The aim of the Frankie Manning Foundation is to fulfil Frankie's dream of spreading the joy of Lindy hop around the globe.
The tireless passion of the FMF to realise this dream is occasionally underappreciated (and I hope to soon write an article specifically about them!) but one of the key ways in which the FMF have ensured that their labours bear fruit is by awarding scholarships to dancers from across the world.
These dancers are not only people who the FMF believe share Frankie's vision but they are also dancers who represent communities the FMF believe would benefit from extra support and who can serve as ambassadors for Lindy hop within their own local communities as well as within the global swing family.
As such, the FMF plays a crucial role by ensuring that anyone can be reached by Lindy hop and also by ensuring that Lindy hop is kept within reach of its roots.
Accordingly, these scholarships especially target those from African-American communities throughout the USA (who are chronically under-represented despite the celebrated origins of Lindy hop), those from geographical areas outside the USA where Lindy hop is in its early stages, and dancers who have participated in FMF youth programs.
As well as the honour of receiving such an accolade, ambassadors are awarded fully-paid scholarships to attend one of the world's leading dance camps (Herräng Dance Camp, LindyFest, Beantown Camp, ILHC, Swing Out New Hampshire) and are welcomed into a supportive community of alumni that offers as much help and wisdom as the dance camp itself.
But something that is often overlooked is that anyone can apply to be considered!
Applications for the 2018 Scholarship Programme opened last month and shall close on the 31st December 2017 so there is plenty of time to apply, and as someone who feels incredibly chuffed to have been awarded an Ambassador Scholarship in 2015 I cannot emphasise enough what an incredible experience it was and continues to be.
As I have mentioned, the FMF are keen to support dancers from some communities in particular but they welcome all applications and will consider each on its own merit, so for further information visit the Frankie Manning Foundation website.
As Belfast continues to blossom, and more and more new people come to classes and socials each month, it's always worthwhile asking a newbie for a dance or two.
For me, having a chat after (or during!) a dance is also largely unavoidable, and one of the things I usually end up asking is whether these newfound recruits have done any dancing before, often with my inquisitiveness driven by how rapidly the new dancers seem to pick things up.
Whether they are entirely new to dancing or have come from another style makes their nascent prowess no less impressive, but in the case of the latter, there are usually little giveaways as to their dancing background.
Salsa dancers have their hip sway, ballroom dancers are upright, ballet dancers are always on their toes, Irish dancers are upright and on their toes and have their arms straightened by their sides, and street/breakdancers have exaggerated rock-steps.
And I am sure that there must nuances of other dance styles that would seep into how someone swing dances (I don't know how to recognise them yet!) but nearly every time I ask if my hunch is correct it is misinterpreted as criticism. That couldn't be further from the truth.
I think of it in the same manner as having a chat with someone whose accent suggests they aren't speaking in their mother tongue - it's out of a genuine fascination that I'm curious to hear where they grew up, rather than any form of antipathy. And just as a slightly different cadence in someone's speech adds a little extra colour to their words, the unique colourful timbre of an individual's dancing adds to the myriad hues of a dancefloor.
In fact, speaking with an 'exotic' inflection doesn't even have to mean having origins in a different country - Northern Ireland has enough heterogeneity in its accents that you can tell when someone is from further than 20 miles away; and then it's considered polite to express amazement at how far they've travelled.
On top of that, accents not only reflect a dancer's background but can also reflect the background and culture of an entire community, country or continent, and the more I travel or watch videos online the more I start to recognise different aesthetics within our global swing family.
As a related historical note, two flavours of Lindy hop were considered to have developed in the USA in the late 1930s and early 1940s and were labelled as 'Savoy'-style and 'Hollywood'-style, as per their origins.
'Savoy'-style was so named for the Savoy Ballroom - the vaunted Harlem home of 'Shorty' George Snowden, Frankie Manning, Norma Miller and others, whilst 'Hollywood'-style became synonymous with Dean Collins: an erstwhile Savoy dancer who left New York in 1936 for the silver screens of Southern California and took his own brand of Lindy hop with him. (And depending on who you talk to, Collins is also considered the progenitor of west coast swing.)
