Top 10 Reasons to Get Your Ticket to “Battle of the Big Bands” Today!

On Saturday, June 29^th, two of the best modern big bands, L.A.’s own Mora’s Modern Rhythmists and New York’s George Gee Swing Orchestra, will be performing live at the Culver City Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium.  This is a rare opportunity to see these two great bands battle it out at the former home of Satin Ballroom!

Here is the latest word from Dean and George:

**GOOD NEWS** THANK YOU to all of you that have promoted, encouraged, and told dancer friends about our special “Battle of the Big Bands” special event on June 29th. Even though we did not hit our 150 by June 15 goal (but pretty darn close), we are confident that there is so much buzz and excitement for this event that we will make it up this week. We still have $35 PRE-REGISTRATION tickets available until Midnight, June 23rd. After that, we must finalize our guest list, pay a bunch of pre-event fees, and be ready to open the doors for you for the Greatest Swing Dance event in modern history!!! YES, we will have the doors open to the public for $40 – We THANK YOU for your lindy love and support :)

Many swing dancers have already bought advance tickets for this event.  I’m so excited, I created this list of the top ten reasons you need to get your tickets today:

1. The music will be incredible

   Dean Mora and George Gee head up two of the most popular twelve-piece big bands around.  They will be set up side-by-side for an epic battle of the big bands!  Regardless of which one you like better, the music will be awesome and danceable.  Plus, you’ll get to see one of New York’s best big bands without having to go all the way to New York!  The DJ’d music between sets from Heather Eide will be awesome too!

2. Everyone will be there

   I anticipate a thousand swing dancers or more in attendance.  You can see who is going on their Facebook Page.  There are guaranteed to be some of your favorite leads and follows there, as well as some you’ve never met before.  People will be coming not only from Los Angeles and Orange county, but from San Diego and Santa Barbara too!  So come out and meet some new dancers and reconnect with your old friends!

3. It’s at the former home of Satin Ballroom

   If you never went to the original Satin Ballroom, this is your chance to see what all the hoopla was about.  People will be dressed up and the dance floor is one of the largest in Southern California.

4. The price WILL go up, and it could sell out!

   The price will increase from $35 to $40 on June 24^th and at the door, if they sell tickets at the door at all! [From George Gee: “There is a possibility that we may NOT sell tickets at the door, due to a sizable added expenses if we sell tickets at the door.”]

5. There will be live dance performances and lessons!

   There will be THREE concurrent dance lessons at 7PM!  Shesha and Nikki Marvin from the Atomic Ballroom will teach the beginners.  Ben Yau and Sheri Kang Yau of One2Swing Jitterbugs will teach the intermediate lesson, and Stephan Sayer and Chandrae Roettig will teach the advanced lesson.Throughout the night, there will be performances by the following dance groups:

   • The Atomic Ballroom Lindy Hop Colliders
   • The Hollywood Hotshots
   • Steve & Chandrae’s California Jubilee Shag & Lindy Team
   • San Diego’s Hang Ten Hoppers
6. There will be tributes to Frankie Manning and Jean Veloz

   Frankie Manning was one of the original swing dancers of the Savoy Ballroom in the 30’s and is credited with inventing the swing aerial.  This is an officially sanctioned Frankie99 celebration.  Jean Veloz was one of the featured dancers in the swing classic, “Groovie Moovie”, and an innovator in what is now called “Hollywood Style” swing dancing.  (To see Frankie perform in “Hellzapoppin'” and Jean in “Groovie Moovie”, see my article, Top Ten Most Influential Swing Dance Clips.)

7. There might not be another one of these for a long time

   This is a one-time event.  Who knows if it will ever happen again?

8. We need to outdo the East Coast

   You may not know that there are two other Battle of the big Bands companion events on the East Coast.  One is at the awesome Glen Echo Ballroom near Washington, D.C. on July 6^th and the other is at New York’s Lincoln Center on July 4th.  These events will feature the same bands.  We need to show the bands and promoters that the West Coast can draw the big crowds so we can keep getting great bands and events like these!

9. You need to go swing dancing more often

   Am I right?

10. This will be the greatest swing dance in modern history

    Their flyer said so! :-)

So don’t delay, get your tickets today!  The doors open at 7PM with live music from 8-12PM, MC’d by the incomparable Maxwell deMille!  Get your tickets online here!  See you there! – Brian