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.
It's incredibly encouraging to hear about the success stories of nascent scenes, and especially in Africa where the rhythm roots of Lindy hop and jazz run deepest. But another South African community that is undergoing a swing revival is that of Sophiatown: a Johannesburg suburb that was once the nation's beating cultural heart.
To get a feel for Sophiatown's former glory you need only discover its former nickname of 'Little Harlem', but its proudly held reputation for multiculturalism also attracted the attention of the apartheid regime which set about Sophiatown's systematic destruction in the early 1950s.
Off the back of my article with Brendan I was contacted by Kristina Kreul who, along with Mtsembeni Masina, is championing Sophiatown's jazz renaissance and is understandably keen to raise the profile of the project they hold dear.
left to right: Mtsembeni Masina, Kristna Kreul and Sakhile Gumbi
Kristina, I understand you're not from Sophiatown, or even from South Africa - how did you come to be involved?
I'm from Germany (currently living in Berlin) and originally I went to Swaziland with a friend from Sweden, Mia Bergdahl, to help build an amphitheatre for a rural community. Sadly, that project didn't get off the ground for a few reasons so we decided to leave Swaziland and travel around South Africa. As I like travelling and discovering different dances I wanted to find out a bit more about pantsula - a dance from South African townships that I'd seen featured in a short TV documentary. The documentary connected pantsula with the Jitterbug dances of Harlem, New York and as a Lindy hopper that really caught my attention.
How did you meet Mtsembeni and what is his connection to Sophiatown?
On my penultimate evening in Swaziland I went to a show where Swati artists were showcasing their music and poetry - so much talent there! And that´s where I met Mtsembeni - he was from Johannesburg and we soon started talking about jazz music and dance. I'd just visited Herräng for the first time in the summer of 2016 and I told him about Herräng and the history of Lindy hop, and then asked Mtsembeni if he knew anything about pantsula - as it happened he was just the right person.
He loves jazz, studied jazz music for a while himself and is deeply into South African jazz music, and on top of that he had worked as a tour guide in Johannesburg so he offered to show me around Johannesburg if I ever visited. And one week later I did just that so I got to see pantsula first hand and learned that it was born in Sophiatown.
I also got to start learning the dance itself and I have Eugene Maliboho to thank for that! He taught me pantsula and is associated with Move into Dance Mophatong in Johannesburg, whose contacts have been really helpful in getting this campaign going!
I was intrigued about this place that had been called Little Harlem due to the obvious reference to the Harlem that holds such a dear place in the hearts of the swing community and shares a similar history. And just as in the Savoy ballroom, in Sophiatown people of different skin colours would dance together, discuss politics and enjoy music. But as the Apartheid was on the rise the South African government levelled Sophiatown to the ground in 1955 as they pushed forward their racial segregation.
Mtsembeni leant me a lot of books, music, photographs and so much more to get a better understanding of this place. Soon I realised that, with its destruction, most of Sophiatown's culture had gone, and the dances that formerly had a home there no longer had a home anywhere anymore, and I then immediately thought of Lindy hop and its comeback in the 1980s after being forgotten for decades.
And though the reasons are very different I thought, well, if Lindy hop could make a comeback, why should that not be possible for the dances and culture of Sophiatown?
What do you most love about Sophiatown's past and present and what do you see for its future?
Its past is just so full of art and political energy, and there was insanely good music and dance. Hugh Masekela, South Africa´s most famous trumpet player got his first trumpet from Louis Armstrong! Trevor Huddleston, a priest in Sophiatown, recognised Masekela´s talent and wrote to Louis Armstrong and he was sent a trumpet in return! And Miriam Makeba, an icon of South African music, also started her career here.
There was fashion, a special way to dress, that is slowly returning now. There was literature, photography and so much more - all of great importance to today's South African identity. And it was also a very political environment. Nelson Mandela held his first memorable speech there, and it was where people would meet and discuss how to overcome the racial discrimination.
I think I am still very much intrigued by how music and dance were used as a form of protest, as an expression of injustice.
Who else has been involved besides yourself and Mstembeni?
My friend Mia Bergdahl helped us with the development of the project as she is very experienced in cultural development. Sadly she had to leave the project though.