The perceived differences between 'Savoy' and 'Hollywood'-style (and why the use of such labels has been abandoned by contemporary Lindy hop) have been thoroughly considered in an excellent article by Bobby White, but whilst these particular labels no longer hold water, I do not think I'm alone in recognising nuanced differences in the vernacular of current European, Asian and American dancers with regards to technique, styling and even demeanour.
What I', trying to emphasise, and especially to the new dancers, is that none of these differences has more merit than another: variety exists, and the global swing dancing community is all the healthier for it. So whether it's between or within scenes, on an international level or on an individual one, in all circumstances these differences celebrate the motley provenance of what is your own style.
We all speak the same swing language, we just do so with different accents.
Maxence & Emeline... two of my favourite west coast swing dancers.
While the bulk of my posts on this blog have been about Lindy hop don't let that fool you into thinking that Lindy and I are in a monogamous relationship. West coast swing also vies for my affection and, as I mentioned in one of my first articles, choosing a favourite between these styles would be like asking a parent to rank their offspring.
However, in my home city of Belfast, Lindy hop is on offer at least four nights a week but west coast swing only comes out to play on Wednesdays.
A comparison of the size of these two communities in Belfast is stark as I reckon we could rustle up well over 100 Lindy hoppers just in the city alone while until recently, the entire island of Ireland might have struggled to fill a WCS party in an elevator.
One of the reasons I also love west coast swing as much as I love Lindy hop is because of the entirely different way it makes me feel and it caters to a vastly different form of expression. Comparing them using the simplest analogy I can think of: the difference between my two favourite styles is similar to that of my two favourite instruments.
Dancing Lindy hop is like playing the drums. Steady rhythm is king, the beat pulses through you and you can use the full dynamic range of the music to bounce lightly or build up to an almost unsurpassed manic euphoria. Incredible satisfaction can come from a slower tempo and the opportunity to go to town on musicality, but it can be at its most intoxicating when you're fighting against exhaustion until you absolutely must stop to rehydrate or change shirts.
However, west coast swing, is more like playing an acoustic guitar. It allows for limitless personal expression and an emotional intimacy I've yet to experience from any of the other instruments or 20+ dance styles I've tried.
And west coast swing is definitely not just about schmaltzy fluff as I'm a long-time fan of hip-hop and it's amazing to finally be able to dance to its heavy bass and blindingly obvious breaks. I've thankfully grown out of my 'Eminem phase' when a younger, skinnier, bleached-hair me was was regularly attired in clothes more befitting of an overweight rapper with an aversion to belts, but I still love the music.
In fact, one of the greatest virtues of west coast swing is its sheer versatility. You can dance it to anything the DJ can throw at you: hip-hop, R&B, pop, deep house, funk, dubstep, electroswing, dance, salsa, indie, country, blues, classical... I've west coast swung to all of them and I can't think of another dance style that can claim to have even half of its dexterity.
It's through WCS that I've recently discovered that funk isn't actually such a terrible genre after all, and that the delightful chorus of dial-up modems known as dubstep actually provides some of the most challenging but exhilarating experiences you can have on a dance-floor. The instant adrenaline kick I get listening to Lindsey Sterling's 'Crystallize' or the Omega remix of Ellie Goulding's 'High for This' just gets me pumped!
But considering its mastery of myriad music genres I'm amazed WCS doesn't have a more ardent following, especially since you really can pull it out anywhere;including club nights and, that ultimate test of rhythmical insecurity: weddings.
However, I think that this versatility is also a double-edged sword because it doesn't benefit from the same identity by association that other styles do: I immediately think of Lindy hop when I hear big band music and if I hear blues, salsa or tango music my thoughts go to those dance styles. But west coast swing just doesn't have that same dance monopoly on a particular music genre.
It also doesn't have a specific affiliation with one city, country or culture the way some dances do - Lindy hop hails from 1920-30s Harlem, and tango from late 19th century River Plate basin of Argentina and Uruguay - and these dances benefit from the proud promotion of a civic or national heritage and identity in a way that west coast swing can only dream of.
