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Mary Margaret ✨

@merrymarydancer

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Mary's adventures in all things dance, specializing in #Lindyhop with a dash of #poledance
❤️@rayyyofsunshine3

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There was a moment on Saturday night when it felt like East Does It achieved the platonic ideal of what an event at Mobtown can be.

It was the open time between the mix and match prelims and before the band started. Omar Myers, one of the my favorite DJs on the circuit right now, made the correct choice to not play any swing music but instead, opted for some low key house music. Combined with some subtle tweaks to the decor and lighting, it felt like we were actually out at a club instead of a lindy hop event. Then Taryn Newborne and the Ed Hrybyk Sextet took the stage and carried the vibe through the rest of the night.

I've spent a lot of time listening to Sarah and Michael diagnose lindy hop's various issues over the years, so it made sense that they would announce this event with a lengthy written manifesto instead of a flashy video or anything resembling a modern marketing campaign. It successfully drew the kind of crowd that bought into the premise that a key to developing an interesting point of view is through a better understanding of how connecting works, especially at slower tempos.

The instructor roster was headlined by Sylvia Sykes, teaching with Javier Skeets Reyes Johnson, who is somehow now very underrated. I think people got too used to her balboa brilliance that they forgot that she's a champion level dancer in every other swing dance in existence. She's literally the only person who learned directly from Dean Collins and taught with Frankie Manning. There's no one else that can embody every nuance of the way two people can connect through partner dance. Plus she's a riot to hang out with.

I just posted a long ass essay about dance competitions, but I'm probably going to have to write a follow up because Mobtown once again showed that you can run an absolute shit show of a contest and still produce an entertaining competition. It helped that everyone in it bought into the vibe that Mobtown was curating and did not take it too seriously.

These are just some of the highlights from the weekend. I posted more on my FB page which you can find via the link in the bio along with a link to my latest blog post about competitions.

📷: @j_s_almonte

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Our engagement party on film

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A few notes: I'll be doing a presentation at Lindy Focus with Karen Turman about the Best Lindy Hop of the 21st Century project. What would you like to know?

Also at Lindy Focus, I still have some slots to do photoshoots at Lindy Focus. Let me know if you're interested in immortality like these folks. I also have an idea for a pin up project. Let me know if you are interested in doing something like that.

Over on my FB page, I am in the midst of a 5 part series arguing in favor of each of the final 5 finalists to get your vote as the overall best lindy hop performance. If you don't want to go over there, please subscribe to my new substack where I might keep going with video reviews after this week if there is enough interest.

I have posted the complete list of videos in the Honorable Mentions list as well as the full nominations list including commentary by many of the participating nominators, plus the link to the secret spreadsheet I used to track all the videos nominated to the project. There will be a bonus post next week too. All this is over on my blog on my main website.

Finally voting is still open, but will close next week on December 24th. So you have just under a week to make your decision.

Links for all this stuff are in my bio.

Thanks again for coming along on this part of my journey. I hope you stick around into next year. Have a good holidays and a Happy New Year!

📷: @j_s_almonte

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Are you going to Lindy Focus? Me too! Would you like nice, weird or sassy photos of yourself and/or your friends? I could help with that!

If you're interested in immortality, then drop me a message and we can see if we can work something out.

This is a sampling of stuff I've done over the past year or so.

The only other thing I have on my schedule for that week is doing a presentation. What will that presentation be about? Something to do with Lindy Hop. Maybe even the best of Lindy Hop in the 21st century.

Speaking of which, voting closes for those best Lindy Hop videos at midnight tonight. Which time zone? Whatever one you like because I probably won't get around to it until tomorrow.

📷: @j_s_almonte

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Rios Halloween Party 2025!!

