Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to boogie. The Nevermore Jazz Ball and St. Louis Swing Dance Festival will sweep across Cherokee Street today through Sunday.
"It's for people who are really hardcore about swing dancing and really into jazz music and culture," said Christian Frommelt, organizer of the event and Co-Founder of the St. Louis Jitterbugs.
The four day event is organized by St. Louis' only Lindy hop and vintage dance troupe the St. Louis Jitterbugs.
Jenny Shirar, organizer of the event and Co-Founder of the St. Louis Jitterbugs, said, "Swing dancing and Lindy hop in general are kind of an International underground scene. It's a subculture all over the world. They will go out and dance to bands and it's a social activity. And it's definitlly alive and well in St. Louis."
One of the most popular events is the Cherokee Street Jazz Crawl Saturday, which is free and open to the public. About 1000 people are expected to attend. St. Louis' best jazz and swing musicians will pair up with venues, bars, restaurants and shops.
Ethan Leinwand, a musician, said, "We're all on the same street so the comradery with all the musicians is just great and we're happy to be playing it."
The Nevermore Jazz Ball & St. Louis Swing Dance Festival also includes Community Dance Day, which also takes place Saturday.
"It's a day of free and open to the public beginner dance classes of all different styles and that's something we designed as an aspect to the festival to get more people to come check it out," Jenny said.
For a list of events, go to nevermorejazzball.com and make sure to check out facebook.com/nevermorejazzball. There are activities happening today through Sunday.
The main one is the Cherokee Street Jazz Crawl on Saturday, which will take place over 8 blocks from 12:30-7:30.
Community Dance Day is also Saturday starting at 11 AM at 2720 Cherokee Street.