Sakhile Gumbi, a visual artist and dear friend of Mtsembeni, helped out with the graphic design and designed prints that are some of the 'perks' available to those who contribute to our crowdfunding campaign, and as part of our crowdfunding promotional video we were able to get a few big names on board to help us!
McCoy Mrubata is a multi award winning composer and saxophonist who has attained national legend status, and Sibusiso Lerole, 'Big Voice Jack Junior',continues to play the same penny whistle that his dad 'Big Voice Jack' famously played back in the day in Sophiatown and across the world - both are internationally renown South African musicians who have celebrated their connection to Sophiatown and both have featured in our video!
"The Pennywhistlers" by Sakhile Gumbi
The nickname 'Little Harlem' certainly evokes a sense for how lively Sophiatown must have been in its heyday - what similarities were there between the home of Lindy hop?
Yes, it must have been a very vibrant place. People dressed in a special way, spoke their own language created from the different influences of African Languages and Afrikaans, and there were different gangs called the Berliners or the Americans, dressed in funky clothes.
The most obvious link to Harlem was music. Sophiatown was very much influenced by jazz music from the US. Which in the end is music from Africa, so that is kind of a back and forth. And the atmosphere must have been similar, exuberantly showcasing a different kind of lifestyle.
Harlem's Savoy Ballroom was the home of Lindy hop that has now sadly passed into legend - where was Sophiatown's old epicentre and where is becoming the new hub?
Sophiatown´s epicentre was Good Street. That´s where its cinema The Odin stood, which served as a kind of public gathering space and it's something you could compare to the Savoy Ballroom.
There were illegal drinking spots and shebeens that brimmed with life as, at that time, it was illegal for African natives to drink and shebeens were the meeting places - more or less the living rooms of different people transformed into bars, and that’s where everything happened - where jazz musicians performed and people drank and danced and discussed social ills. The most famous shebeen was called '39 Steps' and was located on Good Street.
"Inside Shebeen" by Sakhile Gumbi
And can you tell me about the dancing? Was Lindy hop or jazz dancing popular before apartheid?
The Apartheid regime was officially introduced in 1947 but the racial discrimination had already started well before that. Dance and music had always been a form of protest in South Africa, and I guess that is very understandable as a dancer. Dance and music go beyond words. They deliver a message that can neither be read or heard but be very much felt and understood in the heart.
Even before Apartheid, Sophiatown was already called Little Harlem, and people were already hooked on jazz music and its blend, or should I say its re-blend, with African music and its dances.
Frankie Manning went to see Sophiatown sometime around 2004 but we couldn´t find out any more about it. It still seems that he also wanted to discover the link to the big Harlem in the US.
What about now - I've read a little about the fusion of swing and jazz with African dances, what are pantsula, township jive and marabi like and what are their origins? Do you have any videos to share?
All origins of those dances are in Sophiatown: Township jive and marabi relate a lot to Jitterbug and swing dances from the US but they have their own African dance influenced elements to it. They are not practised any more in the sense of a social dance community but you can see them on stages where people try to reconstruct them from the rare footage that is left of them. We could only find a few people that actually still remember some moves but the footage is mostly lost.
Pantsula is also rooted in jazz dance moves but kept on evolving until now and is still very much practised in South Africa. You can find some videos online but they are not original footage, rather, they are adaptations of what it used to look like. Unlike in the USA, in Africa at that time the same techniques and technology were not widely available to the African people so less footage was taken and most of it has been lost.
Dancing is impossible without good music - is there a Sophiatown 'sound' and who were/are the most iconic past and present artists and bands who provided it?
There definitely is such a sound. It´s very unique music and has recently been getting more attention. It´s mostly called Kwela and it has a very intriguing sound where you just can't stop tapping your feet! Back in the day, the most famous musicians were Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Dolly Rathebe, The Manhattan Brothers, Todd Matshikiza, Kippie Moeketsi, and Dollar Brand amongst others and today´s artists are reconnecting with that music.
Tell me a bit more about the festival itself - what else is it celebrating? Other art forms, famous former and current residents, food?
The festival is meant to celebrate Sophiatown´s cultural heritage as a whole, meaning its music, dance, literature, fashion, photography and atmosphere, and we want to bring the celebration to the place where it all started: the streets of Sophiatown. Today theses streets are mostly inhabited by white settlers but you can still fell the vibe when you walk around. It's still a very special place.
