Trinity Swing 2025

It’s hard not to start my first article in five years without some way acknowledging the fact that it's my first article in five years. As a bespectacled leather-clad dino-dodging chaotician once said, "Life… uh… finds a way" and sometimes that's just to get in your way. And at various stages over the last few years the way to dancing has been Gandalfed by this, that or the other.

But then something comes along that makes it impossible not to scratch that itch and start typing. And that thing was Trinity Swing 2025.

I’ve still being going to events here and there—last year I had a “treat yo’self” moment for one of those birthdays ending in zero and I nipped over to the USA for what had long been the event atop my bucket list: the West Coast Swing/Lindy Hop lovechild that is the Boston Tea Party. It was all I'd hoped for: Lindy classes, Westie classes, fab socials for both, meeting great people, catching up with old friends (including an unexpected birthday celebration), and getting to saunter around one of my favourite cities in the US… it was a brilliant weekend but I still didn’t feel like composing an article (maybe I still will).

But as great as it is to be a visitor in a foreign land, it’s an entirely different experience to be part of the local community hosting an event and to feel the joyful energy and appreciation from 'outsiders' who have invested faith, time and money in what your community can offer. Then, when all's said and done, to feel your heart explode with love and pride at what your community can achieve.

First, a quick disclaimer: I had nothing to do with organising this event. I was as much a guest as the next guy, so I get to say everything here from a point of relative* objectivity (*I say relative… there’s every chance some biases may creep in…) and I’ve no credit to claim. Secondly: I missed Friday and most of Saturday due to the aforementioned reasons, but still I got more than my fill.

Friday night at Trinity Swing. Pixploration©

I arrived on Saturday just in time to catch the last few songs of the ‘Shindig’ live acoustic set by Peter Kennedy. Truth be told, I’m not normally a fan of live music at dance events. There are musicians who perform for listening and there are musicians who perform for dancing, and more often than not the former turns up where the latter was hoped for. This can most dangerously manifest itself at Lindy hop events where, goodness knows why, the incredibly gifted band performing thinks that a 12-minute high-tempo barnburner is as much fun to dance to as it is to listen to and your smart watch is trying to draw your attention to the alarming altitude of your heart rate. Or where a musician plays about with the volume and does such a long and convincing diminuendo that you believe the tune has finished; so you thank your partner, walk off the floor, and find someone else for the next dance only to discover, as the volume picks back up, that it’s actually the very same tune and your previous partner is standing exactly where you left them reeling from your infidelity. 

But Peter was just fantastic—great to listen to and great to dance to—and there was an extra treat for those of us who went into Carlingford on Sunday night where he gifted us a bonus set including a few more cracker medleys. But more on that later.

Then it was time for the pro-shows which are always a highlight, but when one of the pros is Gráinne Farrell—one of ours—it’s a new combination of feelings because as well as excitement, appreciation and wonder there’s also pride involved. And all the while being performed in front of an enormous ‘Trinity Swing’ event banner. 

And the banner matters because it communicates that you're not at just another local social but at something much bigger. It communicates to everyone—there and watching online after—that “we’re legit,” that there’s something going on here that you want to be a part of. A big naff off banner to celebrate the fact we're now a big naff off thing. 

But a good banner without good dancing would be 'all fur coat and no knickers' so I'm very proud to say Trinity Swing was clearly quite tastefully undergirded.

As already mentioned, I missed Friday in its entirety as well as the classes and competitions on Saturday, so I arrived as a relative stranger to many, not having had the opportunity to meet folk in class or on the dance-floor the night before. But I was up to speed in no time at all because the vibe was so infectiously positive.

To be clear, I can’t say I’ve ever experienced a negative vibe at a dance event but this one just felt extra positive. Maybe it’s because I already knew a reasonable number of people there, or because I arrived in the middle of the weekend so the first night pre-competition jitters had already been dispensed with, but I didn’t feel like I needed to warm up at all (despite not having danced WCS for 5 months). And add in the discovery that one of my absolute favourite dancers was at the event (I wasn’t counting but I’m convinced I set a new PB for most dances with one person in a single weekend—thanks, Ji) and things were shaping up to be rather decent.

Plus: I can’t actually remember having a single bad dance. My dance partners from the weekend may not agree, I’m not going to pretend every dance I shared was pure gold, and there were a few where I thought I definitely could have done better. But I didn’t have one single yup-I'm-done-with-this moment all weekend; which is a bit of a rarity to be honest.

And I really think that was down to the positive feeling that permeated the whole weekend: it was the craic! Missteps and dropped connections were quickly forgotten and I’m not sure if I’ve ever shared so many back-to-back “can we have another dance?” moments at a single event. Which set things up really nicely for the wee small hours.

Normally by the end of the night, I hit a point where I realise I’ve danced with just about everyone left in the room at least once. A quick scan also involves trying to remember how recently we just danced, how did it go, did I think they enjoyed it, and do I think they'd be receptive to me asking again. There is also the mild panic that comes from thinking "but now they know all my moves!" and worrying I might bore my partner when I repeat all the same stuff.

But both nights I confidently approached, or was approached by, just about everyone for multiple dances, such was the relaxed feeling on the floor. It was so refreshing and clearly it was not just me having the time of it.

As for the actual end of the night, however, I had a slight oversight by not actually planning the logistics correctly. 

With it being a 'home' event, I thought I'd save a bit of cash and just drive home once the dancing was over (I'm averse to premature evacuation) but by that stage of the morning a 90-minute drive simply wasn't appealing. Or, for that matter, terribly wise. Thankfully, Sarah had encouraged me to throw together an overnight bag before I left the house just in case I was overcome with sense. But even more thankfully, as I started to walk towards the hotel reception in the hope of being told they'd a spare room, I was offered the spare bed in the room of two other Belfast locals on tour, so thanks again to Miles and Richard!