Additionally, every so often a style (re)appears that benefits from 'cousins' in the dance style family. Blues dancing appears to be undergoing a bit of a revival and as it appeals to the greater retro swing fraternity and has elements that can be interchanged with Lindy hop, balboa and solo jazz, there is a natural attraction for dancers of one of these styles to learn another. The same can be said of a number of Latin or ballroom dances but in the case of west coast swing it is distantly related to all but close to none; and must forge its own path.
So, and possibly for these reasons, west coast swing is rarely the first dance someone learns with salsa, tango, Lindy hop, or ballroom often providing the first taste of the partner dancing experience. For some, learning one dance style is enough, but there is an additional problem that comes from starting with another style that can sometimes act as a discouragement: pride.
Particularly if you've already reached a (high) level of competency in one dance style, the idea of starting afresh at the bottom of the ladder is frustrating in the extreme, and I know I've experienced it. Getting things wrong again and again really melts your head and can have you craving the comfort of familiarity.
As west coast swing tends to be a dance people discover after they've reached a certain grade of mastery elsewhere, some just can't cope with being at the wrong side of the bell-curve and give up before it gets interesting.
One of the things I most love about west coast swing is that it seems to be one of the closest dances to a 'conversation' you can have on a dance floor - the traditional 'lead' and 'follow' roles still exist but there is much greater scope for the follow to take control of a move and the exchange between the lead and follow is two-way.
To further abuse this analogy: WCS dances are a bit like a 'Q&A' and although the lead asks the first question, the follow responds and includes a question of their own with the most invigorating dances being a non-stop back and forth discussion where plenty of other styles are largely just monologues with the lead droning on.
The input from the follow should not be confused with backleading - that is a universal dancing taboo - but in west coast swing the intentions of a lead for a familiar pattern are usually transmitted to the follow within the first 2 beats and the follow is then given the opportunity to keep it basic or embellish. And as long as the connection is maintained it is the lead's responsibility to provide a platform for the follow to do their thing.
I discovered at about the age of 18 that, whilst grunts and shrugs have their place, a lot more can be communicated through actual words and conversation has become one of the greatest joys of my life, and I could easily natter away to myself until concerned white coats begin to close in. But conversation with an actual person is so much more fun.
The same goes for dancing west coast swing - I could lead a follow in what I want them to do for an entire dance but what I especially enjoy is letting them express themselves and consequently having them challenge me to keep up... it gives me such a buzz.
But what truly sets west coast swing aside from the other styles I've tried is the connection established with your dance partner, and I discovered it is something that just cannot be experienced if you only dip your toe in for a few classes.
In dances like tango, blues, and bachata the lead often comes from the core/chest and the closer hold allows for the fluid transmission of rhythm and patterns to the follow, with both parties largely maintaining a close physical proximity and moving as one.
Whereas, west coast swing is more like Lindy hop and partners are generally led at arms length so the connection between lead and follow must be transmitted through many more joints (shoulders, elbows, wrists, knuckles) and so has a greater potential to be lost without good rhythm and frame.
Lindy is helped by its incredibly joyful bounce or 'pulse' that is maintained by both the lead and the follow as it keeps both partners on the same page and the same beat. In west coast swing, however, there is no pulse and the rhythm and steps are instead communicated by a more nuanced weight transfer.
This can sound more technical but as with learning any dances, nothing comes instantly and it just takes a little bit of practice of WCS, but when you first properly experience the stretch and compression that is the foundation of west coast swing... holy smokes!!
And for anyone interested in taking things up a notch and actually competing, this is a much more attractive proposition in the world of west coast swing than Lindy hop or balboa for example.
In almost all dance styles, competitions have a 'newcomer' section that are only open to those who started dancing within the previous year, but for everyone else it's just one big open heat.
The more ambitious may enjoy the challenge of competing against the best but generally that can just be an exercise in futility. For some, dancing is their life - it may be their full-time job, maybe they are simply gifted naturals or maybe they were selectively bred from pedigree swing livestock and danced their way out of the womb - immediately grabbing the midwife and throwing an aerial.
