We were sold as soon as we read the website’s intro:
“Policoro in Swing is unique, it’s the place where music, dance, sailing, sun, and sea are ‘bouncing to the same tune’…”
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Sign us up! We would like to bounce to this tune.
Policoro in Swing is basically a dance camp in a beautiful part of Italy where you go to learn skills from internationally-renowned dancers, meet new people, and literally dance the night away.
And there’s probably some limoncello involved too if we know Italy.
A blast from the past
The 2016 event was, by all accounts, a blast. Sun, fun, sailing, dancing, jazz cafes, late-night performances – we think the Italians are really on to something here.
And one night a group of gentleman performed a “Killer Boogie” that is now, by far, the organization’s most popular YouTube video. In fact, it’s been viewed over 200k times! (The next most popular video has been viewed just over 5k times, to give you some context.)
For over 3 minutes, Martynas Stonys, Marcus Koch, and Gaz Fernandes really do kill it.
These guys can really boogie!
The Killer Boogie
What’s a killer boogie, you ask?
It’s both a song and a dance.
In 1973, Dutch pianist Jan Rietman released a single by that title. Then, a quarter of a century later, Markus Koch released a video called “Footwork Fast and Fancy,” in a series about swing dancing. In it, he performed a routine that he choreographed specifically for the song.
Before he starts, he says: “Hold on to your hats, button your britches, and tie your shoes. This is the ‘Killer Boogie,’ with 256 beats per minute!”
Ok, now why we know it’s a killer!
The dance has been performed many times at festivals and other special occassions where the best of the best get together and boogie.
Needless to say, it’s always a big hit because it’s fast, fancy, and looks incredibly difficult.
“Awesome!!! These blokes can dance !!!! Bravo !!!!” raved a viewer.
They killed it
According to the organizers, Martynas and Gaz had never danced the killer boogie before – and they performed it with Koch himself!
A stunned “wow…” was the most frequent comment made on the video.
You really do have to have rhythm, skill, balance, and some serious physical fitness to get through this.
As one of the newer line dances on today’s swing circuit, it’s a vertible blitz of moves.
Swing dancer Paolo Lanna has called it “a marathon-length routine danced at the pace of the 100-meter dash.”
It’s boogie-woogie, it’s jazz, it’s a line dance, and it’s fast and furious all at the same time.
And the piano recording that provides the soundtrack is the kind of fast-tempoed tune that gets your heart rate up just hearing it.
Needless to say these three gentlemen wowed the crowd. Slick moves, their ability to move (largely) in unison, and stamina came together for a blockbuster evening.
And it’s clear the crowd is having a blast by the clapping, screaming, hooting, and hollering in the background.
Now, the only question is: can you guess which dancer is Koch – the man who created the dance itself?
He’s the one that makes it look effortless.
Let us know your guess in the comments.
And be sure to scroll down below to see these three gentlemen in action. It’s certainly a sight to behold.
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