On the day of the festival, people will be able to experience Sophiatown through the arts that once made it famous. There will be dance workshops where people can learn some Township dance move and there will be literature readings that will give people an insight into what life used to be like. There will be a guided tour through the Sophiatown of today by Mbali Zwane, who was one of the first people to teach about Sophiatown´s cultural heritage and she will take visitors to the places that once played such an important role in Sophiatown, like the place where the Odin stood or where famous shebeens were standing. Her tours are very much alive and full of theatre and singing performances.
We will serve authentic food and the day will end with a big concert featuring famous South African jazz artists showcasing the music of bygone days with photos in the background illustrating how things were. Aaaaand hopefully people will feel inspired enough by their experiences that they will practise the moves they will have just learnt!
And perhaps most importantly, can anyone help make this happen?
Sure, we still have our crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo going on, where people can support us in any way that they can - either by making a donation or by purchasing 'perks' such as art prints, bags or CDs from McCoy Mrubata - and all of these contribute directly to our campaign.
Filming the crowdfunding video: Mtsembeni chatting to McCoy Mrubata, who is sat beside the statue of Sophiatown legend Kippie Moetketsi
Even if people could share and like our Facebook page it would help us get greater recognition and if they know anyone who is funding these kind of projects please help us get in touch! We feel that Sophiatown holds so much cultural heritage that we think it is more than worthy of getting the title of cultural world heritage by UNESCO. So if anybody has contacts leading there please let us know!
We also hope to get attention for the dances and also for Lindy hop. Murial and Brendan from Cape Town are trying to build a Lindy hop scene in Johannesburg but as yet, even in Africa, most of the dancers are white so we hope to attract more people of different backgrounds with the powerful interracial history of Sophiatown.
We want to celebrate the life and legacy that Sophiatown and its people left for us: to keep the spirit of Sophiatown alive for generations and generations to come; to discover and acknowledge.
Mayibuye iSophiatown!
Kristina with Vuyiswa Ntombela from Fruitcake Vintage and Eugene Maliboho.
I'm extremely grateful that Kristina not only got in touch to tell me about this amazing project but also that she took the time to share so much about its backstory and future direction. I shall be paying close attention to the resurgence of Little Harlem! Best of luck!
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.
I was incredibly chuffed to be offered a copy of Scott Cupit's book and asked to review it purely on the strength of this blog and I'm even happier to report that the book itself was a joy to read. The book's subtitle suggests that an insight on "Fashion, music, culture and key moves" is offered, which is an ambitious claim to make considering that tomes could be written on each of those topics individually, but Swing Dance eschews esoteric language in favour of making this book accessible to non-dancers and beginners whilst offering more than enough to keep experienced dancers and vintage enthusiasts interested.
It kicks off with a foreword by Deborah Meaden and touches on her nascent love of swing dancing that I am sure resonates with many, before Scott offers an insight into his personal journey from Melbourne, Australia, to establishing and running the largest swing collective in Europe, Swing Patrol, courtesy of a chance glance of Lindy hop at Disneyland, California, in 1997.
Scott's passion for swing is evident throughout and having met Scott (interviewed him for this blog!), attended his workshops, and danced in some of the venues and with some of the people he mentions, everything felt even more engaging, but that is only a personal bonus as this book would speak to anyone who picked it up. In fact, Scott's style of writing sets the scene for what's to follow as Swing Dance reads like a transcribed conversation of tips and history, rather than some staid 'swing' textbook in stiff prose.
Leafing through it reveals that there are only two instances of back-to-back pages of solid text as every other page is peppered, if not actually covered, with images that showcase the rich culture of swing dancing: from halcyon snapshots of bygone eras to photographs of contemporary dancers and venues. Furthermore, by using QR codes the book provides access to an archive of short videos that accompany each of the dance tutorials.
The dances given special attention by way of these tutorials are the Charleston, Collegiate Shag, Balboa, and Lindy hop, along with a few additional jazz steps thrown in, and it would be possible to pick up this book having never previously tried any swing dances and give one or more a fair go. And if you've learnt the steps then you need some music to practice to, and each section also provides a playlist of suitable songs.
As well as knowing the dance steps, however, plenty in the Lindy community would also tell you the importance of looking the part, and Swing Dance does an excellent job of outlining the key bits of kit needed to rock the 1920s, 30s, 40s or 50s vibe from shoes to hairstyles and everything in between, with plenty of photos again offering visual inspiration.