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We’re less than two weeks away from our annual trip to Lancaster, PA for Swing Aus! This event is the gem of all workshop weekends in the region. We have just 7 spots left in our hotel block & multiple carpools with available seats — all of which you can sign up for with the link in our bio. This event is ideal for first-time travelers, and is stacked with internationally-renowned instructors and live music, but wait too long and you’ll be stuck getting there via horse & buggy. If you have any questions, reach out to @gavinlurrr. Register and get more info: @swingaus
...
📷: Michael Stoltzfus and Byron Mitchell
#phl #thursdayinphilly #Phillylocal #jazzattack #discoverphilly #visitphilly #thingstodoinphilly #philly #funinphilly

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A pirate ship on fire is the design for the Mobtown Ballroom's 14th anniversary t-shirt as proposed by head bartender @bmorecavalier and designed by @jilliepoop . The thing I appreciate most about it is that it does not depict the end of the line or an important milestone of the ballroom. It's just how they feel about running a dance venue and bar in Baltimore on a day to day basis.

14 is an odd number compared to something like 13, 15 or any other anniversary, so there weren't many out of towners for this weekend. But any party is a good excuse to bring out the regulars in force. Part of what makes Mobtown special is how those folks come from an area as far as central Pennsylvania to Northern Virginia. That's about 2 hours of driving for the hardest of the hard cores.

It reminds me of the height of the DC scene in the mid 2000s.It wasn't until years later when I realized that our scene wasn't as big as I thought it was. It was just that popular to draw dancers far and wide even during the weekdays. Of course they don't come every week to Mobtown at the same time, but when they do, the energy rivals most other mid-sized regional events. I've been watching a lot of contest videos recently, and Saturday night's contest was better than most that I've seen for this year.

I keep reminding folks that what @sullstervan and @michaelaseguin do isn't easy. I've gotten a glimpse of their future plans and they are not satisfied with the status quo. There's still a lot of room to grow, but there is also a good chance that we may show up one night and the doors will be locked forever.

In many ways, Mobtown resembles America in this moment. It keeps burning, but somehow it keeps on going.

This is a sampling of photos, from the anniversary. The rest are on my FB page via the link in the bio.

📷: @j_s_almonte

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Big milestone for us: we sold our first house!

The first house we purchased, first home we lived in, first property we renovated. We learned so much on this one, both the physical renovation skills as well as how to work together as a team, and those lessons have carried us through the past 5 years and 5 houses. A little bittersweet saying goodbye, but I'm so proud of us and so excited for our future endeavors 😊

#brrrr #realestate #realestateinvesting #realestatecouple #riosresidential #entrepreneur #businessowner

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Reconnecting with and dancing with a dancer from DC I met in Pittsburgh, a dancer from Missouri I met in Houston, a dancer from Cinncinati I met at Pittsburg, a dancer from Atlanta I met at Charlottesville, ... etc. is always a pleasure, yet I was not expecting to be recognized by someone from Toronto at @dclindyexchange , having only ever attended one social dance there. I guess it's a small (Lindy Hop) world.

PS: super grateful that @gavinlurrr invited me to be in the Philadelphia @jazzattackswings scene photo at @dclindyexchange even though it's been a minute since I moved away from Philly!

⭐️: @dclindyexchange
📸: @devonrowlandphotography (1); @davidsoltysik (2-4); @nickg540 (5); @g.p.smiley (6-7)
🗓️: April 25-27th, 2025
📍: Glen Echo Spanish Ballroom, Bethesda, MD

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The crowd was so 🔥 the first night of #jazztown at @jazzattackswings that there were TWO jam circles—and the dancers threw down like crazy in both of them!

When the dancers are having fun, my band has more fun, and the music and energy just feed off of each other to make something incredible. That’s the amazing power of jazz music and lindy hop.

Musicians in this clip:
@andrew.stephens.trumpet : trumpet
@sam.chess : trombone
@eheveronsmith : bass
@ericmetzgardrums : drums

#gordonwebsterband #jamcircle #lindyhopevent #jazzmusicians

Video by @swingoutsocialmedia

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Note to self: when Cameron says he's good at leading multiple follows at once, don't question it.

🎶: Jon Tigert's Hangover Band
📍: Bumper Car Pavilion @dclindyexchange

#lindyhop

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