Due to my late arrival the night before, Sunday was the only day I got to attend classes which meant I unfortunately missed Lee and Fab entirely but I was still able to get along to three of the four other teachers/pairs. First up was Gráinne Farrell (yeeooo!*) and Mathieu Compagnon with a smooth pattern I'll definitely be incorporating into my vocabulary, followed by my first 'switch' workshop with Rosemary Whitson that showed me just how much I need to work on my following. But I then made a slightly bold call and went to Sean and Alyssa McKeever's class rather than staying put for James Bartlett and Lauren Jones.

(* admittedly a guttural "yeeooo!" isn't quite as elegant as the French encouraging each other at events with an "allééé!" but the sentiment is similar in Northern Ireland at least)

Sharon, the pros & the banner. Pixploration©

I'm sad I missed James and Lauren, and I did get to ask Lauren for a dance later (fantastic, obviously), but Sean and Alyssa were the headliners, have been high high high up my list of pros I've wanted to take a class with for years, and this was my only chance to do that. So, although it was a more advanced level than I was otherwise signed up for, I figured I would go in and at least observe. And if I felt I wouldn't be a hindrance I would ask if I could join. 

So much for being inconspicuous.

Because it wasn't a regular everyone-dance-together kinda class. Rather the entire group was asked to sit, then Sean and Alyssa offered their critique as, one-by-one, couples got up and did a mini-spotlight.

And the opportunity for me to dissolve into the wallpaper rapidly disappeared when I was asked to lead two different follows.

I'd attended a class like this the year before in Boston with Arjay Centeno, although that time I didn't actually take the opportunity to get up and instead sat anonymously in the corner. I remember regretting missing out on what was effectively a mini-private, and that had been with a larger group of dancers I felt much more on par with, and with several couples getting up at once. So whilst I was keen to actually make the most of the opportunity this time, it was also very much swaddled in apprehension.

But what a class.

My bit went fine and I can take solace from the fact I didn't embarrass myself, but the critique from Sean was something I would expect to pay big bucks for. Plus, I was able to observe all of the other leads, listen to the feedback they received, and in doing so identify things I also need to work on myself. I hope no one thought I was being rude or disinterested but I frantically typed notes on my phone throughout the class and if I can use even half of them to improve my dancing I know it will make a big difference. Seemingly my gamble paid off.

That was the final class of the weekend but one of the highlights was about to kick off after a brief social break: the Newcomer Competition.

One of the focuses of the event was the "Zero to Hero" track, coordinated by Vicky Vasiliauskaite, which invites anyone with absolutely no previous WCS experience to learn the basics over the course of the weekend and then, if they feel up to it, to compete in front of the entire event's audience.

Zero-to-Hero finalists enjoying the moment. Pixploration©

I'd seen Vicky's brilliant concept in action last year at the Midland Swing Open and it was repeated here with similarly immense success: a dance-floor filled with newcomers, looking like they belonged, looking like they felt they belonged, and a euphoric crowd cheering them on. It was hard not to be moved by the amount of love and support in the room and to me this is what dancing is about. I've already commented on the atmosphere of the event as a whole but it was here that it really fizzed, and that pride feeling started to surface all over again.

Then it was off to the pub for something to eat, drink and, maybe, a bit of live music. And as numerous people said to me after: this was the outing that truly gave Trinity Swing its unique identity.

To start off, Carlingford is a beautiful village that sits at the foot of Slieve Foy ('slieve' is the anglicisation [and phonetic spelling] of 'sliabh' or 'mountain') and at the head of Carlingford Lough, and plenty of its streets and signage still retain the original charm that make it such a popular destination for those seeking "authentic" Ireland. The Carlingford Arms did a masterful job of accommodating the 40-odd people who rocked up at their door for dinner without fair warning (noted for next year) and after squeezing us all into their restaurant, we were soon all subsequently tempted into their adjacent (and smaller) pub by the sound of live music.

The original plan had been to give everyone about an hour, maybe an hour and half, to grab a pint of the black stuff and listen to the musician-in-residence, but it was soon plainly apparent that no one was in any rush to get back, and I'm sure the fella behind the bar hasn't worked as hard on a sports-free Sunday night in a while.

Whilst there was no dance floor per se, and space was at a premium (even without the 40 of us) it didn't stop the evening turning into a frantically happy social with people giving it stacks no matter what was playing. And as most of us aren't dance-monogamous it meant, with the right tune, different styles came out to play and were soon copied or cheered by the rest. We had jam circles, country line-dancing, salsa, Lindy hop, Charleston, I'm fairly certain I saw the Macarena at once stage, and we definitely had a conga going that, due to the tight conditions, put me in mind of the last stages of 'Snake' on the old Nokia phones (there's a reference that has gone over the head of plenty).

By this stage, the guy playing was in need of a well-earned break but before he put down his guitar up stepped Peter Kennedy to volunteer to take over for a while. These two swapped over several more times as the night went on to ensure no one was deprived of phenomenal live music covering every genre under the sun, including a smattering of Irish traditional to ensure that when our tourists did eventually head back to the main event to join another fantastic final night social, they did so with that particular bucket list item well and truly ticked.

In case it wasn't evident, I loved this event. And I missed half of it! But that in itself says something.

I go to events in different places to experience different countries, cities and cultures but most of all I go for the people and the atmosphere they create. So often I choose events because I've met dancers from that event's local scene who—through their fun and warmth (and I suppose their dancing)—make me want to visit. Then off I trot and discover that those few I met somewhere else really were true ambassadors for their home scene.