Finally, and quite importantly, the book regularly references the progenitors of swing, whether dancers or musicians, to ensure that the reader's education extends beyond footwork and fashion, and shines the spotlight especially brightly on Frankie Manning and Norma Miller - the two individuals to whom the global swing family owe the most.
Just as the cover threatened it would, Swing Dance provides a concise and elegant overview of the "fashion, music, culture and key moves" of swing dancing with Scott's personal and informative writing style ensuring that it remains engaging throughout, and whether you're a complete beginner looking to get a head-start, or a more regular dancer in need of brushing up on your historical or sartorial swing knowledge, I can easily see Swing Dance becoming your go-to handbook.
Dom Eagleton & Jimmy Valentine demonstrating that there are few obstacles to Lindy hop
During my last trip to Galway I got chatting with a fairly fresh London-based Lindy hopper who was that little bit different to most of the other dancers in attendance, and what set Dom Eagleton apart was something that immediately obliterated any excuse you could possibly hear for not dancing: Dom has only one arm.
I've since had the pleasure of getting to know Dom that little bit better and coupled with his own discovery that one of the much revered Whitey's Lindy Hoppers - Jimmy Valentine - achieved greatness missing another limb (he had only one leg), I decided to get in touch with Dom to ask him a few questions about this discovery and his early steps into the world of Lindy hop.
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So, Dom, how long have you been dancing and where are you based?
I'm so deliriously obsessed with swing dancing that the day I started – 1st September 2014 – is up there with my birthday in terms of its significance. Perhaps this makes me a born again Lindy hopper?! And the auspicious moment was a class taught by Johanna Johanssen and Tony Jackson, so, for teaching a great lesson and getting me hooked on the spot, those two have a lot to answer for!
I live in London so I'm spoilt by the vast number of classes and socials we have here, as well as – just as importantly – a lovely, supportive and super-friendly swing dance community.
What attracted to you partner dancing and swing dancing especially?
I’d like to say that I began learning Lindy hop to further my deeply creative impulses and immerse myself in the bohemian traditions of the swing era... but really I started because internet dating is rubbish!
I know that might sound a bit shallow as there were other reasons, including curiosity about how on earth you do those dazzling spins and turns! But mainly I tried it out as a way meeting people, as even though I share it with 8 million others, London can be a lonely place.
So I went to a class and sure enough I met new people, though little did I know it would also open up a whole new universe and turn my world upside down. I’ve found swing dancing to be a powerful antidote to the social isolation that modern life can bring – so much so that I wonder, only half jokingly, if they should offer it on the NHS. Although I still haven't found a girlfriend through swing dancing so I'm thinking about packing it in and going back to AmputeeFetishDating.com* (joke!).
[*in a selfless act of saving your browser history from a dodgy entry (and born purely of journalistic curiosity), theswingslate can share that amputeefetishdating.com is not actually a real website...]
I imagine lesser mortals would have been put off by such an obvious disadvantage - what drove you to overcome this?
It might seem counter-intuitive but in some ways having one arm gives me an advantage. It basically acts as a spur, making me more determined to get good at things that people might assume I can’t do. When I was a teenager for example, I got massively, geekily into juggling. I became technically proficient and, although I didn't plan it, ended up busking in a Bangkok shopping centre and getting on Thai TV. That's another blog in itself though…
When I first started swing dancing I was also encouraged by the existence of Tim Baggaley, a legend of London's scene who's in the same very exclusive club as me as he likewise only has one arm, although the similarity ends there as he’s been dancing 13 years to my one year. When I first heard about him I felt like I'd arrived at a party to find a guy wearing the same very loud shirt as me, but Tim very kindly gave me a private lesson and a few tricks that I've been dining out on ever since.
I can't think of many other partner dances that have the same physical demands as swing dancing, so why it? The music? The style? The people? Or simply the look of the dance?
Because swing dancing is the most beautiful thing ever invented by humanity, of course! Also, doing it with one arm is probably easier than people might think, as a lot of it has to do with things that have little to do with left hands, like shifting body weight, getting a good connection with your partner and being responsive to changes in the music.
