In just a few weeks, Belfast will be hosting Northern Ireland's first ever west coast swing weekender: Swingterfell, and to say I'm excited would be a gross understatement.
In order to temper said excitement, I thought I'd ask the organisers and hosts, Sharon Matchett and Andrew Shellard from West Coast Swing NI, a few questions in the wild hope that a little bit more info about this event would somehow satisfy my impatience.
It didn't, but here are their answers anyway.
Sharon & Andrew, tell us more about Swingterfell! To start with (and for anyone who somehow doesn't know) - where has the name come from?
A: The idea for the name came from Northern Ireland’s association with ‘Game Of Thrones’ as Northern Ireland is the principal filming location for the show and Sharon and I are big fans! So we just combined ‘swing’ and ‘Winterfell’ (the name of the most iconic castle in Westeros)! And as part of our event we have arranged a Game of Thrones tour that visits many of the shows settings located across Northern Ireland.
Well the swing community does seem to love a good pun when it names events! What about the pros and DJs – who are they?
A: As well as myself, the other pros are Kevin & Aggie Town from London, England, and Estelle Bonnaire from Montpellier, France. Kevin will also be DJing alongside Sharon and I.
If not just for the dancing, why should people visit Belfast?
A: I'd say, the weather obviously is the best all the time (not) haha. More seriously, Belfast has a lot of istory to offer, both recent and older, as well as great food and scenery. The Titanic museum is definitely worth a visit.
And Lonely Planet just rated Belfast as the world’s Number 1 place to visit in 2018 so there's that!
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| Swingterfell's hosts: Andrew Shellard & Sharon Matchett |
What about who or what has influenced your dancing?
A: I have been influenced by all sorts of dances. I love watching the creativity of hip-hop, so I watch groups like the Jabbawockees or "Les Twins". I also watch Lindy hop (William & Maeva) and Carolina Shag (Brennar Goree) for some more different flavours. In WCS a lot of people inspire me, but if I had to give a top 5 I would say: Kyle Redd, Benji Schwimmer, Maxence Martin, Virginie Grondin, and Ben Morris. Although I’d also like to add Michael Kielbasa and Maxime Zzaoui to this list. As well as Sarah Van Drake.
Andrew, your dancing suggests you know how to count but that is more than five.
And what about your dance background and influences, Sharon? How did you end up in WCS?
S: Well I actually don't have that much of a dance background. I didn't start partner dancing until I was in my 30's. As a kid I was a figure skater until about 14. I was a national champion and I started training for the Olympics, but alas that was not to be. I may have had a very long gap between but I would but my balance and spin technique firmly down to my skating days.
I had started to learn modern jive as something to do with my husband, you know, like a date night. I however never do things half-heartedly and so began to search YouTube for dance videos, this is when I saw Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollman! I eventually after a couple of years looking in NI found a class and the rest is way too long to go into here!
Jordan and Tatiana continue to inspire and influence me, but I would also add people like Jennifer DeLuca and Sarah Van Drake.
And you, Andrew, came to WCS from quite different styles – has this helped or hindered your dancing?
A: Yes, I have a background in Boogie Woogie and Rock n' Roll and that helped me in many different aspects. As I was competing at a high level in these dances, it taught me how to work, how to be organised and disciplined to get to where I wanted to go in terms of "dance level", but more precisely it helped me with a lot of different aspects within the dance such as frame, musicality, footwork and creativity.
You have come to us from Lyon, which has arguably the biggest WCS scene in Europe - why did you leave?!
A: Yes Lyon has the biggest in Europe by far. I left to experience more than just ‘teaching’, I wanted to contribute to the growth of WCS somewhere in the world that didn't have the access to so many influences. And I can tell you now, that growing a community is way harder than trying to teach or inspire people to dance! It is a different job entirely but it is definitely worth it!
Sharon, were you the one who convinced Andrew to move here?!
S: Ha ha! I don't think he needed convincing. Andrew had come to NI for a weekend event that I had organised and our friendliness and charm clearly won him over! He certainly didn't come for the weather. On a more serious note though, I was really shocked when he told me he was going to move here, I couldn't really believe it was happening until he showed me his one way flight to NI. I am incredibly grateful that he did.
So, Andrew, why was it you chose our beloved Belfast?!
A: I came to Belfast for different reasons, but I would say that the main ones were the people and their incredible sense of welcome, and also because I wanted to get to live in an environment that feels relaxed and easy going, and NI offers all of that and more.
Dawhh...we love you too...
This all said, the scene obviously existed before Andrew arrived so, Sharon, what have been some of the biggest challenges in establishing a scene in a small country and in preparing for this event?
S: WOW, that's a biggy. The West Coast Swing scene has been a labour of love and I would emphasise the word LABOUR. No one knew what WCS was, I myself came by it by accident and spent 2 years searching for a class.
We had a young teacher for a while from the line dance scene, but after a few months he moved on and I didn't want it to end so along with the original teacher Richard Turner we took the classes ourselves. I was under qualified and honestly that probably had a huge impact too, but I spent every penny I could to go away to workshops and learn from the best.
West Coast Swing is also perceived as a really difficult dance so people come along and after a 6 week course of learning the basics, they can either feel like they know it now and move on to something else or feel frustrated that they aren't dancing it at the level they maybe dance salsa or Lindy hop, so they give up! My biggest frustration is the amount of people who have come to classes, made huge progress and with a few more months of classes would begin to really "get it" but they give up before they reach that stage. Fledgling scenes take time, dedication, money and consistency. We would have a social and 5 people would show up! So trying to then have a social the following month would be a bigger challenge as people would say "well there are only five going, so I won't bother". Trying to turn that attitude into "well there were only five at the last one, if I go this time there might be six" is by far the hardest part.
