Killer Diller Photo Shoot

In May 2009 the Killer Dillers had a photo shoot with New York photographer Allison Michael Orenstein. Here are some of the shots:

Photos from the International Lindy Hop Championships 2009

Photos taken of the competitions and performances at the International Lindy Hop Championships in Washington DC, in August 2009:











The Killer Dillers did well in the competitions:

1st Place Team Division
1st place Charleston: Juan Villafane
2nd place Charleston: Nathan Bugh (that's me)
3rd place Charleston: Jo Hoffberg
Filling out the rest of the Charleston finals: Evita Arce, Kevin St Laurent & Sharon Davis (ie: all the rest of the Killer Dillers)
1st place Cabaret: Evita Arce & Mike Jagger
3rd place Cabaret: Kevin St Laurent, Juan Villafane & myself

Camp Jitterbug 2009 & The Jump Session Show

A few photos from our performances in the annual Jump Session Show, as part of Camp Jitterbug in Seattle in May 2009. The first photo is myself with Kevin St Laurent, taking during our performance of Fascinating Rhythm, a tribute to the legendary Berry Brothers:



This is a performance of the One Man Dance, originally created by The Five Blazes in the late 1920s:



From left to right, the performers were myself, Juan Villafane, Mike Faltesek, Kevin St Laurent and Stefan Durham:



And just for kicks, here is the original One Man Dance film clip, performed by The Five Blazes to Duke Ellington's tune Black Beauty, in 1929:

Performing with The Vanaver Caravan

Some photos from my time performing with The Vanaver Caravan:

Dancing with legend Dawn Hampton

A few photos of me dancing with living legend Dawn Hampton (above), at Swing Out New Hampshire in September 2009. Dawn is 82 years old! Click on the thumbnail to see a larger version:





Some info about Dawn, care of Century Masters:

Dawn Hampton was born in 1928, in Middletown, Ohio. Her father, Clark Deacon Hampton, Sr., had a family band and vaudeville act that was part of a traveling carnival. She grew up listening to the music of the family band, Deacon Hampton's Pickaninnys, sitting on an orange box behind her mother Laura's piano.

It wasn't long before the infant Hampton was making a contribution. She began performing at the tender age of three, and two years later sang "He Takes Me to Paradise".

Dawn is one of twelve children. Slide Hampton, the well-known jazz trombonist, is the youngest. Two of Dawn's older sisters, Aletra and Virtue, live in Indianapolis and are still performing and there are many more musical Hamptons scattered around the country.

After the war, the family band reunited for several years. There were fourteen pieces and nine Hamptons; Dawn played alto and tenor sax. They traveled under the leadership of her brother, Duke, and played throughout the Midwest and South. Finally, in 1950, the band achieved its dream of performing at Carnegie Hall (along with another well-known, although unrelated Hampton - Lionel).

Once the Big Apple got a taste of the Hampton Family, they were featured at the Apollo Theatre and the Savoy Ballroom. The Hamptons became the house band at the then-famous Sunset Terrace in Indianapolis, and then moved on to the Cincinnati Cotton Club. Sometime in the mid-1950s, several brothers left to study music and Dawn and her sisters Aletra, Virtue, and Carmelita continued to perform as The Hampton Sisters.

Fascinating Rhythm

Footage of The Killer Dillers' recreation of the Berry Brothers' number Fascinating Rhythm from the the 1941 film Lady Be Good. Filmed at Herrang Dance Camp in Sweden, July 2009. The performers are myself, Kevin St Laurent and Juan Villafane:

The Berry Brothers were a famous flash act duo (and later trio) in the 1920s, 30s and 40s. Their specialties included soft shoe tap, cane, spectacular splits and death-defying acrobatics. The brothers were Ananias (or Nyas) Berry, James Berry and Warren Berry. They performed alongside Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway at the Cotton Club in Harlem, were the first African-American act at the Copacabana in 1929, and performed at the grand opening of Radio City Music Hall in 1932. They also headlined at New York’s Apollo Theatre, the Zanzibar Cafe, Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom, The Moulin Rouge in Paris, and The Rio Cabana in Chicago. Their film credits include Lady Be Good (1941), Panama Hattie (1942), Boarding House Blues (1948), and You’re My Everything (1949).

The Berry Brothers are remembered as one of the greatest dance acts in the history of the American stage and cinema in the twentieth century. At a time when tap dancers were “a dime a dozen,” these brothers combined their talents to form a unique act that remains unsurpassed. Their mixture of the Cakewalk’s Strut, tap dancing, thrilling acrobatics, and amazing cane work was a winning and lasting formula. Click here to read more about them.

Here is the original:

The Killer Dillers: New Website

The Killer Dillers now have a website at www.thekillerdillers.com!

Apart from information about the six of us, there's also info about the styles of dance we do, photos, videos and a bunch of other stuff!

Photos from Southern Belle Swing Bash 2009

Photos taken at Southern Belle Swing Bash in Atlanta, in August 2009, where I was teaching and performing with Evita Arce. Click on the image to see a larger version.

The Killer Dillers 1st Place Team at International Lindy Hop Championships 2009

Here's a video of my dance troupe, The Killer Dillers, winning the team division at the International Lindy Hop Championships 2009 in Washington DC. My fellow Killer Dillers are Evita Arce, Kevin St Laurent, Jo Hoffberg, Juan Villafane and Sharon Davis:

That's How Rhythm Was Born

Performance of That's How Rhythm Was Born with Evita Arce, for the New York Swing Dance society in 2008...