Plus swing dancing is infinite: there’s no limit to the number of moves and variations you can do with two hands, and the same rule applies with one. There are many things I like about having one arm, and one of them is that it forces me, my partners and teachers to be creative – to put our heads together and cook up ways of adapting moves or invent new ones – which is exciting and rewarding.
What aspects of the dance provide the biggest challenge?
Swing outs! Obviously they’re a challenge for everyone, but doubly so for me. If you’ll allow me to geek out for moment – as I’ve no choice but to use my right hand when I bring a follow in from open on a swing out, quite naturally they often rotate anti-clockwise (as if doing a change places) instead of staying facing me. This uncertainty leads to a lot of failed swing outs which, needless to say, is unfortunate given it’s the signature swing dance move.
Some of the finest minds in lindy hop have tried to help me solve the mystery of the one-armed swing out. I’m massively grateful for all the help they’ve given, though I’m starting to think that – short of changing the laws of physics – there’s no way round it, and that it’s more of a case of finding ways to up my success rate than a failsafe solution.
How do non-dancers react to your revelation that you are a Lindy hopper?
Not as incredulously as when I tell them that I used to be a juggler!
This might sound outrageously vain but sometimes I feel sorry for all you two-handed swing dancers, as to stand out from the crowd you have to be exceptionally good. Whereas people seem to take an interest in me just by dint of my being on the dancefloor.
Well, I have spoken to a few follows who danced with you in Galway who were impressed by how well you compensated!
That's very sweet of them to say, although I think they're being generous given I'd only been dancing for six months by the time the Galway Lindyfest happened! I’m never going to forget the glorious pub crawl that a group of us went on after the event, in which we found ourselves swinging out to live pub rock bands that were playing Bon Jovi covers, with locals absolutely loving it and joining in circle jams. The whole atmosphere of those pubs changed when we started swing dancing.
You said recently that you had a chat with Skye Humphries, Peter Strom and Naomi Uyama - what tips did they have for you?
That was a surreal moment! After taking a class with Peter and Naomi at the London Swing Festival, I went up to Peter and said I had an odd question for him: whether he knew any one-armed lindy hoppers in America as I’m on a mission to track them down. He asked why, and I said it’s mainly because I’m struggling with swing outs and that other one-armed dancers might’ve found a solution.
Next thing you know he called Naomi over and they both started performing surgery on my swing out. Then Skye Humphries just happened to be walking past and Peter called him over to help out too. I left the room in a bit of a daze, thinking there can’t be that many people who can say they’ve had a free private lesson simultaneously with these three.
Also, I assume that your recent discovery that Jimmy Valentine was a hugely talented dancer in the Savoy and a member of Whitey's has become an inspiration - does it help knowing others have blazed similar trails with such success?
I was fascinated to learn about Jimmy Valentine – he’s definitely an inspiration. A while ago someone mentioned to me that they thought there was a one-legged guy who danced at the Savoy in the 30s and 40s, but they were hazy on detail which made me think that if he existed, he would've been historically pretty insignificant. So to stumble across a blog about Jimmy by Peter Loggins and find out that not only did this guy exist, but that he was a member Whitey's Lindy Hoppers(!!) and that there are photos and written records of him was a real revelation.
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During my time in Herräng I had the privilege of chatting with one of the original Savoy dancers, Norma Miller, who told me that Jimmy Valentine was immensely popular, not just for his affable personality, but for the respect he gained for overcoming the obvious obstacle before him to become one of the finest dancers in the Savoy and equal to the best on two legs.
From chatting to Dom it is clear he shares many similarities with Jimmy, and although he humbly (and somewhat understandably) would prefer that no such burdensome parallels are made, Dom's fervour for swing dancing evidences a similar refusal to see a disadvantage in his 'disability' as he has instead embraced what makes him unique and is very much using it to his advantage.
Many thanks again to Dom for taking the time to help me produce this article and for the subsequent editing suggestions!
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!
May is Frankie Month and there are a host of ways it is being celebrated, including World Lindy Hop Day on Tuesday the 26th May - the date of Frankie's birthday - but as not everyone can get to Rome for this year's shindig the Frankie Manning Foundation has come up with a couple of ways you can get involved in your own community to celebrate Frankie's legacy and hopefully bring the swing to the unswung!
