|
Meet the cutest pair of lindy hoppers in Maine! With Liz's
impish antics and Kevin's deadpan humor, and their flawless
musicality and impressive technical skill, this couple is a joy to
watch. They certainly lift your spirits!
What is amazing in this day and age, the pair has been sweethearts
since they were 13 - that's right, thirteen years old.
They met in junior high chorus and have been together ever since,
despite educations that kept them far apart for many years.
Both pursued musical careers. Kevin started at age 11 with
trumpet, and added guitar at 12. He still plays both
instruments daily. He went to Boston University, majoring in
music and guitar. Liz started with piano and voice
lessons, after a childhood listening to summer stock productions
that her parents were involved with in Maine. She went
to McGill University in Montreal, majoring in music education and
voice. During those college years, the pair "spent a lot
of time traveling on the Greyhound bus" to visit each other.
"I still have all our letters from those years", says
Liz. Kevin adds, "And I still have all the phone bills!"
After graduation, Liz went to graduate school at the New England
Conservatory and Kevin came back to Maine, teaching middle school
music in Mexico. Liz got a masters in conducting, and the pair
moved to Bethel. They now live in Auburn, teaching music to children
during the day.
Kevin experimented with break dancing as a kid. Liz started
ballet/tap/jazz at the Boothbay Region YMCA as a child, and
continued studying in Portland until she was 16 or so. She
first saw people swing dancing in New York at the Supper Club, while
visiting relatives.
Liz and Kevin were married in August of 1999. "On a
dare", they started taking East Coast Swing lessons together in
Portland at Maine Ballroom Dance, and taught a dance course at Gould
Academy, "staying one week ahead of the students."
There also was a club in Portland at the time, called Empty Pockets,
where they learned Lindy and Charleston from other dancers.
They continued studying dance using videos, and "went to every
dance we could find within 100 miles."
What attracts them to lindy hop? The music is a big factor.
They say, "The most attractive thing about swing music is its
improvisation, and this creates opportunities in improvise while
dancing." One of their goals is to have so many people dancing
in the Portland area that they don't have to drive to Boston to have
more than a few partners who know how to lindy (which is quite
different from "ballroom swing" as currently
taught.) This goal has led to the realization that they are
going to have to teach adults (young and old) to dance. After
many years of teaching music to youngsters, they will probably
succeed in this effort. All dancers are kids at heart, after
all.
|
