Apart from simply being phonetically satisfying, the term “Boogie Woogie” actually relates to a style of music and dance that really gets the heart rate up! With its roots as a style of swing music, it’s upbeat and fun. There is a style of swing-jazz music that goes by this name, but if you really wanna be knocked back in your seat, the dance style is not to be missed.
While the Boogie Woogie dance can often be performed to the piano style of the same name, it is often also danced to old 50’s and 60’s rock music.
And if Boogie Woogie is your thing, the festival in Laroquebrou, France is the place to be.
With dancers collecting from all over the world to perform, this festival is a rollicking romp for not just swing dancers, but enthusiasts alike. In this one swing-tastic video, we can see two of the worlds top Boogie Woogie dancing couples take to the stage for a daring dance-off.
The first couple to kick off in this swing extravaganza, is none other than Sondre Olsen-Bye and Tanya Georgiievska.
With Sondre being a native of Norway, and Tanya being of the Ukraine, they’re an international twing team in their own right. With many awards under their belts, including 10 World Cup wins all over the world including USA and Russia, they’re a Boogie Woogie force to be reckoned with.
And you only need to watch them for a fraction of a second to see what the fuss is all about.
It’s clear that these guys have not been crowned as world champions for nothing. Simply watching the way Sondre keeps moving his feet so quickly is enough to make you feel out of breath! He flawlessly keeps bouncing on the balls of his feet in a way that makes you wonder if he hasn’t time-traveled straight from a 50’s milkshake bar.
Tanya is amazing as well, and among her equally impressive fancy footwork, she can even get pretty acrobatic!
You can tell that these two are a couple just by seeing how flawlessly they move together. They are completely in-sync and bounce off each other’s energy. Sometimes they literally bounce off each other!
The other couple in this jazz-off is Thorbjørn Urskog and Flora Bouchereau.
With Thorbjørn also being a fellow Norwegian, but Flora being French herself, they too are an international dancing couple with international awards to their names, including Boogie Woogie World Champions in 2014 and 2015.
And between the two of them, they have their own set of dazzling dance moves.
While their style is certainly different from Sondre and Tanya’s, they too have a boatload of old-school charm. And of course, Sondre isn’t the only one who can keep the hoppin’ style up!
And to boot, Tanya isn’t the only one who can attempt those acrobatics!
When Thorbjørn and Flora get together, he can spin her around his middle like it just ain’t no thang!
One of the things that makes these dance routines so much fun is the fun that the dancers themselves are having!
At one stage, Sondre stops dancing, and holds his one foot up. Did he hurt his ankle? Is there something inside his shoe? Nope, he’s doing a bit! He jiggles his limp foot as if it’s stopped working. What’s so great about these moments in this joint routine is that the other dancers all stop and play along, watching on with pantomime interest.
And similarly, they all convene at the end of the routine around the band and cheer them on.
The band has been playing Pete Johnson and Big Joe Turner’s “Roll ‘Em Pete”, with a gent named Thomas Aufferman leading the jive-tastic rock ‘n roll vocals. With all the dancers surrounding them at the end, this really is a crescendo of Boogie Woogie for such a fun festival.
Watch the full video below to enjoy this Boogie Woogie Bonanza!
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