To start with, throughout the month we are encouraging people to recreate famous Frankie photos and share them on social media with the hashtag #IAmFrankieManning. Choose your favourite Frankie photo, strike his pose, snap and share and they will appear on the #IAmFrankieManningtagboard, or use them as your profile photo for the month of May.
Next up, on Frankie's birthday, take your love of Lindy to work with you and Suit up Swing Style!
Don your favourite swing threads that best capture the spirit of the Savoy Ballroom in its 1920-50s pomp, have your photo taken at work, on the street, public transport, wherever you go, share these with the hashtag #TheLindyLook and hopefully you'll trigger some conversations and spread the love of Lindy!
All photos will appear on #TheLindyLooktagboard and if you can't wait until the 26th or fancy an extra challenge, why not dress the part for the entire month of May!
And if you'd prefer to join in via email, just send any of your Frankie month pics to photos@frankiemanningfoundation.org with the appropriate hashtag and they'll be shared on the FMF website!
Chick Webb - Frankie's favourite resident orchestra leader at the Savoy Ballroom
I recently read Frankie's autobiography and it's a cracking read for anyone who wants to get a better idea of the history of Lindy hop as well as the life of its greatest exponent (and thanks to Scott Magowan for lending me it!) but it also listed a few tracks that were especially prominent in Frankie's memories so I have taken seven of them and have provided a little explanation for why they featured.
• Christopher Columbus • Although Frankie started his dancing career at the Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem it was at the Savoy Ballroom where things really took off and he recalls that, every Saturday when the dance contests were in full swing, 'Christopher Columbus' was the tune regularly chosen by the orchestra leader. The orchestra was usually one of the house bands who don't appear to be on youtube but in this instance I suppose we'll just have to make do with a version by the King of Swing himself, Benny Goodman.
• Clap Hands! Here Comes Charlie • As a great example of kind of rarefied air that Frankie was breathing on a regular basis, he witnessed numerous "Battle of Bands" in the Savoy between some of the luminaries of the Swing Era. Count Basie and Benny Goodman (along with Gene Krupa) occasionally played in the Savoy but in Frankie's mind at least, no one out-swung Chick Webb, and 'Clap Hands! Here Comes Charlie' was one of Chick's most swingin'est tunes.
• Down South Camp Meeting • Frankie shaped Lindy hop in a way like no one else: the crouched posture, breaks, and ensemble routines amongst other things were all his creation but it is air steps for which he is best known and it was during a dance contest at the Savoy where he and Frieda Washington first debuted the revolutionary pattern and 'Down South Camp Meeting' was the tune, played specially by Chick Webb, that accompanied them. Again, I can't find any record of Chick's version so heeeeeere's Benny!
• Posin' • As I have just said, Frankie also introduced 'breaks' into Lindy hop by freezing on a natural pause in the rhythm until the music picked up again and he recalls that Jimmy Lunceford's record 'Posin'' was the one that first gave him the inspiration.
• Stompy Jones • Frankie's first ever stage show happened to coincide with a one-week residency of Duke Ellington. He remembers being reduced to a shivering wreck at the thought of performing with a jazz legend already in his prime and when he arrived at rehearsals and witnessed every other act handing music over to 'the Duke' when he had none to give it didn't help allay any fears of being found out for being an amateur! When asked for music suggestions, Frankie offered a few more familiar Chick Webb tunes as he was unaware of Duke's reputation for rarely playing the work of other musicians but in the end they settled on Stompy Jones and as you can well imagine, Frankie made it work.
• Every Tub • Frankie confessed that, sometimes, he just liked to show off and two of his favourite records for doing that were 'Jumpin' at the Woodside' or 'Every Tub' by Count Basie. Woodside gets a lot of airtime so in this instance I have plumped for the other one!
• Shiny Stockings • And finally, I couldn't possibly make a mini music playlist about Frankie if it didn't include his favourite record of all time: 'Shiny Stockings' by Count Basie.
In one of my first posts I briefly touched on lindy hop genealogy and how it subsequently spawned a huge variety of new styles but I think it's important to mention just exactly how Lindy hop came to exist in the first place.
I'm not going to ramble ad nauseam about everything there is to know - for that there is wikipedia and the joys that an afternoon of clicking on blue links can bring - but on the off-chance your next pub quiz features a round on Lindy hop then hopefully this will have you covered. That said, if anyone wants to see an incredibly thorough family tree of the extended swing family then LindyPenguin offers an fantastic flowchart showing just that.