Ireland as a whole may not be able to boast too many roving ambassadors just yet (though the number of new Belfast and Dublin dancers on the weekend's Zero to Hero track makes me think things are on an upward trajectory!) but I've been so encouraged by what I've heard from those who made the trip here. It sounds like they really felt welcome and that they'd the kind of experience I look for when I travel for events, so it's hard not to feel a little proud of that. Add in the fact that, courtesy of this year's successes, Trinity Swing is now officially a WSDC event and the pride keeps coming.

But before I finish I must also give particular mention to Sharon Matchett. Sharon was the weekend's fabulous MC, event organiser, event director, artistic director, location scout, tour operator, chief negotiator, head chauffeur, and has been the force pushing WCS in Ireland forward. There are others who have helped and continue to help, and Sharon would be the first to ensure others know they are appreciated (as demonstrated by her emotional closing compèring on Sunday evening), but otherwise the stonking success of Trinity Swing was simply down to Sharon willing it into being. For most of us in Belfast, she's the reason we got into WCS and now she's the reason people from across the world are coming to Ireland to experience WCS here. Safe to say, everyone who enjoyed Trinity Swing has a lot to thank her for.

See you all next year at Trinity Swing 2026 (6th-8th February).

Event Report: Oslo Lindy Exchange 2019

Four years ago I went to OLX and had a brilliant weekend in a beautiful city with wonderful dancers and people, and I can happily share that OLX 2019 did not disappoint on any of those fronts.

The difference, however, was that whilst my 2015 OLX trip took me to Oxford, for OLX 2019 I went to Oslo!

But unlike a few unfortunate supporters of my beloved Liverpool FC, who recently confused the Belgian cities of Genk and Gent, I arrived precisely where I meant to. And paraphrasing Gandalf also provides a convenient segue to the weekend’s first social venue: Moria!

I’ve learnt that (Soria) Moria is the name of Norway’s most cherished mythical castle, and it can be found on a variety of buildings around Oslo, but seeing it in neon atop an impressive portico excited the Tolkien fan within.

And so, once my opinion of Norwegian cuisine had recovered from the shock of finding "kitten in coconut milk" on a local restaurant menu (Google mistranslated the word 'kylling' - chicken), it was time to head into Soria Moria for the first social of the weekend.

some of the famous sculptures in Frogner Park looked familiar...

Friday’s venue, which also hosted Saturday night’s social, was a brilliant setting with a great floor, ample space for the excellent live acts, and plenty of room if you wanted to catch a breather and chat with some of the other dancers.

And the live acts truly were excellent.

On Friday we had the Birkelunden Big Band, while on Saturday the Jazzombies and the Shoeshine Boys traded short sets for a few hours, and I cannot tell you how jealous I was of this amazing music line up. As well as the talented instrumentalists and charismatic band leaders there were also some immensely gifted vocalists channelling Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday for another layer of halcyon charm. Credit must also go to the DJs who ensured that the weekend’s stellar soundtrack continued throughout.

Also, at sign-up on Friday, everyone was offered the opportunity to join the weekend’s ‘amateur band’ who performed at Sunday’s farewell tea dance in Bygdelagssamskipnaden (non-Scandis can rejoice that it is just referred to as ‘BLS’), and considering the very brief amount of rehearsal time squeezed in over the weekend, they too put on a cracking performance.

One of the highlights of any exchange is the opportunity to stay with a generous local host (especially considering the expense of a Nordic city like Oslo), and on this front I definitely lucked out as Erik proved to be a top host and a top bloke.

Although work commitments kept him from getting to Friday’s social, Erik made sure that the directions and keys to his apartment made their way to me (thanks, Liv Julie!) – and that in and of itself is another example of why I love the Lindy hop community: I’d never previously met Erik and knew very few people in the Oslo scene, but yet I was still entrusted with the keys to his home without question.

Add in the fact that he cooked me a fry each morning and you can see why we got on, plus: a special mention must be made of Erik’s home-baked bread. Oh yes indeed.

On Saturday, we met in Kulturhuset, a quirky bar and cultural hub to begin a jazzy tour of Oslo which saw us split into teams and take off around the city, following clues to various locations where we were to perform a variety of jazz steps. Aside from the frankly horrendous weather, it was great craic and a great opportunity to chat away with other dancers whilst getting to know the host city a little better before another great night of dancing in Soria Moria.



Sunday’s social activity was a uniquely Nordic affair as we all headed to SALT - a “nomadic art project… that brings together art, music, food and architecture”… and saunas! Now, truth be told, I am not a sauna fan, but I just did not want to miss out, and considering the setting on Oslofjord faced the iconic Opera House, and the weather finally decided to play nice, I was very glad I went.

As well as having your choice of sauna, depending on whether you wanted to be steam boiled, medium-cooked, or just lightly blanched, there was also a traditional Sámi sauna ritual which, despite my struggles (whilst everyone else sat serenely on the top benches, I was practically lying on the floor trying to get cool and adamantly refusing to be the first to quit) I actually enjoyed. Getting repeatedly hit with a cold water-soaked bush was an unexpected highlight, and the additional opportunity to dash out of the sauna and jump into the ball-shrinkingly cold fjord was an exhilarating one.

SALT also had a number of food huts and a suitable space for dancing, plus the saunas themselves are a famously social activity, and I must thank everyone for very kindly speaking in English as much as they did. Despite nearly everybody else being Norwegian or Swedish and therefore very capable of conversing in a homely tongue, they more often than not switched to English to ensure I wasn’t left out. Thank you!

The farewell tea dance was a relaxed affair and featured cake (result!) but as I was staying for longer than just the weekend I thankfully didn’t have to say farewell to Norway just yet!

