Swing Crash Festival

June 26, 2006

Last night I had the great pleasure of seeing the Royal Crown Revue perform in Como, as part of the Swing Crash dance and music festival. All my imaging instincts were frustrated: my digital still camera gave out last October, and my digital video camera has gone for repairs. I did the best I could with my cellphone camera; let's be kind and call the results "artistic".

RCR's appearance was the culmination of three days of swing dance classes, competitions, and concerts, so there was some mighty fancy footwork happening out there on the floor. I deeply regretted not having known about it in time to sign up for the beginning dance class, though I probably got a lot of exercise just jigging around in place to the irresistible beats.

For those who don't live in this area and are wondering what this has to do with travelling in Italy, let me point out that summer is Italy's golden time, with special events everywhere, every night, and everyone's in a party mood. So, wherever you're visiting, come prepared to plunge into some fun you might not have been expecting, and have a great time! (I suspect the many tourists in Como last night were wondering why there were guys walking around in zoot suits and women in 40s dresses and hairdos - most of the dancers looked at least as good as they danced.)