For the rest of us, however, it's a hobby. A passion that, despite it being one of the greatest joys that life can offer, must be balanced against work, family, friends and other commitments, and so our progress and swing education is slower and we simply cannot compete with everyone and anyone.
In west coast swing, however, the competitions allow for this and are accordingly split into ability levels: newcomer, novice, intermediate, advanced, and Allstar, with the best of the best then invited to compete at 'Champion' level. For the fast learners and naturals, progression is in no way hindered by this model, but for the hobbyists, the benefits are immense and as competitions always involve very generous prizes at all levels, the same incentives exist for all competitors. Why this model isn't more commonplace baffles me.
Before I finish, however, I want to add a cautionary tale, and that is about those whose loudly-voiced opinions would dissuade others from giving west coast swing a go, and self-styled 'swing purists' I'm looking right at you with my brow well and truly furrowed and my nostrils slightly flared. To again apply a parent/offspring analogy: I don't appreciate it when one gets picked on.
There is generally a lot of love between dance styles as well there should be (and this is no more apparent than at the Boston Tea Party), but sadly I have read and heard Lindy hoppers and others indignantly feigning offence at west coast swing's audacity to sully the good name of 'swing' because the music it is often danced to lacks a traditional swing element - dismissing it as an illegitimate child they hope will take a long walk off a short cliff.
I do agree to a point: R&B and pop make up the bulk of WCS playlists at the moment and that music rarely swings the way Benny Goodman or Count Basie did. But when I Lindy hop to unconventional music, as I recently did to one of the many nonsensical offerings of German EDM masters Scooter (to "The Logical Song"... it was quite the experience), I don't believe the dance steps ceased to be Lindy hop just because the music wasn't swing.
If the music doesn't move you then I have no axe to grind. I imagine everyone who dances the styles they dance has chosen these styles because, first and foremost, they love the music it is associated with, and for some maybe the current WCS playlists just don't do it for them.
Although, as 'pop' music is so named because it is the most popular music genre, how the popularity of west coast swing in Northern Ireland doesn't quite mirror the popularity of the music baffles me, especially considering that, after salsa, west coast swing is the fastest growing partner dance in the world.
But for a Lindy hopper of all people to write off another style simply due to what amounts to unabashed snobbery implies that they don't actually appreciate the history of our beloved Lindy hop at all.
It takes little research on Frankie Manning - you know, that guy who's pretty much responsible for Lindy hop - to learn that he and his fellow Lindy hop pioneers were commonly the subject of dismissive and pejorative statements from event organisers, agents, and other dancers who all viewed Lindy hop with utter disdain throughout its early years.
In fact, Frankie used these negative experiences as an additional incentive and stated in his autobiography that he hoped his legacy would see the elevation of Lindy hop to the same level of international recognition as more established dance styles like ballroom and ballet. I believe Frankie succeeded (and as it is currently Frankie Month there are a couple of ways we can celebrate his legacy!), but when a Lindy hopper makes disparaging remarks about another dance style that's attempting the same I find it really saddening.
As an aside: what does the word 'football' mean to you? I imagine if you are from the USA or New Zealand or Australia or the Republic of Ireland or England you'd each offer very different responses. American football, Australian rules football, rugby union football, rugby league football, Gaelic football, and association football are all vastly different sports. Association football (known as 'soccer' to some) may lay claim to the original use of the word and certainly has more foot-to-ball contact than the rest, but try telling players or fans of the other versions that you find their appropriation of the term 'football' offensive without sounding sanctimonious.
Just as with football, what I think the varied use of the name swing demonstrates is a celebration of a shared heritage and a provenance considered worth retaining.
Lindy hop begat west coast swing, and the evolution of the latter has mirrored that of popular music. Just two decades ago west coast swing was most commonly danced to blues and other genres with a more obvious swing, but as contemporary R&B and pop came to the fore, displacing longer established music from the mainstream, west coast swing adapted to stay relevant.
In comparison, the demise of big band and the advent of bebop almost spelled the beginning of the end for Lindy hop, which obviously relies on a more rhythmically accessible variant of jazz, and it would not exist today were it not for Frankie and retro revivalists. For that I'm ecstatically grateful, but if other dances have had to evolve and adapt to keep people on the dance-floor I think that's a good thing.
