the dance crush

spontaneously clicking with a new dance partner is an incredible experience

With another big event rapidly approaching, one of the things that I'm really hoping to experience again is a 'dance crush'.

In each of the three weekenders I've been to so far I've had at least one social dance with someone that can be described as such and in each case that usually ends up as one of the highlights of that weekend.

To start with, this is not a crush in the conventional boy-meets-girl sense of the word where eyes meet across a crowded dance floor... hearts flutter... and daft declarations are made. Instead, a dance crush is someone who, though you may never have even met before let alone danced together, just gets your lead, can read and match all of the idiosyncratic nuances in your dancing style, and ends up feeling like an extension of your own body. 

It. Is. Incredible.

And this is of course a two-way thing so just as many follows bounce off the floor after having had a telepathic connection with their lead where they could sense a move coming before their partner had barely intimated anything (definitely not to be confused with back-leading) and they had absolutely nailed every move their lead attempted.

I could get a little Byronic with my description, but one way I can think of portraying it is like being able to turn an artistic thought into a perfect reality.

Whether it was in school or it still occurs on a daily basis I imagine most folk have at some stage picked up a paint brush or a camera with creative intent and the work of a master as inspiration, only to later concede that they were unable to translate the artwork that had been etched on their mental canvas into a satisfying realisation.

With a dance crush, however, the movements of the girl at the far end of your arms are just as you'd envisaged and she is a veritable Mona Lisa with a whiff more eyebrow.

Before anyone misinterprets what I am saying I need to stress that this has nothing to do with the ability of the lead or the follow but everything to do with just the chance meeting of two dancers with perfectly complementary styles. I've had dance crushes where I was the weak link and others where I was perhaps the more experienced half but in each case our dancing styles just clicked and the outcome was amazing fun.

We all have our own style that has been influenced by one factor or another - for example, if you are a recent convert from salsa chances are you dance slightly differently to someone who is a reformed ballroom dancer - and it is these subtle differences that make each of us look different on the dancefloor.

Add in that you can't really tell if someone else's style is going to blend with yours so perfectly adds to the unpredictability and rarity of the experience and ensures, if you are so fortunate to experience a dance crush, that is becomes one of the abiding experiences of the weekend.

swingin' in new places with new faces

swing in full flow at the Bishopsgate Institute in London

In just over a week I'm heading to Galway for the Lindy Hopper's Delight weekender and I'm absolutely stoked. Sadly I'll miss the Lindy Hop Championships on the Friday as it coincides with my university graduation but I'm really looking forward to the workshops and socials on the Saturday and Sunday, seeing familiar faces, visiting a corner of Ireland that I've quite embarrassingly never before set foot in, and, more than anything else, finally experiencing the Galway lindy scene that I have heard so much about.

I absolutely adore the local swing community in Belfast and it has been amazing to watch it grow to a size that matches plenty of other cities I've been to but when I also get the opportunity to travel and meet new people in a big, established scene it's hard not to get really excited.

I had my first experience of that in June this year at the London Swing Festival, followed that up the very next week with a trip to Cork (both lindy hop weekends) and in September I went to my first big west coast swing event, the Midland Swing Open, in Birmingham. On top of that I've had the opportunity to swing in a few other cities and countries but it's the non-stop workshop weekends that give me the biggest buzz.

For anyone that hasn't been to a dance weekender I can't recommend them enough and that especially goes for those that are completely new to swing. Understandably it can be hard to justify the price of some of these events if it's only a new hobby as, unlike that new bike you bought in 2012 after watching Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins make cycling look like a good idea, you can't recoup some expenses on ebay when you come to your senses. But, if you reckon you're in it for the long-haul, the amount you can improve in just one weekend is incredible and there are usually plenty of other folk there who arrive complete newbies but leave confident dancers.

At most weekends the workshops are split into different ability levels and this time I'm pushing myself by going for a higher level than I have previously as I've decided I'd rather be at the bottom of a challenging class than at the top of a more comfortable one. All being well I won't be the obvious class dunce but I think the risk is definitely worth it as I stand to gain a lot more, not just from the teachers themselves, but also from the other 'students' and, taking the London Swing Festival and the Midland Swing Open as examples, I know I came back from both on a high and a seriously improved dancer.

Learning new moves and refining old ones are the more obvious benefits from the workshops themselves but getting the opportunity to meet a whole load of new people is one of the things that's guaranteed to get me going.

Maybe it's because I'm trying to make up for lost time after barely speaking for much of the first 18 years of my life - so much so that my grandparents dubbed me "The Quiet Man" after one of my Granda's favourite John Wayne films -  but when you've a load of people in the one room that all share a common passion the conversation creates itself; and I often enjoy giving it a hand.

In each of the events I've attended so far I've met some great people, many of whom I'm now in regular contact with, and it's a wonderful thing being able to rock up somewhere new and have people there who can show you around and introduce you to the rest of the scene. An example of that was just this past summer when I went to Bordeaux and I was able to get in touch with a guy I knew in the local lindy scene who brought me along to a social for a great night out.

I have also just booked to go to my first event that actually requires a passport to get there - a west coast swing weekender called 'Budafest' (guess the location; hint - doesn't involve Asian enlightenment) and I'm planning on going to a few more lindy and west coast shindigs over the next year but for now I am very much looking forward to heading South to Galway (via Scotland!) and I am sure I will have plenty to report when I get back.

swing slate 7: tips for beginners

seven simple swing tips

In my last post I mentioned some of the fears that beginners may face at their first socials so here are a few tips that I hope will help ease the nerves! 

