Swing the night away
The biggest swing party of the city returns this Saturday, so shine your dancing shoes and bring out your swirly skirts and suits. Hosted by Bangkok Swing, Diga Diga Doo! will be a roaring night out with spectacular shows, live performances and a swing floor on which to dance the night away.
The event will be held at Chinatown’s Shanghai Mansion — a prohibition-era palace that houses a 1930s ballroom that will transport you to an age of style, jazz and elegant, well-dressed people. If your wardrobe and hair-styling skills aren’t on par, you get a makeover at the venue, as there will be tailors, shoe-shiners, salons and barbers on hand.
A new roster of performers is in store, so unfortunately this means no sassy burlesque shows. Thankfully, New York’s legendary pianist Gordon Webster will return to electrify the night with Charles Turner on lead vocals. Burlesque may have taken a backseat this year, but an incredible array of internationally known dancers from around the world make up for it.
Dancers who will set the floor on fire include Russian jazz and swing dancer Ksenia Parkhatskaya; Argentinean jazz pro Juan Vullafane; African ballet dancer Alice Mei; positive swinger Remy Kouakou Kouame; and the Tuxedo Junction team from South Korea, led by Rico Lim and Chloe Hong. The highlight however, is tapdancer Joseph C. Wiggan. A Los Angeles native, Wiggan is one of the tapping talents at the Cirque Du Soleil in Las Vegas and has performed in Banana Shpeel and as part of Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour.
Doors open at 8pm and a free intro lesson begins at 8.30pm. If you’ve never danced before, this is a good opportunity to learn a few moves before the live band set starts at 9pm. Live performances will be divided into two acts, at 10.15pm and 11.45pm.
After that, it’s all-night madness before the party wraps up around 2am. If you’ve got the swing-dance bug, grab your tickets at www.digadigadoobkk.com. Tickets cost 1,500 baht.