Additional bit of background info: I have wanted to visit Norway since I did a school project on Vikings and the fjords when I was eight (which my mum remarkably still has), and above all else I have wanted to see the fully preserved 9th century Oseberg ship. I was rather excited.

the Oseberg ship!

not vertigo friendly

I was also very lucky to have had a local tour-guide for the day so I must say a huge thank you to Hildegunn for offering to show me around (and translating)! After visiting the Viking Ship Museum, the Museum of Cultural History and the beautiful Huk park on Bygdøy, we then went up to the 1952 Winter Olympic venue of Holmenkollbakken, where we may or may not have disregarded a series of barriers and stern looking warnings to climb to the very top of the famous ski jump via a fairly precarious stairway (above) for a spectacular view of Oslo (below).

a stunning view of a stunning city [side note: ski jumpers aren't wise in the head]

On the Monday night I went for a solo saunter around the city and then (sorry Erik) decided to try out the electric scooters that I had seen scattered about the city; also doing my very best to avoid scattering myself across the tarmac.

In the day or two I used these things, the novelty never subsided. They take off at a fair pace and considering my penchant for accidents on two wheels it is a wonder I didn’t do myself a mischief. Though I must also say, that despite their speed the scooters were not the most efficient for a tourist in an unfamiliar city as I was often having so much fun that I kept forgetting where I was going.

And so, for the purposes of Tuesday's busy tourist itinerary, bike hire provided a more direct and leisurely mode of transport.

Tuesday night, however, brought a final hurrah with the Birkelunden Big Band casually playing for a midweek social at Kulturhuset (have I mentioned how jealous I am of the live music in Oslo?!), more amazing dances, some great conversation, many goodbyes and one last electric scooter odyssey.

All in all, I had a truly wonderful weekend in a phenomenal city. A huge congratulations to the organisers for putting on a stonker of an event and a particular thanks once again to Erik and Hildegunn and the many, many wonderful people I met. As well as swinging out with the experienced campaigners it is always so invigorating to dance with those at the start of their Lindy journey. I met a handful of folk who had been to only one or two classes but were completely at ease at an event of this size, and it says much about the community that that kind of confidence has been imbued in its beginners.

Tusen takk for nå!

Guest Review: Bristol New Year Swing Celebration 2017

In Belfast, there are few people (if any!) more enraptured by swing dancing and all related things than Curtis McAuley. Curtis is now starting to clock up some serious mileage attending events so I thought I would ask him to review his recently attended New Year Swing Celebration; hosted by Swing Dance Bristol.

C: I should start by saying I am relatively new to lindy hop! My swing story only started in November 2016 so at the time of the Bristol event I was 13 months into what I hope will be many years to follow (but mostly lead!). This was my fifth event outside of my native Belfast scene and if you’ve never been to Belfast what are you waiting for?! We are small but we’ve a big heart, a bigger than expected scene and we love opening our arms to newbies and visitors alike.

Now down to business, how was Bristol? In short - spectacular! I attended the event alone but ran into a few familiar faces from previous events. As with other events I've attended by myself I began the festival with my ‘shy syndrome’ firmly in evidence… not sure where to place myself, anxious about my level of ability and where I would fit in, but thankfully it didn’t last too long.

In short: four days, four socials, many tasters and too many classes for me to count.

Day One

I arrived in Bristol on Thursday the 28th having never been before. The festival wasn’t officially starting until the Friday but there was a special screening of Alive and Kicking which I had not seen before and was keen to view.

It documents the origins of Lindy Hop and was an absolutely sensational way to kick off the festival!! Full of so many inspiring stories and personal journeys illustrating how swing dance has inspired others: no better way to start the festival for me. I managed to stay on my feet long enough to squeeze in a tiny hour of social dancing but all the travel and post-Christmas sleep deprivation took its toll and sent me off to find my bed.

Day Two

On Friday it began…three taster classes followed by a mammoth social which went on until 4am.

The first taster was entitled ‘baby aerials’ and it taught me that aerials don’t need to be big to be effective, I must admit I don’t tend to use them at all but this class introduced some nice and easy (but most importantly safe aerials).

It was taught by Andy Fleming and Lindsay Weight who I’d not heard of before but oh boy - they are at the top end of my favourite teachers now! Although I only managed that one session with them (they were committed to teaching the aerials track throughout the festival) that one session really gave me an appetite to learn more aerials and how to incorporate them into my dancing and find those little breaks in the songs where they really have an impact!

Andy was also one of my favourite dancers to watch, to me he simply glided across the floor as if on ice, he had such a hypnotic pulse – it just hooked me in and I would watch him dance every time I got the opportunity.

The rest of the day comprised of:

· A collegiate shag taster with Jim and Nicky from SwingBytes. This was fantastic for me, as I love the dance but don’t get many opportunities to dance it at home.

· An African dance class with a man called Louis, sadly didn’t catch his full name (feel free to message if you know) but the man had serious talent and had everyone dancing, singing and stomping out rhythms simultaneously.

· And of course the social: packed full of dancers and really put my floor-craft skills to the test.

All of this set in a fantastic venue with great caterers who provided lots of homemade deliciousness to enjoy! I retired around midnight, the socials go on way later than that but I’m such a keen bean and wanted to be fresh for classes next day.

The man himself!

Day Three

Classes were organised as a drop in format, applicable to all levels, but don’t allow yourself to be fooled into translating that as dance speak for ‘easy or simple’. These classes really challenged me to analyse my normal dance methods and to employ the strategies being taught, as opposed to defaulting to the methods I had previously been taught or used. This concept was really highlighted by the extraordinary teaching of Benjamin Cook and Michaela Delmonte who ran a fantastic Swingout clinic.

Day or Should I Say Big Night Four

There were of course more classes on New Year’s Eve – format as above, all I attended fantastic! But by now I was totally psyched for the social that evening being held in Kings Weston House.