• skip the first half of the song • a simple solution for anyone new to the social dancing scene who's worried that the repetition of the limited moves they know will bore their partner is to wait until the song is about halfway through and then ask someone for a dance as this way it's unlikely the repetition will be obvious. I used this a lot when I started out and it really helped build my confidence.

• don't be afraid to repeat those basics • there's not actually anything wrong with going over the same basic moves again and again - practice makes perfect is a cliché for a reason, but the idea that practice also makes permanent is incredibly true. I have watched professionals dance to an entire song genuinely using only the three or four fundamental moves you learn in your first few classes and it looked phenomenal, so if you can make those moves second nature you're home and hosed.

• do they smile? • before you rush towards someone to ask for a dance have a look to see if they smile when they're dancing with others. This sounds seriously cheesy but it doesn't matter what level you are at: if your partner doesn't smile at all when you feel like you are having fun and pulling your best stuff it can be very disheartening and especially if you've not yet got confidence in yourself. So look for the ones that always have a grin ear to ear when they dance and when you partner up with them you'll feed off their energy.

• dance to songs you know well • this is a great way to take the edge off because if you know the song inside out you'll probably be able to relax a lot more and you'll be more able to feel out the rhythm without having to listen to it intently, mentally repeating "one, two, three-a-four...", BUT, and best of all, dancing to a song you know and love is one of the simple pleasures of swing dancing!

• I ask to dance, not to sex • this might sound a tad ridiculous but for most people the only other environment where people go out to dance is a nightclub where the intentions behind approaching a stranger in a dimly lit room do not always have the noble intentions of dancing/conversation as the end-goal. When you go to a swing social dance, however, the atmosphere (and lighting!) is completely different. I'm speaking mainly as a bloke, here, but it took me a while to get used to the idea that I could saunter up to a girl to ask for a dance without fearing her presumptuous rebuttal. I should say that I'm not so naive as to think that more 'adventurous' thoughts beyond a swing dance don't occur to a few (and as a good middle-ground for that there is blues dancing or kizomba) but beginners should know that you can confidently walk towards a potential dance partner projecting only good intentions.

• experienced dancers don't bite • I've mentioned before that experienced dancers should do their bit to get beginners up and going but I also really want to encourage new folk to ask the seasoned swingers - they were in your position once, will likely say yes, and you'll probably learn more in a few dances than you did in a few weeks whilst looking pretty flash at the same time! You can also use this opportunity to help out your more nervous friends by asking the experienced dancer to get one of them up.

and finally... • have a chat with the person first • it's called social dancing for a reason! Go over to someone, introduce yourself and just get chatting! You are both there for your mutual love of swing dancing so you can ask for tips, how they got into it, how long they've been doing it etc. whatever you want and if that other person has any sense then they'll get the hint and ask you for a dance - and if you time your conversation right it combines nicely with tip #1!

grab a newbie

new guy new fear

In the time I've been dancing, few things have yet to top the terror of my first few social events.

Classes can be intimidating for anyone starting out but at least you are surrounded by others at your level, all being told exactly what to do and with each move repeated until it starts to stick, but socials are a different beast entirely.

It would be great to be able to plug away at classes until you have everything completely nailed and then strut out onto your first dancefloor as a finished product, but as anyone with even just a few events under their belt will stress: it's social dancing where you really learn, especially if that's with someone who knows their swing onions.

That said, one of the subtler caveats of partner dancing is that it requires a partner and plucking up the courage to acquire one when you're the new guy/girl can be a tad scary; especially when you've probably done what most new dancers do at socials - sit and watch for the first while thinking you just want to take it all in before getting up but in fact all you're doing is building up a subconscious fear you're seriously out of your depth.

For those of great testicular fortitude maybe nothing phases you and you're quite content to bounce up to the local pros on your spacehopper-sized balls (or the equivalent female metaphor) and prepare to blow them away with the best basic steps ever performed. But, for everyone else, other than dancing with classmates you're probably not going to get an opportunity to partner up with some of the more experienced dancers unless you're asked.

It's easy to say that beginners should just step out of their comfort zone and ask but I think it is much more important for the more experienced dancers to remember that they were in the same position once and to make a point of getting the new guy or girl up for a swing.

I feel incredibly strongly about this and it's probably due in part to a bad experience I had had one night at a social early on in my (now defunct) salsa career when I approached a girl for a dance who, after taking a moment to look me up and down, gave me a flat "no". After a brief pause I went to the next girl who told me she was taking a break and wasn't dancing to this song... but as soon as I stepped away she was up with the next guy that asked her.

That wasn't the end of my night, I know I had a few more dances before I left and if you can believe me I genuinely don't keep it as a chip on my shoulder but two rejections in quick succession really burnt and, going beyond making sure I never refuse a dance, I make sure to ask the quiet ones in the corners or the person hovering with intent near the edge of the dancefloor who knows no one there and barely knows the steps but is already infected by the fun of swing and is raring to give it a rip.

I'm hardly alone on this as I know plenty of others do the same but it's still worth highlighting for the sake of the rest that don't and who risk looking like an elitist clique. I've said before, and I will never tire of repeating, just how wonderful the people in swing are and I guarantee that if any of these more experienced dancers are asked 99% will say yes, but I do think a greater onus should be on them to actually initiate the dance in the first place.

This also doesn't just apply to the swing bourgeoisie but to anyone who knows they've been dancing longer than the other person sat there tapping their foot in anticipation - even if you have only been learning for a few months and are far short of where you want to be, ask up the girl or guy that you know has probably only been to about three classes and just have fun. Not only will it help your own progress and confidence but it will make you feel like a rockstar and the positive effect you will have on that beginner is priceless.

We've all been that beginner so pay it forward and go grab a newbie.