Frankie introduced an iconic style of Lindy hop that differed from that of Shorty George and his peers, and decades later, by the time Frankie returned from his war-induced swing hiatus, the new kids on the block were swinging a different way yet again. In fact, Lindy hop has changed notably just in the past 20 years and if you look up Youtube clips of competitions from the 90s, the style changes between then and now are considerable - but it is still Lindy hop.
The same goes for west coast swing, and if you watch the video below of 'Team USA' strutting their best WCS stuff at the US Open in 1991 the Lindy genes are much more obvious than they may be today.
In short, I hope people won't be put off by the swing Pharisees. And hey, if Frankie Manning himself called west coast swing 'swing' (as he did in his autobiography) then who are we to say otherwise!
I'd love people to check out their local west coast swing scene and especially if you're in Belfast! I've seen what can happen in only two years in Israel so if anyone is interested you'll find a bit more information about local WCS classes on our website: West Coast Swing NI, but, in brief: they are on Wednesday evenings, from 7:30pm, at Windsor Tennis Club.
And, as knowing a few people always helps, if any Belfast Lindy hoppers are curious to give it a go, if you come along to class you'll recognise a number of familiar faces as the people teaching and learning west coast swing in Belfast are also pretty much all Swing Belfast Lindy hoppers!
I just shared a post about my recent trip to Galway for Lindyfest 2015 but as much as enjoyed it, my elation was also tempered by the knowledge that it was Paul and Sarah Neary's final fling as the leaders of the Galway swing scene.
They have given so much of themselves to put Galway on the map and to ensure that it is at the vanguard of the Irish swing revival, and considering Paul and Sarah's pioneering stewardship in a popular art-form I'm sure I'm not the first to draw the obvious parallels between them and another somewhat prominent power couple: Jay Z and Beyoncé.
Much like Jay Z and his Brooklyn origins, Paul also hails from a modern hipster mecca (Melbourne) that's undergone notable redevelopment from the comparatively unfashionable streets he spent his formative days hustling.
Additionally, the establishment, growth and success of Galway Swing (and now Swing Express) has followed an almost identical trajectory to that of Roc-A-Fella and its international subsidiaries. Almost identical.
But global domination can be a lonely thing, so as Paul liked it he put a ring on it: a single lady with a mutual passion from a very talented all girl ensemble who has also demonstrated phenomenal prowess as a soloist. And both have picked up a considerable number of accolades along the way
Paul started Galway Swing 12 years ago and it was there that he met Sarah who has since become his right hand woman and better half and together they have nurtured a swing scene that punches well above its weight despite the other major cities on our wee island, Dublin, Cork and Belfast, all dwarfing Galway by population.
That said, to suggest Galway is only better on a pound-for-pound basis does it a disservice because if the ever reliable meter of Facebook 'likes' are anything to go by, Galway is well ahead of the others on merit.
Size, however, isn't the be all and end all (now now, keep those innuendos in check!) and Paul and Sarah's warmth and fervent dedication has permeated the west of Ireland and is reflected in the earnest ebullience of its swing community.
The high standard of the dancers to be found in Galway (including some of my absolute favourite follows) is another credit to Paul and Sarah's teaching, and for this reason I have no doubt that Galway shall continue to be a joy to visit, but I am of course gutted that they are leaving.
As well as their contribution to the Irish swing family I am also incredibly grateful to Paul and Sarah on a personal level for the encouragement they gave me the first time I met them and on an occasion where I really needed it.
Last year, for my first ever swing weekender and not much longer than a year after I had started learning Lindy hop, I went to the London Swing Festival with Anna and, as well as attending our first pro workshops, this also included our first attempt at competing. It didn't go well.
Anna had introduced me to Paul and Sarah briefly when we had arrived on the Friday night as she had actually started dancing under their tutelage during her time in Galway, but before we could really get chatting, Anna and I were shortly called up for our competition heat.
It was to be an an all-skate (everyone dancing at once) which calmed the nerves a little, but having been asked to fan out across the floor we found ourselves at the front.