The organisers really made it as easy as possible for dancers and lucky for me there was transport arranged to the venue, with a pickup location just a measly 5 minute walk from my hostel. But hold on a minute, of course very little in life is that straight forward. The catch… after taking some time to get ‘all dappered up’, I ran into a torrential rainstorm on the short walk! In the words of Forrest Gump, it was that “big old fat rain” and within minutes my hair was wrecked and clothes soaked through. I will never forget that relentless rain, only ever seen rain like it in the tropics! Luckily for me I am always over prepared but this time it turned out that I was properly prepared. I had packed a couple of spare shirts so I was quickly able to change and be dry. Well dry before the inevitable back sweat waterfall that I get at every social. (Hope that wasn’t too graphic)

Kings Weston House was built in 1719 and can only be described as colossal. Recently bought over by a group of friends it serves as a residency for local artists. They inhabit the upper floors of the building and the ground floor seems to be left open for events. The ground floor held three separate dance rooms, each organised for the night for a different dance style; a Lindy room, a Blues room and a room dedicated to Balboa and Shag. I unfortunately don’t have those dances in my repertoire yet (not enough to be brave and social dance anyway) but I loved the idea of being able to move between different areas based on what you wanted to dance. It was fascinating to watch it all and it’s such a great format that I hope events I attend in the future think about incorporating this idea into their socials if space allows.

Around 8pm Benjamin Cooke kicked off the Lindy room with a little 20s Charleston taster class. He is an excellent teacher, incredible dancer and a phenomenal entertainer. He was always smiling and making jokes which just put me in a great mood. I do hope to get to some more classes with him in the future and would recommend that everyone try and get a class with him at some point.

Later on in the evening, as we got close to the big countdown David Zilkha was doing some announcements in the lindy room and please don’t judge me for loving this! He turned to me and asked me to pick a number between 5 and 20. The first thought in my head was why would he want a number but I responded instantly with 12, then he said “11 ...” (I still didn’t get it – slightly slow on the uptake!) “10 ... 9 ...” (my brain finally clicked). Without doubt the most memorable New Year’s countdown I will have for years to come for being in complete dunce mode. Fireworks exploded outside, the New Year and the dancing commenced. I only had about an hour left in me and I loved it, I mean it’s not every weekend that you get the opportunity to dance in a mansion and in the company of people who share your passion.

I got back to the hostel around 2.30 am and you know how it is, you’ve been dancing all night and you’ve completely depleted your energy levels without it even crossing your mind and all you really want now is for someone to pass you something tasty. So I crossed everything worth crossing and hoped they were still serving food. Not a mission I was going back out into tropical rain storm - I was hungry but not nearly hungry enough to brave that. Fortunately when I asked if they were serving food, I heard the heavenly response “Just pizza”…what a flippin’ glorious thing to hear when the rain’s pounding down outside.

The Last Day – Day Five – all together: AWWWWWW!

So it turns out, one year and five dance festivals in that I have a favourite social and it’s the last one. Classes are finished, there’s tons of dance space, teachers and students alike are trying to absorb every last opportunity to dance and everyone is just so relaxed! After a weekend of extended dancing and classes we feel like we’ve known each other forever (at least that’s how I feel at any events I attend alone.)

This event was simply spectacular and I am very grateful I was able to participate in it. For me one of the best things was how welcomed I felt as an outsider in the scene, they made me feel at ease in a brand new place and I got comfortable very quickly.

With so much to choose from the whole weekend was a total delight for all dancers. So what else could my word for the festival be but ‘Choice’, really the variety of classes was something else! I haven’t come across this level of variety at other events and I must say it’s a marvellous way to do it!

The next Bristol Swing Festival is happening from the 30th March - 2nd April. I would thoroughly recommend giving it a go if you are able! Great scene, lovely people and a fantastic community of musicians that seem to mingle spectacularly well with the dance crowd. Let’s not forget the local pub, The Old Duke, which had live music every night and had such great jazz vibes.

Hopefully in the next few years we will see our local Belfast scene continue to grow into something similar – I know we have the passion for it!

Teaching Staff:
· David Zilkha
· Michaela Delmonte
· Benjamin Cooke
· Kira Emslie
· Robyn Larsen
· Ron & Sharon Dubrovinsky
· Maxime Pampluma & Frankie Jaffey
· Andy and Lindsay Fleming
· Jim & Nicky of Swingbytes

Birmingham Bounce 2017

After waiting for what seemed like an age for it to arrive, the inaugural Birmingham Bounce has already come and gone.

For me it very nearly didn't happen at all, courtesy of delayed flights and lost, then found but damaged luggage, so I eventually arrived on the Saturday afternoon a tad knackered but raring to go.

Sadly, however, that meant I missed two highlights - the classes by Tatiana Udry, and seeing Swing Belfast's own Anna kicking ass in Friday night's competitions: coming second in the strictly finals with James, and third in the jack & jill.

I'm sorry not to have been there cheering Anna and James on but, just as I had mentioned before, anyone representing Belfast was not shy of support as I think we ended up taking about 35 people to Birmingham, and to say I am not also immensely proud of that in and of itself would be an understatement.

I don't think I've ever been to an event with more than three others from Belfast, so to more than decuple* that number (*yes, it's a new word to me also) was a glorious thing. But quantity isn't much without quality and from the many accounts I heard it sounded like everyone represented Swing Belfast with distinction.

In fact, when I got chatting to Paul on the Sunday afternoon, he told me that a number of people had even described the Belfast dancers as being "aggressively friendly", so it's clear to me that the enthusiasm and warmth that I fell in love with in our nascent scene is also an exportable quality!