You've plenty of local events under your belt but how does this one compare?
S: Well it's really not that different from an organisational point, there was just more fear of the unknown. Will people register? Will students who have been dancing for six months understand that we are bringing world-class teachers to Northern Ireland for their benefit, to give them a flavour of an international event and that hopefully afterwards they will not only have gained lots more skills, practice and love for WCS, but also feel what it's like to belong to this amazing world-wide community.
And how proud are you that NI is finally hosting its first ever swing event?!
S: I think I will wait until after the event to see if I can say I'm proud, but I am certainly very excited! Oh and nervous!
Finally, Andrew, Belfast has a strong Lindy hop scene, what tips do you have for dancers with a Lindy background who are considering giving WCS a go?
A: Well WCS and Lindy hop are so close as dances and have the same kind of mechanics in terms of patterns and musicality ‘builds’. It is not hard for a good Lindy dancer to be decent at WCS after only a few classes. The major tip I would give, is just relax, come along and enjoy dancing to different kinds of music!
Andrew, your dancing suggests you know how to count but that is more than five.
And what about your dance background and influences, Sharon? How did you end up in WCS?
S: Well I actually don't have that much of a dance background. I didn't start partner dancing until I was in my 30's. As a kid I was a figure skater until about 14. I was a national champion and I started training for the Olympics, but alas that was not to be. I may have had a very long gap between but I would but my balance and spin technique firmly down to my skating days.
I had started to learn modern jive as something to do with my husband, you know, like a date night. I however never do things half-heartedly and so began to search YouTube for dance videos, this is when I saw Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollman! I eventually after a couple of years looking in NI found a class and the rest is way too long to go into here!
Jordan and Tatiana continue to inspire and influence me, but I would also add people like Jennifer DeLuca and Sarah Van Drake.
 |
| Kevin & Aggie Town and Estelle Bonnaire |
And you, Andrew, came to WCS from quite different styles – has this helped or hindered your dancing?
A: Yes, I have a background in Boogie Woogie and Rock n' Roll and that helped me in many different aspects. As I was competing at a high level in these dances, it taught me how to work, how to be organised and disciplined to get to where I wanted to go in terms of "dance level", but more precisely it helped me with a lot of different aspects within the dance such as frame, musicality, footwork and creativity.
You have come to us from Lyon, which has arguably the biggest WCS scene in Europe - why did you leave?!
A: Yes Lyon has the biggest in Europe by far. I left to experience more than just ‘teaching’, I wanted to contribute to the growth of WCS somewhere in the world that didn't have the access to so many influences. And I can tell you now, that growing a community is way harder than trying to teach or inspire people to dance! It is a different job entirely but it is definitely worth it!
Sharon, were you the one who convinced Andrew to move here?!
S: Ha ha! I don't think he needed convincing. Andrew had come to NI for a weekend event that I had organised and our friendliness and charm clearly won him over! He certainly didn't come for the weather. On a more serious note though, I was really shocked when he told me he was going to move here, I couldn't really believe it was happening until he showed me his one way flight to NI. I am incredibly grateful that he did.
So, Andrew, why was it you chose our beloved Belfast?!
A: I came to Belfast for different reasons, but I would say that the main ones were the people and their incredible sense of welcome, and also because I wanted to get to live in an environment that feels relaxed and easy going, and NI offers all of that and more.
Dawhh...we love you too...
 |
| Clockwise from top left: The Dark Hedges (a.k.a. 'The Kingsroad'), the Titanic Museum, Belfast City Hall, the Giant's Causeway |
This all said, the scene obviously existed before Andrew arrived so, Sharon, what have been some of the biggest challenges in establishing a scene in a small country and in preparing for this event?
S: WOW, that's a biggy. The West Coast Swing scene has been a labour of love and I would emphasise the word LABOUR. No one knew what WCS was, I myself came by it by accident and spent 2 years searching for a class.
We had a young teacher for a while from the line dance scene, but after a few months he moved on and I didn't want it to end so along with the original teacher Richard Turner we took the classes ourselves. I was under qualified and honestly that probably had a huge impact too, but I spent every penny I could to go away to workshops and learn from the best.
West Coast Swing is also perceived as a really difficult dance so people come along and after a 6 week course of learning the basics, they can either feel like they know it now and move on to something else or feel frustrated that they aren't dancing it at the level they maybe dance salsa or Lindy hop, so they give up! My biggest frustration is the amount of people who have come to classes, made huge progress and with a few more months of classes would begin to really "get it" but they give up before they reach that stage. Fledgling scenes take time, dedication, money and consistency. We would have a social and 5 people would show up! So trying to then have a social the following month would be a bigger challenge as people would say "well there are only five going, so I won't bother". Trying to turn that attitude into "well there were only five at the last one, if I go this time there might be six" is by far the hardest part.
You've plenty of local events under your belt but how does this one compare?
S: Well it's really not that different from an organisational point, there was just more fear of the unknown. Will people register? Will students who have been dancing for six months understand that we are bringing world-class teachers to Northern Ireland for their benefit, to give them a flavour of an international event and that hopefully afterwards they will not only have gained lots more skills, practice and love for WCS, but also feel what it's like to belong to this amazing world-wide community.
And how proud are you that NI is finally hosting its first ever swing event?!
S: I think I will wait until after the event to see if I can say I'm proud, but I am certainly very excited! Oh and nervous!
Finally, Andrew, Belfast has a strong Lindy hop scene, what tips do you have for dancers with a Lindy background who are considering giving WCS a go?
A: Well WCS and Lindy hop are so close as dances and have the same kind of mechanics in terms of patterns and musicality ‘builds’. It is not hard for a good Lindy dancer to be decent at WCS after only a few classes. The major tip I would give, is just relax, come along and enjoy dancing to different kinds of music!
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