The dance was going well enough and then, as planned, we thought we'd throw in an airstep that we were hitherto pretty confident in, but, for a couple of reasons, it failed utterly and very publicly.
Not only could we not hide behind other dancers, courtesy of being at the front, it just so happened that our heat featured two Blue Peter presenters and so a few BBC cameras were also floating around recording the whole thing for national TV.
After inadvertently creating a move that we now refer to as the 'elegant salmon' and one that is unlikely to appeal to swing purists or anyone with a shred of dignity, we skulked off the floor, hoping it would swallow us up, but Paul made a point of immediately coming up to us and stating that "unlike everyone else, at least you went for it."
If I'd known Paul's significance in Lindy circles I would have been even more appreciative (as a point of comparison this was early enough in my swing career that I was distinctly unawed by the presence of Skye Humphires as I simply had never heard of him) but nonetheless it was exactly the kind of thing I needed to hear when my confidence had just taken a major hit. On top of that, Sarah insisted that we had several dances that weekend when there were plenty of much better leads to be had, and I was also to discover that Sarah is one of the most incredibly fun people to dance with.
Dancing is one of those things where confidence can play a huge role and I have to thank Paul and Sarah for helping me keep mine on that weekend and in my dancing since.
I also have to thank them for their continued support of this blog, as not only did Paul kindly allow me to interview him (in the midst of a busy Lindy Hopper's Delight weekender!) for a piece I wrote on Frankie Manning, Sarah has also been incredibly encouraging and complimentary about my articles, and that truly means a lot.
I'm very sad to see them go but equally I'm very excited to see what magic they can conjure in and around Birmingham, a city almost 14 times more populous than Galway.
I look forward to attending their first big event but now would be a great opportunity to share some information about Paul and Sarah's new classes!
They currently have three weekly classes planned that target beginners and shall hopefully see an exponential explosion of swing in the West Midlands:
Their classes operate on a 'drop in' basis so no booking is required and payment is taken at the door: £7 each or £6 for students and the unwaged. Further information can be found on their website.
And now I suppose there is nothing else for me to do but wish them the very best of luck in their new endeavour! All aboard the Swing Express!!
Some of the faster learners hit a wall after just a few weeks whilst others must pass through it a bit later but I think just about everyone, at some stage early on in their learning, contemplates screaming SCREW THIS! I'M OUT! while making a dramatic exit.
I'm fairly sure it's not unique to swing dancing but as that is the dance family that I'm a part of I hope this post will help some of the new learners appreciate that they are not alone - especially since the current term at Swing Belfast, where I help teach, is drawing to a close and class numbers are starting to drop.
I can remember my own frustrations starting out and they were magnified all the more because when I was first learning swing I was already somewhat competent at salsa and ceilidh dancing.
In the first few swing classes I could write-off my struggles as being normal. I had never moved my feet/arms/body in such a pattern before in my life so I was quite at peace with the idea of not 'getting it' and I reckoned it would come soon enough.
But around my fifth or sixth week of going to classes when I could see some others, who I assumed had started at the same time as me, were having no difficulty at all, all I could think of was "well... if only they could see me salsa dance they'd know I wasn't completely useless."
Pure and simple, it was pride. It sucked to be rubbish, to be near others who weren't, and to be at the bottom of the ladder again after having climbed much higher up a few others (although, if anyone saw me dance salsa now they'd wonder how I could claim to be anywhere but the bottom rung).
Thinking there were other styles that I wasn't completely useless at, and thinking that every time we rotated partners I had a new follow to disappoint, really tested my desire to persevere but as anyone who has broken through the wall can attest: keep going! It's the biggest dance hurdle you'll face!
In a way, these frustrations are a useful bottleneck as they filter out those with too much overt pride. The sanctimonious types who would likely be absolutely no fun to dance with anyway.
But there are plenty of people learning to dance who are naturally quite shy and reserved and after thinking it hasn't quite clicked for them, they decide to quietly slip away, avoiding what they expect to be certain public humiliation. It is those people that I hope will read this and stick at it.
