Sunday, February 14, 2010

Feel like dancing?

Well, I'm back after a brief hiatus. It's been pretty busy around the ol'Kuniyuki house. This week on iheartfaces, the contest category is 'I wanna dance!' Seeing as how I met my wife dancing in Tucson, it would seem like I should have a bunch of dancing photos. Well I have a few.

This one is titled: Ghosts of Dances Past


The photo was taken when I was part of the thriving Austin Swing Dance scene. The venue is the American Legion in downtown Austin on a Wednesday night about a decade ago at a dance sponsored by Austin Lindy Hop. The lighting was never good so I had to use a fill flash.

The photo is raw and gritty because that was the scene at the time. It was real, filled with people inspired by the beauty of movement and the energy of music. Lindy Hop, Balboa, Shag, kick-ball-step, were words we innately understood along with tempo and musicality. When I took the photo I wanted to capture a memory and a moment, to somehow embody the organic movement and expressions of joy.

As you can tell we didn't often dress to impress. But we didn't have to. We would dance into the wee hours of the night and then go to an eatery (Denny's or local all night sandwich shop) to refuel before the next morning.

My brother and I would go down with a couple of our buddies, taking shifts at the wheel and managing some sleep between Killen and Austin.

Here is a short poem I wrote at the time when we would travel an hour each way, and dance up to five days a week, just for the sake of dancing...

O' Muse, where do you dance tonight?
Music abounds, 'tis weekend's start
Yet of you there is no sight

O' Muse, where do you dance tonight?
In the cavernous halls of my heart
Where rhythm stirs the night


The scene continues to thrive in Austin and around the US. Check out austinswingsyndicate.org if you're in Texas.

Some photo facts:
-That is talcum powder on the floor to reduce the friction and improve one's spin.
-The young girl on the left auditioned for "So you think you can dance"

Check out other photos at

18 comments:

  1. You could almost sense the 'movement' in the photo. Very neat! :)

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  2. Really cool effect, like the ghost of a memory. Nice shot!

    -Amandalynn
    http://www.imageserenity.com/blog

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  3. That is so cool! How did you do that? And I do believe that God created Dennys as a haven for hungry souls at the end of a long night of laughter and dance. I just love this photo and the feelings that it brings out...

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  4. That is...AWESOME!! LOVE IT!! Great capture of movt!

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  5. This is such a cool picture. It draws the eye in and keeps you looking because there seems to be so much to discover. I wish I would have had the chance to learn how to dance. I came from a very strict family, and dancing was a big no, no! Now, when I'm at a wedding, I let my kids dance away. Dancing is such a neat form of expression. (Love the story behind the photo!)

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  6. A very cool effect your have captured here!

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  7. Oh, this is great!!! Love the pic and your title for it, lol!

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  8. Cool shot! Great job! :) Thanks for your comments on my photo, too!

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  9. Very cool shot! Definitely a "i wanna dance" photo! Looks like they are having a lot of fun!

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  10. I love it! It is a sweet pic that is very cool looking!

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  11. Wow, very cool, love the ghostly feel of it.

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  12. You really do have some beautiful photos here...

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  13. i absolutely love the creativity and movement of this photo! great job!

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