It's also again worth highlighting that west coast swing owes as much to lindy hop as east coast swing so hopefully no one of a westie persuasion will be put off from reading on!
The two oldest styles perched at the top of the Lindy hop tree, Jazz and Two Step, were popular at the turn of the 20th Century and came from quite different backgrounds and cultures. Jazz drew heavily from African American roots whilst Two Step was more popular within white communities but the evolution of the Charleston was notable for its more mainstream popularity as it was danced in all corners of the USA.
With the advent of the 1920s a style of dancing called the Breakaway had developed in Harlem, New York which combined aspects of Jazz, Two Step, Charleston and other Ragtime dances to create a partner dance that, revolutionary at the time, incorporated the eponymous 'breakaway'. Up to this point, solo dances were... well... solo, and partner dances involved a two-handed connection between lead and follow at all times but in the breakaway partners would switch between the two-handed 'closed' position and a novel one-handed 'open' position.
Then, by the late 1920s and with influences from the Breakaway and original aspects from the Charleston and solo Jazz, Lindy hop got its major breakthrough with Harlem once again front and centre with the jewel of its crown, the Savoy Ballroom, considered its rightful home.
The Savoy hosted regular dance contests and socials and legend has it that it was at one of these events in 1928 that a newspaper reporter happened to ask one of the guys dancing for the name of dance style he was so impressively performing and was given the response: "It's the Lindy hop!"
The dancer in question was George "Shorty" Snowden (nicknamed for his diminutive stature and also for whom the "shorty George" jazz step was named) and he is widely recognised as being one of the originators of the dance as well as one of its greatest proponents - both in terms of his reputation as one of the finest dancers to ever grace the Savoy and his establishment of the first professional Lindy hop troupe: the Shorty Snowden Dancers.
Shorty's inspiration for the name "Lindy hop" came from the (then) recently occurred first non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Paris by Charles Lindbergh. Several newspapers, including the Chicago Daily Tribune*, reported the momentous event with the headline "Lindy hops..." and on Shorty's appropriation it became associated with the new dance style he and others were popularising. [*link to archived copy of that newspaper edition detailing a subsequent trip by Lindbergh to St Louis]
However, Shorty and the rest of the Savoy originators of Lindy hop danced a style that would be almost unrecognisable to many of today's enthusiasts as it showcased obvious ballroom influences through an upright dancing posture and it wasn't until the arrival of a new kid on the block, a certain Frankie Manning, that the now ubiquitous Lindy shape began to proliferate.
Combined with Frankie's obvious talent for dancing, the striking visual effect, according to observers, of a style and stance that made him look like he was 'flying' meant that his new posture was soon the one being replicated throughout the Savoy and his invitation to join "Kat's Korner" - an area of the Savoy dancefloor inhabited by the best of the best - further cemented Frankie's growing reputation.
But what truly launched Frankie into the Lindy hop pantheon was arguably his greatest contribution to this dance style: Frankie's creation of aerial moves or "airsteps" in 1935.
Inspired by the way Shorty often finished dances with his dance partner, Beatrice "Big Bea" Gay (who towered over Shorty by a considerable margin), comically carrying him off on her back, Frankie and his partner Frieda Washington spent several weeks in his mother's apartment with a mattress on the floor (initially raising the suspicions of his mother) devising a way to go one better and safely throw Frieda over his shoulder in time to the music.
A dance contest hosted in the Savoy provided the perfect opportunity for Frankie and Frieda to introduce their genius to the masses and when it culminated in a dance-off with Shorty and Big Bea competing against Frankie and Frieda the stage was set.
Shorty and Big Bea opted to go first but after two neck-and-neck rounds it came to Frankie and Frieda to offer their third and final response and they flawlessly executed the "over-the-back" to send 2,000 Savoy spectators into euphoria.
Frankie also introduced ensemble routines, breaks and a host of other moves to the Lindy hop lexicon that are now commonplace but it was his tireless promotional work in his later life along with other original Lindy luminaries such as Norma Miller - pushing Lindy into new corners of the world and fanning the flames of its popularity - that led to the swing revival of the 1980s that spawned the substantial global swing community that exists today and that makes people like me very happy indeed.
