Blog

1930s Makeup Tutorial

JazzMAD’s Sharon Davis modelling for English Heritage’s latest historic makeup tutorial series – this time the 1930s! See Sharon dancing around the glorious art deco Eltham Palace in London!

Fashion Historian Amber Butchart and Makeup Artist Rebecca Butterworth create a 1930s-inspired look on model and professional swing dancer Sharon Davis at Eltham Palace in London, a historic site managed by English Heritage. With English Heritage historian, Dr Andrew Hann, explore the 1930s and the lives of Stephen and Virginia Courtauld who transformed the medieval palace into an art deco masterpiece.

Please watch, like and share, everybody! Thank you!

Visit Eltham Palace and Gardens: http://bit.ly/2Bqr9VD

Why Swing Dance? What is Lindy Hop and Why Everyone Should Learn How!

This article was written by Sharon Davis for In Retrospect Magazine.

Lindy Hop is a partnered swing dance that evolved from the Charleston in the late 1920s and flourished in the Swing Era of the 1930s and 40s. It spread from the ballrooms of Harlem, New York, across the United States and to the rest of the world. In Europe it was often called the Jitterbug. You might have heard of other dances like Jive, Boogie Woogie, Rock ‘n Roll, Rockabilly, West Coast Swing or Ceroc – these dances all evolved out of Lindy Hop over the decades after World War II. Lindy Hop is the mother of them all – the original swing dance!

Lindy Hop is alive and kicking today, with thriving social dance scenes in all major cities. Here are 8 reasons why you’ll love it.

Continue reading Why Swing Dance? What is Lindy Hop and Why Everyone Should Learn How!

Announcing the new JazzMAD Dance Studio

Announcing our new dance studio in the heart of Dalston, East London! A small, but perfectly formed studio with wooden floors, mirrors and high ceilings. The dancefloor space measures 4.5m x 5m. This studio will be the location for JazzMAD private lessons and small-group workshops from now on, and is also available to hire for private rehearsals for £20/hour. Read all about it here.

Lindy Hop Follower? Here’s 9 reasons why you should learn to Lead too!



Leading and Following in Lindy Hop are both fun roles with a different – but equally challenging – set of skills and different outlets for creativity. Typically students choose a role in their first class and stick with that role forever. But at JazzMAD we encourage all our students to learn and social dance both roles. If you take our Swing Dance Beginners Course you will learn to Lead and to Follow from day one. And all our higher level classes use gender neutral language to support students dancing in non-traditional roles. There’s so many reasons learning both roles is a good idea – technically, musically, creatively, socially! Continue reading Lindy Hop Follower? Here’s 9 reasons why you should learn to Lead too!

Al and Leon in Ebony Magazine 1961

In March, Sharon Davis is teaching the Al & Leon Shim Sham for JazzMAD. This is a must-know vintage jazz routine for all swing dancers. It’s also a lot of fun, with sweet rhythms and plenty of opportunity to inject your own character into the choreography.

Here you can see Al Minns and Leon James demonstrating classic jazz steps for the August 1961 edition of Ebony Magazine…

Continue reading Al and Leon in Ebony Magazine 1961