Having such safety in numbers I think also proved to be a brilliant way for some of our newer dancers to experience their first ever big event and as I'm sure all of them would agree, the weekend itself was a lot of fun and a fantastic introduction to Lindy hop outside Belfast.

The weekend's teachers were Swing Express' own Paul & Sarah Neary and Scott Cupit & Jenny Thomas with Felix Berghäll rather enviably teaming up with both Tatiana Udry and Katja Završnik (probably my two favourite follows on the planet) for their partnered workshops, and between what I experienced and what I heard, it seems that the classes all went down a treat.

As I said, I missed Tatiana's classes with Felix but I was determined to make up for it somehow and decided that the Saturday night social was where to do it. Not only was I going to try to make up for the dancing I had missed that morning, and indeed the night before, but I was also going to attempt to compensate for missing out on a class with Tatiana by asking her for a dance.

I've commented before how my confidence escapes me when approaching my favourite top tier dancers and as the Birmingham Bounce was my first weekender in over a year, it's safe to say that I was feeling distinctly chutzpah-lite. But the second I rediscovered some testicular fortitude and actually approached Tatiana it turned out, unsurprisingly, that she was absolutely lovely and every bit as spectacular to dance with as to watch.

My erstwhile reticence was then completely shown up by some of the newer Belfast leads (some with less than a year of classes under their belts) who walked straight up to Tatiana and the rest weekend's pros and asked one or all of them for a dance: Brett, Curtis, Luke and Mark and a probably a few more didn't even blink, and I believe a few of our follows did the same!

And then when the inevitable jam circle kicked off, the Belfast crowd once again showed up and made us proud with about a third of the dancers who took the floor hailing from our scene.

Furthermore, a special mention must also go to Mark and Kristina who, despite being one of our newer couples, waited out the regular jam cool as you like and then bounced into the middle of the action as the fabulous Basin Street Brawlers really started to crank up the BPM.

All in all, it was a really fun weekend of dancing that I hope whetted the collective appetites of the 30-odd Belfast dancers for whom this was their first big event. A big thanks must go to Paul & Sarah and Swing Express for putting on a brilliant inaugural Birmingham Bounce (as well as an apology for taking so long to finally write this up but I'm using wedding prep as my excuse!) and I'm sure we're all looking forward to our next trip to Brum!

Swingtzerland 2015

our final class of the weekend with PJ & Tashina

Following three straight Lindy hop events (Galway Lindyfest, Oxford Lindy Exchange and Herräng) this trip kicked off a run of three west coast swing weekenders and it proved to be a nice way to get that streak going.

After starting and finishing work early on the Friday to accommodate my flights, I arrived in Zurich around 11pm and met up with the rest of the Swing Belfast crew as soon as I got to the venue that would host that night's social and all of the weekend's classes.

Sharon and Richard had arrived in Zurich the day before and I shortly bumped into them along with Niall and Mirielle who were our hosts for the weekend, but while they all headed straight to the floor I was off for a nosey as this was the first time I had ever been to a dance school proper and Tanzwerk101 demanded a proper gander.

In the limited time I have been dancing I have been fortunate to dance in some amazing venues. Some have been stunning in their historical significance (Oxford Union at OLX), others have been impressive in their scale (Budafest 2015) and as a Lindy hopper, it's hard not to be utterly in awe just to be at Herräng Dance Camp, but Swingtzerland gave me my first taste of a dedicated dance venue that hosts multiple classes daily and it left me hankering for something similar at home.

There may well be dance venues dotted around Northern Ireland but from what I am aware, they are nothing like this. Tanzwerk101 has 8 studios with sprung floors and sound systems, fully equipped changing rooms and showers, lockers, cloakrooms, an outside terrace (although that may not be of huge use in NI), and a large event venue that, along with the necessary sprung floor and sound system, has a bar. And as the bar is staffed by the school no one complains about the dancers not buying drinks and only asking for more (free) water. It is incredible! They just needed their air conditioning sorted...

Anyhow, when I finally got stuck into a bit of social dancing to warm myself up for the weekend ahead I found plenty of familiar faces beyond the Belfast ones to help me settle in. This social on Friday night also started a small trend that was to continue for the rest of the weekend - the Elusions of Virginie.

I do not think there is a dancer on Earth who intimidates me more than Virginie Grondin. She is arguably the best west coast swing dancer on the planet (yet seems to be inexplicably shy), and add in that she spends most of her time dancing with, you know, Maxence Martin, and that Virginie is also pretty darned attractive, the old self-confidence rarely gets out of neutral. Nonetheless, I was determined that this weekend, I would at least try to ask for a dance.

Towards the end of the night, I noticed Virginie exhibiting classic pro behaviour: hovering near the entrance of their natural habitat (the DJ booth) presenting a display of availability but ready to dart back into said habitat behind the safety of the wheels of steel should any untoward attention be forthcoming.

I was on exactly the opposite side of the dancefloor but after a brief internal dialogue (I always do my worst dancing on the first night and when dancing with a pro, naturally you want to pull out all the good stuff) I decided to go for it. And thus I started to stride confidently across the floor in Virginie's direction but I had barely gotten halfway there before Virginie turned and slipped away behind the booth.

Perhaps my eagerness to apply my PhD in animal behaviour to dancers had been misguided, maybe the song that had just come on was a bit guff and not worth dancing to (I can't remember), or perchance Virginie had caught a glimpse of the determined glint in my eye and felt unsettled, but I had to catch myself mid-stride and and mid-dancefloor and attempt to maintain an aloof visage while wheeling away in a pseudo-nonchalant fashion.

Thankfully I don't think too many saw what happened so I was able to slink away fairly discretely, and as our wee crew were just preparing to leave anyway I made an immediate exit from stage right.

"Tomorrow". I thought to myself...

