Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing Enters Week Two 7/6

The Charleston, merengue, Lindy Hop and bhangra are some of the dances you need to know if you plan on coming to Midsummer Night Swing's Week Two. On Tuesday evening, July 6th and running through Saturday evening, July 10th , Week Two jumps off with the New Orleans Moonshiners on July 6th, giving their very first show outside of Louisiana and playing swing straight from the Crescent City. On July 7th the JC Hopkins Biggish Band will play big band swing with three of this city's most fabulous performers: Joey Arias, Justin Bond and Lea DeLaria. The "gals" will swing, jive and torch it up! A complete change of mood happens on July 8th, when legendary Basement Bhangra deejay DJ Rekha spins Punjabi-rooted bhangra and Bollywood disco along with her special guest, Red Baraat. Next up, on July 9th, is the lightning rhythm of Tony Swing and his brand of Dominican merenge - fast, fun, and furious. Week Two winds up on July 10th with the great Wycliffe Gordon Sextet playing swing on a jazz tip.

This year Midsummer Night Swing has a new dance floor, new lighting and a new space design. 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 summer-y, 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.

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

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.

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.

The schedule for Week Two:

Tuesday, July 6
New Orleans Moonshiners New Orleans Jazz, Swing **New York Debut**
Not only is it their first time in New York, this Swing engagement is the Moonshiners first gig outside of Louisiana. Playing traditional New Orleans jazz and small band swing, the tight-knit unit of twenty-somethings channel the spirit of Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet while lifting their listeners feet up off the floor to dance.
Lesson: Paolo "P Lindy" Lanna
DJ: Tomo Tanaka

Wednesday, July 7
JC Hopkins Biggish Band with special guests Joey Arias, Justin Bond, and Lea DeLaria Big Band Swing
JC Hopkins Biggish Band has been a fixture in the downtown New York club and burlesque world for ten years, showcasing Hopkins' inventive original tunes along with classic big band numbers. The Biggish Band also showcases some of the best vocalists around - its roster has included Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux. For Swing the Biggish Band's vocalist Champian Fulton and singer/hoofer Dewitt Fleming Jr. will be joined by three buccaneers of bohemia in a night of song and dance: performance artist Joey Arias, singer-songwriter and Tony Award-winner Justin Bond, and comedienne/ jazz singer extraordinaire Lea DeLaria.
Lesson: Solomon & Lemington
DJ: Jennifer Shortway

Thursday, July 8
DJ Rekha (of Basement Bhangra) with special guest Red Baraat Bhangra

Note: one band set at 8pm

The hypnotic club music based on Punjabi folk music - bhangra - has become a DJ-driven music in the US, largely due to the work of DJ Rekha, the "Ambassador of Bhangra" (New York Times). Rekha's Basement Bhangra party is legendary for its mix of native beats and Bollywood disco, infused with elements of hip-hop and Jamaican dancehall. Her special guest on July 8th will be Red Baraat, the pre-eminent dhol ‘n' brass band in the US. Red Baraat plays a raucous blend of bhangra and brass funk that makes for a powerful live sound and explosive fun on the dance floor.
Lesson: Reena Shah
DJ: DJ Rekha

Friday, July 9
Tony Swing Merengue
Born Juan Antonio Morales, Tony Swing is a veteran in the world of Dominican merengue. He fronted many of the best internationally-known merengue bands, including Oro Solido and Pochy y su Cocoband, for more than ten years before turning to a film career and solo projects. After several years away from the scene, Swing is back with a new CD, a new band and the same lightning-quick dance sound that his fans adore.
Lesson: Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin
DJ: William Otero (DJ Kato)

Saturday, July 10
Wycliffe Gordon Sextet Swing, Jazz
Wycliffe Gordon is a trombonist/composer/conductor/teacher who plays hard-swinging, straight-ahead jazz both as a soloist and as a leader of the Wycliffe Gordon Sextet. Formerly a member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Gordon is equally at home playing in concert halls and bringing a red hot stomp to swing the dance floor.
Lesson: Simone Coonrod
DJ: Andrew D'Angelo

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.