine?
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5-10-2007 @ 11:25PM
Rich Drees said...
Errrr, that should be WhItey's Lindy Hoppers.
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6-02-2007 @ 10:39AM
brett long said...
Hope the movie does well. I'm doing my part to promote swing (latin, ballroom) dancing.
http://www.myspace.com/dancesportva
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