Sharon, Richard and I were incredibly grateful for Niall and Mirielle putting us up but it has to be said that staying over an hour away from the venue and having only one bathroom between five does not make for arriving at classes early. Or on time. Or even for the second class on time! So it meant missing a few that I would have loved to have attended. Not only did we miss the sole class taken by Maxence & Virginie all weekend but we also missed a taster in zouk, which is a dance style I have been mad keen on giving a go for a while.

As well as Maxence & Vriginie we also missed the only class taken by Sebastien Cadet & Blandine Iche but successfully made it to one or more by Brennar Goree & Crystal Lambert-Auclair, Mario Robau & Melanie Stocker Bucher, Myles Munroe & Tessa Cunningham Munroe, PJ Turner & Tashina Beckmann, and Joshua Sturgeon.

Of these I most enjoyed Joshua's class on musicality and Myles & Tessa's class on a few new styling patterns for funking up and extending sugar pushes, whilst PJ & Tashina introduced us to dolly turns which can look class when done well but otherwise have the potential for grand failure and/or injury to the follow.

The Saturday night also brought with it the competitions which were actually a lot more fun than I had envisaged. After making it through the preliminary heats I was incredibly chuffed to make it to the final, where I was paired with Ella Hirsch and we finished 7th overall. So out of around the 17 couples who entered I was pretty happy with that!

Riding high on confidence I took on a somewhat goal-oriented approach to that night's social: I would dance with every darned pro in the building.

First up, Emeline Rochefeuille, who I think is the most elegant dancer ever created and was incredibly nice although as I have wanted to dance with her for ages, I was a little nervous and couldn't quite relax! Then it was Blandine Iche, who was also absolutely lovely, and Tashina Beckmann, whose dance I sadly ballsed right up, and then Crystal Lambert-Auclair who dances with the most amazing smile across her face the entire that I almost fooled myself into thinking I was doing otherworldly stuff.

I wasn't so unsubtle (or daft) as to attempt to dance with all the pros in row and I mixed things up with plenty of mere mortals but that was also how I came to dance with Tessa Cunningham Munroe.

I can't remember who I was dancing with at the time but halfway through, this girl approached and sort of stared me down before stealing my partner away while maintaining fervent eye-contact. Now, I have a lot to learn about steal dances (namely: how to do them) but generally when they happen it is when the follow I am dancing with, and the lead who wants to cut in, are both mates of mine and I can therefore read the situation.

But when a random (yeah, I hadn't a baldy clue who it was) approaches my dance partner, starts staring at me, and then ghosts said partner away, I worry I have done something horribly wrong and disgraced my partner's honour, and that this is a friend and white knight come to rescue her from further embarrassment.

When it was clear that this challenger was happy to relinquish control of my partner once more I, somewhat curmudgeonly, stole my partner back, returned the weird looks to this attempted usurper and continued with my dance, but afterwards I thought I would seek out my brief foe for a dance just in case the intense eye contact that I had offered had offended.

Well, it turned out to be one of my absolute favourite dances of the weekend. I felt such a fantastic connection and this girl could very clearly dance (in retrospect, that's a serious understatement) - in that way makes you look much better than you really are. So when it was over I bounced over to Sharon only to be asked if I actually knew that I had just danced with one of the world's best dancers from the past decade in Tessa? It appears Sharon knows me quite well. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

Not long after I thought I would once again try for the obvious omission on my pro checklist, and after seeing an opportunity I confidently walked the whole way around the dancefloor to where Virgine was sitting.

As I approached we made eye contact and this time Virginie made no attempt to get away so I walked right up to her, held out my hands... and then bailed at the last minute and asked the girl she was actually talking to. Seemingly, I had travelled at such a pace during my determined walk over that my balls couldn't keep up and I'd left my testicular fortitude at the other side of the dancefloor. If you're at all familiar with Northern Irish colloquialisms, the word we would use for this is 'scundered'.

Nonetheless, between making it to the finals of my competition and having a lot of great dances, I went to bed that night feeling pretty happy.

Sunday brought more of the same - enjoyable classes (including one by that girl from the steal dance, along with her partner, Myles), and an intimate social, this time in a bar venue in town rather than Tanzwerk101.

With it being the last night there weren't quite as many people but it seems quite a few took the same approach that we did - dance until morning then head straight to the airport and fly home. And in my case, fly home and go straight to work!

This final night also brought with it my final opportunity to try to dance with Virginie, so, upon seeing my chance, I once again set off in her direction.

I made it the whole way to her without stopping and I even followed through with my intentions to ask Virginie for a dance... but as I had left it so late it turns out that she was actually just about to leave so she apologised and thanked me for asking. Alas, it was not to be...

Nonetheless, I finished the night with a series of great dances, including another with Crystal, before Sharon, Richard and I made our way to the airport, picking up some incredible pastries along the way that were stuffed with something like Ferrero Rocher and Nutella to help kick start our early morning travels with a serious dose of sugar and a side of diabetes. All in all, a successful first trip to Switzerland and I can now cross that one off my list...

Oxford Lindy Exchange 2015

the Oxford Lindy Exchange branding with All Souls College in the background

As I've only been dancing for two years the idea of going to a Lindy exchange was one that I had put off for a while as I figured I'd rather go to an event with workshops than just turn up at a few socials and dance without getting to learn anything.

What a daft notion that's turned out to be.

For a start, socials are actually the best place to learn. Those new moves need to be test-driven eventually, but when you venture into a new scene you also get to watch other dancers who have been taught by other teachers and maybe have a few shapes that differ from those thrown by every other dancer in your home scene

But it still took me until this past weekend to finally go to a Lindy exchange and discover what I've been missing for the last two years, and OLX was one heck of a way to start!