Everyone has to learn from scratch, everyone has misread/kicked/apologised to a dance partner at some stage, and most importantly, everyone is still learning. For a perfect example, check out the most recent videos of your favourite pro dancers and then search for older videos of the same pros and you'll likely see a big difference. And not only in the way they dressed!
Stepping up from complete beginner to the next level is genuinely the biggest step you will take learning swing dancing. Beyond that point you will simply be adding to the concrete foundation you have built over the past few weeks or months as pretty much every other move you learn will be an embellishment or refinement of a fundamental pattern or rhythm that you already know.
And finally, it's worth emphasising that social dancing is where the learning and the fun really happens! There's no point learning a new skill if you don't actually trot it out but more than that, social dancing is where you will start to truly appreciate the hype about swing dancing! I've written before about the fear some people have for their first social dances (and a few tips for how to ease into the social scene) but going to a social dance well and truly obliterates any of these fears.
The dancing is awesome, the music is awesome but most of all the people are awesome and the sooner you realise that absolutely no one in the room cares who makes a fool of themselves (and the more you get into it you may actively attempt to look ridiculous) you'll wonder why you were so worried in the first place.
This is likely to be the only time I ever endorse Miley Cyrus but she makes a fair point - when you hit that wall, WRECK IT! Just keep your clothes on.
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.
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!
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.
One of the most fun things about swing dancing is getting to try out a completely different era of clothes and putting your own stamp on your look. I'll come to this in more detail in another post but for now I'll just mention the kind of thing people wear to classes.
This goes for lindy hop, east coast swing and west coast swing but the most important thing is to wear something comfortable! Some folk rock up straight after work and are more than happy to dance in a suit whilst others choose to channel their inner Olivia Newton-John and turn up ready to get physical. Either way, there is no strict code and if you are happy to swing and sweat in it then go for it!
The most important thing, though, is footwear. Again, these should be comfortable and should allow a full range of movement that is unlikely to endanger you or others, so girls (or guys), that means no high heels! Boots are also likely to be too heavy whilst new trainers can sometimes provide too much grip which can be dangerous for your knees and ankles.
The best things to plump for are old trainers with well-worn soles, brogues, flats, or if you want to be with the 'in' crowds: lindy aficionados often dance in (sole-worn) plimsolls or Keds whilst the west coast swing collective are big fans of Toms.
If you get really into it, there are a few brands, such as Aris Allen, that specifically make dance shoes, often with suede soles, which let you slide about a bit more but that is something best left until you have grasped the basics. Later on I might even explain how to turn a pair of trainers into dance shoes with some glue and a bit of suede or felt if you fancy a blast at DIY cobbling.
This post is obviously more for someone who has never been along to a swing class but in the hope that non-dancers are reading this then questions like this need to be answered!
The first class I went to at Swing Belfast was in 2014 and had about 16 people. The photo attached to this post is from their beginners' class in October 2015 when close to 80 people turned up. EIGHTY! And that was just the beginners/level 1 class without even considering the improvers/level 2 or intermediates/level 3 classes. I was blown away by the surge in interest that swing dancing has had in Belfast over the preceding year and long may it continue! So, to introduce any would-be newcomers, I'll explain what happens!
First of all, it is not imperative that you turn up with a partner, so that was a huge relief to me as I couldn't convince anyone to come with me to class never mind dance with me! It also turned out that I was not alone in this regard and there were a host of other folk arriving solo. So, when the first calls to 'pair up' were made everyone just grabbed the aspiring lead/follow nearest to them and we formed a big circle around the teachers (that's what's happened in the photo above) who explained what to do for each move which we then practised with our partners. Every minute or so we switched partners so that everyone danced with everyone else. I know not all swing groups rotate partners but I am more than glad that that's how I learnt for a number of reasons.
Firstly, this helps average out everyone's ability and increase it - some people are quicker to learn and so they can actually help their other classmates get up to speed.
Secondly, over-familiarity with the dancing style of only one other person may reinforce bad habits that impair your ability to social dance with others (which is really what swing dancing is all about!).
