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Health & Fitness

Party Like it's 1949 at the Jump, Jive an' Wail Swing Dance

The Jump, Jive an' Wail swing dance will be at the KSU Center on Saturday, November 5, 2011. Since it starts at 7:00 p.m. you'll need to brush off your old uniform and your dancing pumps.

Kennesaw State sponsors the Jump, Jive an' Wail 1940s Swing Dance

The tiled floors of the KSU Center, 3333 Busbee Drive, are spiffed and shined for the Jump, Jive an’ Wail swing dance on Saturday, November 5, 2011. Since it starts at 7:00 p.m. you’ll need to brush off your old uniform and your dancing pumps to join in on the fun.

The Big Band music will be performed by the Peachtree City-based ensemble,  Peachtree Jazz Edition, lead by Director David Gaissert.  Featuring the evocative sounds of the 1940’s this 18 member band will keep the crowd lively all night long with tunes you’ll recognize from the era originally made famous by such luminous figures as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington and many more.

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“I’m one of those that feel they were born a few decades too late,” said Mark Ewings, a student at Georgia Highlands College. “This event is perfect for someone who looks up to Old Blue Eyes more than Lil Wayne. It’s just tops. It’s the perfect joint to take your dame for a classy night out.”

This annual event commemorates the 1940’s World War II era music, clothing and history and is sponsored by the Kennesaw State University Department of Museums, Archives & Rare Books at Kennesaw State University.  If you don’t know how to swing dance, that’s just hunky dory because there will be dance lessons included in the night’s festivities. So grab your honey, grease up your pompadour and say “Cheese” in the 1940’s-style photo booth.  Last year’s event included over 550 visitors including WWII veterans, ROTC members, and local community members.

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Parking is free with a donation to KSU’s Feed the Future program to help hungry students. Refreshments will be served from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. This dance is open to “kids” of all ages and 1940s dress is not required. All proceeds go to “Feed the Future,” a KSU Student Health Services and Staff Senate program providing over 350 needy students with basic food necessities.    

"Our Jump, Jive an’ Wail swing dance is one of our most popular events,” says Julia Brock, Curator for the Department of Museums, Archives & Rare Books and professor of History and Memory at KSU. “Commemorating the 1940s with costumes, big band music, and the Lindy Hop, all while supporting our Feed the Future program, is inspiring and fun for the entire community.”

The KSU Center is located at 3333 Busbee Drive, Kennesaw, GA 30144. For more information, please contact Anna Tucker at (678) 797-2083 or visit the website: www.kennesaw.edu/historymuseum.

 

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