Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing Announces Week One Events 6/29-8/3

From tango to two-step, swing to salsa, Week One of 2010's Midsummer Night Swing has something for everyone - everyone who likes to dance, that is. Starting on Tuesday evening, June 29th and running through Saturday evening, July 3rd -Week One kicks off with a Battle of the Bands between East Coast swing-meisters The George Gee Orchestra versus West Coast swingers The Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra.

Next up on June 30th is the New York debut of narcotango from Buenos Aires, a group that mixes traditional tango with electronic beats for an eminently danceable, sensuous rhythm. On July 1st The Time Jumpers from Nashville bring rollicking Western Swing to Damrosch Park, then on July 2nd the mood shifts to the island sounds of Orchestre Septentrional d'Haiti. Week One wraps up with sizzling salsa from Colombia when LA-33 ("la trenta y tres").

This year Midsummer Night Swing inaugurates a new dance floor, new lighting and new space design done by the firm 513 East 12th Street. Decorative arches ring a dance floor that accommodates 1,200 dancers, and etched plexiglass railings provide attractive safety fences along the sidelines. The transparency of the railings means that those not on the dance floor - the hundreds of dance enthusiasts who watch or dance from the sidelines - have good sightlines of the orchestras well as the intricate footwork of the dancers on the floor. Globe lights atop the arches change color and give the dance floor a Tivoli Gardens look - fanciful and summery, enhancing the mood on midsummer nights.

Midsummer Night Swing in Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park is on West 62nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues. The evenings are ticketed events, and they begin with a dance lesson at 6:30 pm for all levels with some of New York's foremost instructors. Lessons are included in the price of admission. Live music and dancing is from 7:30 pm until 10 pm.

Tickets and passes are on sale now. Multi-evening Swing Passes are priced at $90 for six nights, and $160 for the full season. Tickets for individual evening events are $17.

The Swing box office is located in the lobby of Avery Fisher Hall, Broadway and 65th Street. Tickets for individual events and passes can be purchased in advance or on the night of the event at a box office in Damrosch Park. All major credit cards will be accepted. Tickets and passes can also be purchased through CenterCharge, 212-721-6500, or by logging on to www.MidsummerNightSwing.org. Twitter users can sign up to follow Midsummer Night Swing @lc_swing for ongoing news and updates.

Midsummer Night Swing is made possible in part by grants from Daisy and Paul Soros
and Charina Endowment Fund.

Rain Policy Midsummer Night Swing makes every effort to present each event of the season, as long as unpredictable weather allows. Performance cancellations due to inclement weather will not be announced until 8:30 pm on show night. In the case of cancellation, ticket holders are entitled to exchange for another performance or a refund. Pass holders are not entitled to a refund. If a performance has begun and is cancelled after 8:30 pm, exchanges or refunds are not offered.

Week One schedule:

Tuesday, June 29
Battle of the Bands: George Gee Orchestra vs. The Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra Big Band Swing
When the hard-driving East Coast swing of George Gee meets the smooth swing of West Coaster Bill Elliott for the first time in ten years, there will be an explosion - on the dance floor! Both orchestras swing with the best of them, with New York-based Gee and his band specializing in the booming swing of Gee's idol, Count Basie. Bill Elliott's swing comes from his love of authentic arrangements from swing's golden era of the 1930s and early 40s, and he adds his original compositions to make a night of sophisticated, light-hearted music that is eminently danceable. A throwdown by the masters - may the best orchestra win.
Lesson: Randy Caravella teaches Collegiate Shag
DJ: Ryan Swift

Wednesday, June 30
narcotango Tango Electronico **New York Debut**
narcotango plays original music which melds classic tango with modern electronic sound in an embrace as deep as any found on the dance floor. Group founder and bandoneon player Carlos Libedinsky describes the music of narcotango as exuding the pull of a powerful addiction, like when tango dancers are exhausted from hours of dancing yet cannot pull apart because so powerful is their love of the music and the movement. Based in its native Buenos Aires, narcotango is popular in Europe and South America, and with its Midsummer Night Swing appearance it is set to seduce New York as well.
Lesson: Eva Carrozza teaches Tango
DJ: DJ Yesim "La Turca"
Sponsored by Capital One Bank ®

Thursday, July 1
The Time Jumpers Western Swing **New York Debut**
Nashville is home to great musicians and that list has to include the Western swing band The Time Jumpers. Made up of some of the best session players in Nashville, the Grammy-nominated Time Jumpers are noted for their tight arrangements, soulful singing and swinging rhythm section. They have played for everyone from Vince Gill and Amy Grant to Barbra Streisand, and their weekly performance at The Station Inn is a Nashville institution. This marks their first appearance in New York.
Lesson: John Knapp and Meredith Stead teaches Texas Two-Step
DJ: Meredith Ochs

Friday, July 2
Orchestre Septentrional d'Haiti Compas
Now enjoying their 62nd year, Orchestre Septentrional is Haiti's oldest big band orchestra - a feat in a country not known for having long lasting institutions, political, musical or otherwise. The group plays Haitian compas, music with merengue influences combined with Vodou ritual rhythms and Cuban beats. Their music never fails to bring their countrymen to the dance floor, and its frequent touring has made them firm friends throughout North America as well.
Lesson: Peniel Guerrier teaches Konpa
DJ: DJ Neva

Saturday, July 3
La-33 Salsa Colombiana **New York Debut**
While New York City has long been the center of the salsa universe, Colombia now rivals the Big Apple for salsa dominance. La-33 ("trente y tres"), from Bogotá, are stars in the Latin and world music press, and standouts in the dance clubs as well. They play a red-hot, young and funky salsa, with gritty trombones and excellent vocals. Stars in their native country, they plan on taking New York by tempestad.
Lesson: Steppin' Out Studios teaches Salsa
DJ: DJ Turmix

Midsummer Night Swing is made possible in part by grants from Daisy and Paul Soros and Charina Endowment Fund.

Additional support for Midsummer Night Swing 2010 is provided by Capital One Bank ®, Amtrak, Zabar's, Great Performers Circle, Chairman's Council, and Friends of Lincoln Center.

Operation of Lincoln Center's public plazas is supported in part with public funds provided by the City of New York.

Movado is an Official Sponsor of Lincoln Center, Inc.

WNBC/WNJU are Official Broadcast Partners of Lincoln Center, Inc.

Continental Airlines is the Official Airline of Lincoln Center, Inc.

MetLife is the National Sponsor of Lincoln Center, Inc.

"Summer at Lincoln Center" is sponsored by Diet Pepsi and The Wall Street Journal.

Midsummer Night Swing is a presentation of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. (LPCA), which serves three primary roles: presenter of superb artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. As a presenter of over 400 events annually, LCPA's programs include American Songbook, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Festival, the Mostly Mozart Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors and Live From Lincoln Center. In addition, LCPA is leading a series of major capital projects on behalf of the resident organizations across the campus.

Lincoln Center is committed to providing and improving accessibility for people with disabilities. Braille and large-type programs are available for selected Lincoln Center concerts. Wheelchair seating and assisted hearing devices are available at all concert halls and theaters. For further information or to receive a Lincoln Center accessibility guide, call 212-875-5375.

Programs and artists subject to change.

For information and program updates for Midsummer Night Swing visit MidsummerNightSwing.org or call 212-875-5766, or follow on Twitter @lc_swing for ongoing news and updates.