I've just returned from Herräng Dance Camp primed with plenty of material for many blog posts but before I get stuck into those I felt the need to prioritise this one for reasons that will be shortly apparent.
As you know, Frankie Manning Ambassador Scholarships are awarded to a few people each year to help them in their attempts to spread the love of Lindy hop. I am fortunate to be one such recipient but two others are Brendan and Muriel Argent from Cape Town, South Africa who I met in Herräng and who are doing utterly incredible things there.
Brendan and Muriel, along with Jeanie Elliot and others from Cape Town Swing, are not just trying to help a small scene grow in a big city but are flag-bearers for Lindy hop in a big country and, indeed, a very big continent.
That Africa is also the very continent to which Lindy hop and other vernacular jazz dances can trace their ancestral roots makes their ambition all the more significant as they are hoping to host Africa's very first international swing festival.
Brendan and Muriel, along with Jeanie Elliot and others from Cape Town Swing, are not just trying to help a small scene grow in a big city but are flag-bearers for Lindy hop in a big country and, indeed, a very big continent.
That Africa is also the very continent to which Lindy hop and other vernacular jazz dances can trace their ancestral roots makes their ambition all the more significant as they are hoping to host Africa's very first international swing festival.
Mother City Hop is pencilled in for the 19th–21st March 2016 but despite its stunning location and incredible teaching line-up, IT MAY NOT HAPPEN!!
Peter Strom & Naomi Uyama, Thomas Blacharz & Eglė Nemickaitė and Remy Kouakou Kouame plus (if all things go according to plan) they will also be joined by Alice Mei & Peter Kertzner and Jo Hoffberg & Kevin St Laurent.
Those are genuinely some of my favourite pros (Peter & Naomi are phenomenal teachers and, as anyone who knows me can tell you, I've had a whiff of a man-crush on Remy for a while) but I've also worked and lived in South Africa so I can vouch for what a great country it is and Cape Town is an absolute gem of a city with stacks of amazing things to do nearby.
Safaris, shark diving, surfing, scuba-diving, sunbathing, sightseeing, other things beginning with 'S', wine tours, mountain climbing... I've had some of the best experiences of my life in the Rainbow Nation!
Peter Strom & Naomi Uyama, Thomas Blacharz & Eglė Nemickaitė and Remy Kouakou Kouame plus (if all things go according to plan) they will also be joined by Alice Mei & Peter Kertzner and Jo Hoffberg & Kevin St Laurent.
Those are genuinely some of my favourite pros (Peter & Naomi are phenomenal teachers and, as anyone who knows me can tell you, I've had a whiff of a man-crush on Remy for a while) but I've also worked and lived in South Africa so I can vouch for what a great country it is and Cape Town is an absolute gem of a city with stacks of amazing things to do nearby.
Safaris, shark diving, surfing, scuba-diving, sunbathing, sightseeing, other things beginning with 'S', wine tours, mountain climbing... I've had some of the best experiences of my life in the Rainbow Nation!
However, and as we all know, money is what makes the world go round and Cape Town does not benefit from having an established scene with a hefty bank balance stuffed with capital that can afford to take BIG risks on big events (something we can identify with in Belfast), so they really do need people to commit early. Plus, this of course comes with the benefit of a reduced price if you book before the 8th of August... that's only a week away!!
Passes can be purchased through their funding page with the full passes available for £90/$140/128€ - which is a proper bargain. I don't want to sound like a used car salesman on loop but for those teachers, seriously, have a look at what else is available and then recognise the value.
There is also the ability to purchase merchandise or fund local dancers from less well-off backgrounds and all of these things will help Mother City Hop meet its target!
I also want to point something out here that is rather important but not entirely obvious.
The astute amongst you may have noticed that South Africa is very far away. From where I'm sitting in my office in Belfast, MapCrow tells me I am 6,280 miles or 10,106 km from Cape Town. So I'm ruling out cycling. However, it is not actually that expensive to get there.
Having just been to Herräng, I can tell you that the price of flights from Belfast to Stockholm is around £250. If I wanted to fly to Cape Town, however, it would only cost me an additional £180 as, according to Google flights at the moment I am typing this article, Paris to Cape Town is £380 and I know that Easyjet regularly flies from Belfast to Paris for around the £50 mark (±£10 depending on luck).
Well, 'only' £180 is a lot of money, you cry!
True. BUT the price of staying in South Africa is on a whole other (much lower) level to Sweden - food, drink, accommodation, sightseeing, nice things, tacky tourist snowglobes... they're buttons down there! So if you were to make the most of your flights and spend at least a week, that £180 difference would evaporate in a Southern Hemisphere jiffy.
Just don't spend a single penny on vuvuzelas or I will go full Liam Neeson.
I will find you.
And after that, there is a link up with the nascent scene in Mozambique if anyone fancies a post-Mother City Hop hop to the other side of southern Africa for a few days in the capital, Maputo, and then on to the little beach resort of Tofo.
I've visited both and actually stayed in the exact venues (Fatima's) that is hosting any would-be Lindy visitors and can tell you that you need to try their seafood curry. It is outstanding!
So, without rambling any more I hope you can support this event in any way you can - visit, sponsor, or advertise! And if you have any questions that aren't answered by their website or my semi-veiled sales pitch, you can get in contact with the organisers via email: mothercityhop@gmail.com or the following mediums:
mothercityhop.com
facebook.com/mothercityhop
twitter.com/MotherCityHop
Passes can be purchased through their funding page with the full passes available for £90/$140/128€ - which is a proper bargain. I don't want to sound like a used car salesman on loop but for those teachers, seriously, have a look at what else is available and then recognise the value.
There is also the ability to purchase merchandise or fund local dancers from less well-off backgrounds and all of these things will help Mother City Hop meet its target!
I also want to point something out here that is rather important but not entirely obvious.
The astute amongst you may have noticed that South Africa is very far away. From where I'm sitting in my office in Belfast, MapCrow tells me I am 6,280 miles or 10,106 km from Cape Town. So I'm ruling out cycling. However, it is not actually that expensive to get there.
Having just been to Herräng, I can tell you that the price of flights from Belfast to Stockholm is around £250. If I wanted to fly to Cape Town, however, it would only cost me an additional £180 as, according to Google flights at the moment I am typing this article, Paris to Cape Town is £380 and I know that Easyjet regularly flies from Belfast to Paris for around the £50 mark (±£10 depending on luck).
Well, 'only' £180 is a lot of money, you cry!
True. BUT the price of staying in South Africa is on a whole other (much lower) level to Sweden - food, drink, accommodation, sightseeing, nice things, tacky tourist snowglobes... they're buttons down there! So if you were to make the most of your flights and spend at least a week, that £180 difference would evaporate in a Southern Hemisphere jiffy.
Just don't spend a single penny on vuvuzelas or I will go full Liam Neeson.
I will find you.
And after that, there is a link up with the nascent scene in Mozambique if anyone fancies a post-Mother City Hop hop to the other side of southern Africa for a few days in the capital, Maputo, and then on to the little beach resort of Tofo.
I've visited both and actually stayed in the exact venues (Fatima's) that is hosting any would-be Lindy visitors and can tell you that you need to try their seafood curry. It is outstanding!
So, without rambling any more I hope you can support this event in any way you can - visit, sponsor, or advertise! And if you have any questions that aren't answered by their website or my semi-veiled sales pitch, you can get in contact with the organisers via email: mothercityhop@gmail.com or the following mediums:
mothercityhop.com
facebook.com/mothercityhop
twitter.com/MotherCityHop
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