At some stage last year I discovered SwingPlanit (and if you don't already know that website, prepare to waste some serious time on it!) which led to me making a few mental notes of scenes I'd like to visit and Facebook events worth following. One of these, OLX, happened to be holding a competition last December to give away an event pass to whoever provided a winning design for their new branding, and with the help of many of you (thanks again!) mine was chosen and that free pass was winging my direction.

I'd never previously been to Oxford but had heard great things, and as someone whose real job is in academia it is a city that has always held a natural fascination for me, so I was very much looking forward to finally visiting.

That said, and sadly on a more sombre personal note, my grandmother passed away suddenly last week which gave me serious consideration to just staying at home. I was very close to my grandmother but I knew one of the things she never tolerated was anyone moping around, especially on her behalf, so I decided that a few days away would be a healthy distraction. And it inevitably proved that Granny's "just get on with it!" mantra was as right as ever.

And so immediately after work on Friday I drove to Belfast International airport and, by way of Gatwick and a couple of hours on a bus, I arrived in Oxford around 10pm and threw myself straight into the thick of things after a quick costume change.

It didn't take long to break a sweat due a triple combo of the obvious high intensity aerobic exercise, warm weather, and a beautiful venue with windows that couldn't be opened. Thank goodness for the industrial air blowers!

Friday night proved to be a cracking sample of what was to follow for the weekend: great weather, great venue, fantastically fast floor (love dem slides), amazing live music, and, best of all, a fun and friendly Lindy herd.

...'herd' - I think we need a better collective noun for swing dancers. A fling... a jam... a savoy... a sweat... a murmuration?!

OK, back on point.

I have to admit, I was initially unsure if I was actually in the right city because as chance would have it nearly all of my first dances were with girls from Cambridge along with a fair few from Reading and Bristol. In fact, by the time the Lindy was over and we headed for the blues venue, I had still only danced with two locals!

Around this point in the evening I met my host, Matt, and I have to give him a massive thank-you, not only for hosting but also for adding to my Oxford experience by loaning me a bike (I felt like a local and everything), showing me around a few colleges, and just generally being great craic.

When we arrived for the blues I spent a good while just chatting to people and watching everyone else dance. I shortly discovering that there were actually a lot of Oxford dancers and it was great to meet and get to know folk a bit better (as I was swingin' solo from Belfast after all!) but another reason for not bouncing onto the floor as per usual was because I had absolutely no idea how to blues dance.

About a year ago I think I went to a grand total of three classes and I've not touched blues dancing since. So to stand and watch people who, to my eyes, looked like they knew what they were doing was a little intimidating and reminded me of how I felt at my first Lindy socials - where the longer you stand the less eager you feel. But thankfully that wasn't to last too long.

I figured I had to learn somehow and as I'd already found that everyone I'd met seemed cast from a fun and forgiving mould then the opportunity was there. So, starting with an apology for what was to come, I asked someone up for a dance and after that I don't think I stopped all night!

One of the great advantages of blues dancing is the physical closeness of the hold - not for the reasons some may think - but because it means that rather than looking at your partner this closeness practically encourages you to look past them and over their shoulder... allowing you to watch and copy the better dancers!

I also got to talking with a few of these more experienced dancers and they further allayed my fears by explaining that, unlike Lindy, in blues the basic rules are much looser and there is plenty of scope for 'individual interpretation' (also translated as: 'fake it 'til you make it') which allowed me the opportunity to get up with a little bit more confidence.

Saturday morning came too soon after the night before but involved a tour of the Pitt Rivers Museum that easily reinvigorated me for the day ahead courtesy of its natural history and anthropology exhibits with great additional insights provided by Mark. It was then the turn of Russell to lead us on an info-laden tour around the key sights of the city proper before we headed to the park for a relaxing afternoon of games, conversation and sunburn.

After a nip into a vintage store on the way home, a quick nap and a bite to eat, I was soon heading out again to another stunning and historic venue: the Oxford Union.

A good dance floor, good music and good partners are what make up the holy trinity of social dancing. If one is lacking but the other two are exceptionally good then a blind eye can be turned, but more often than not you really need all three to have a great night. However, one of the things that can embellish an evening is if this triumvirate is featured somewhere special.

The Oxford Union (not to be confused with the student's union) is a beautiful building within an equally peaceful setting but what adds to its mystique is its significance in hosting debates, lectures and seminars from some of history's greatest luminaries of science, politics, art, and business since 1823. I have danced in many impressive venues but I can think of none that come close in prestige.

At the end of the Saturday night Lindy, more blues dancing again followed and for this there was yet more incredible live music in another quirky venue. The heat of the dance room was something else but the Finns would have us believe that great health benefits can come from warm, wood-clad venues so I shall consider it beneficial.

The Sunday afternoon involved a return to the Oxford Union for an afternoon tea dance in the garden before again moving inside the main chamber for the weekend's final action, and it goes without saying that the musical accompaniment to each of these dances was provided by amazing live bands.

After the formal conclusion of events, thanks and goodbyes were shared although a small group of us managed to extend the weekend's activity for a few more hours with burritos and dancing in the park before moving things indoors until the wee small hours. It was lovely low-key way to finish what had been a fantastic weekend for me and I am not only keen to return next year but my appetite for Lindy exchanges has now been well and truly whetted.

A massive congratulations and thanks must go to organiser-in-chief, Madeleine, and her OLX crew; to the sensational musicians Melody Room Jazz Band, Down for the Count, Little Moaner and the Tantrums, Nick Gill and the Oxford Classic Jazz Band, and Benoit Viellefon and his Orchestra; to Matt for hosting me; and most of all, to the incredible dancers of OLX2015 - my first Lindy exchange was an absolute belter, so thank you all for contributing to a stunning weekend.