Swing Dance Yukon
The Swing style originated in the United States in the late 1920s and became very popular in the 1930s and 40s, led by musicians such as Benny Goodman. So popular in fact, that the danceable swing style of big bands became a dominant music genre and the period became known as the swing era.
Swing music began to decline in popularity during World War II. By the late 1940s, swing had morphed into traditional pop music, or evolved into new styles such as jump blues and bebop jazz. But Swing music didn’t die and saw a revival in the late 1950s and 1960s with popular vocalists such as Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Ella Fitzgerald.
Today, swing is still popular and swing dance organizations and festivals can be found across Canada,
Swing Dance Yukon, led by Grant Simpson, is one of those projects. It is a traveling swing dance event which combines swing dance lessons with live music to dance to.
Haines Junction welcomed Grant Simpson and friends on January 28th, 2017 for an evening of fun swing dancing.
Grant (Guitar, Banjo and vocals) was joined on stage by Shauna Jones (lead vocals), Paul Bergman (Double-Bass), Annie Avery (Piano), Ken Searcey (Drums). The brass section was covered by Duncan Sinclair (Saxophone) and Keith Todd (Trombone).