And thirdly, and most importantly, it's through classes and these rotating learning circles that we get to meet all the other awesome people in our scene! Because swing dancing, like most other styles of partner dancing, is generally less fun solo, and although there is a lot of fun to be had dancing with completely new people (in another post I've discussed the 'dance crush') the most fun comes from grabbing a familiar friend and swinging out to a familiar tune as this takes away the performance pressure and lets you just enjoy it!
USA: the ancestral home of lindy hop, east coast swing and west coast swing
As I've said, the main dance styles I love are lindy hop, east coast swing and west coast swing, but how do they compare to each other?
Of those three, lindy hop is the old grandfather from New York whilst east coast swing and west coast swing are the cousins from opposite sides of the USA that maybe get together at larger family gatherings but otherwise keep to themselves for the rest of the year. I will get into the swing family genealogy in more detail in a later post but for now I just want to explain what sets them apart in practice.
In an overly simplistic sense, the basic steps of east coast swing and west coast swing have a 6-beat count whilst lindy hop has an 8-beat count - although the more you get into it, those rules sort of fall apart but we shall proclaim them as gospel for now! Lindy hop is generally danced to big band jazz and music from the swing era, east coast swing emerged a bit later and so it is popularly danced to similar music to Lindy hop but with doo-wop and rock & roll added for good measure, whilst west coast swing is the incredibly versatile relative newcomer that can be danced to just about anything but mainly comes out to play to contemporary R&B, blues and pop music.
East coast swing is the simplest of the three and the best place to start for a complete beginner as the steps are a lot less complex and the dance is more flexible, in that it can be danced to a wider range of tempos without requiring a huge change in skill. As you can see in this video, east coast swing is primarily a ballroom dance.
Lindy hop is usually danced to the same style of music as east coast swing and the moves of these two styles are completely interchangeable (along with Charleston and others) but lindy hop is a definite step up in difficulty as the footwork is a tad more complex and involves the 'swing out' which is the fundamental 8-beat basic that the style is based on. It is a lot trickier to faster music and also incorporates the aerial moves or 'air steps' that have made it so iconic and here's a video of two of my favourite lindy hoppers: Skye Humphries & Frida Segerdahl.
Although west coast swing has its origins in lindy hop it is often categorised separately as it is the newest of the three and one of the more technical styles as many of the moves are led in a more subtle fashion. It is generally danced to music that favours slower, flowing movement and 'stretch' rather than the up-tempo bounce or 'pulse' that characterises lindy hop or east coast swing but west coast swing can be adapted to just about any music genre or tempo; as demonstrated here by one of my favourite west coast duos of Maxence Martin & Virginie Grondin.
In terms of asking me to pick a favourite it would be like asking someone to rank their favourite offspring - I could probably confess that there are certain favourable characteristics that one has that another doesn't - but I really do love them equally and would encourage people to try them all!
two of the originators of lindy hop: Willa Mae Ricker and Leon James
It seemed fitting to kick off a blog about swing dancing with the title of a song that helped kick off a whole era but Duke Ellington's 1932 record also pretty much sums it up for me.
I'm not really sure what I expected to get from swing dancing. I had dabbled with a few styles ranging from Scottish ceilidh to break dancing to salsa and I enjoyed each in a different way but when you don't need to count the steps and the music just makes you feel the beat... oh boy, that's the stuff right there!
I started taking East Coast Swing classes with Swing Belfast in January 2013 which shortly blended into Lindy Hop soon after, and then, by August 2013, I was convinced to also give West Coast Swing a go (with Swing Belfast's affiliate West Coast Swing NI) and I've since been absolutely hooked on both.
It has also got to the stage where I feel my friends are getting exhausted hearing about it so I hope that by deciding to put my passionate ramblings into a blog I might give my mates a rest and maybe connect with others who share my passion in the incredible and international swing community that I have become a part of.
In fact, the community that swing provides is just as important as although I came for the music and the dancing I stayed for the people. This starts with the Swing Belfast crowd, who have now become some of my closest friends, but I am also someone who loves travelling and I have been able to use swing dancing as an international language to turn up in different cities - London, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Dublin, Galway, Cork, Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, San Francisco, Budapest - meet a whole host of strangers that quickly become friends, dance and hang out.
.jpg "Paul & Sarah Neary from Galway Swing and Swing Express")
