Trinity Swing 2025

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

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

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

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

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

Friday night at Trinity Swing. Pixploration©

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sharon, the pros & the banner. Pixploration©

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

So much for being inconspicuous.

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

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

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

But what a class.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Swingterfell: swing is coming!!

In just a few weeks, Belfast will be hosting Northern Ireland's first ever west coast swing weekender: Swingterfell, and to say I'm excited would be a gross understatement.

In order to temper said excitement, I thought I'd ask the organisers and hosts, Sharon Matchett and Andrew Shellard from West Coast Swing NI, a few questions in the wild hope that a little bit more info about this event would somehow satisfy my impatience.

It didn't, but here are their answers anyway.

Sharon & Andrew, tell us more about Swingterfell! To start with (and for anyone who somehow doesn't know) - where has the name come from? 

A: The idea for the name came from Northern Ireland’s association with ‘Game Of Thrones’ as Northern Ireland is the principal filming location for the show and Sharon and I are big fans! So we just combined ‘swing’ and ‘Winterfell’ (the name of the most iconic castle in Westeros)! And as part of our event we have arranged a Game of Thrones tour that visits many of the shows settings located across Northern Ireland.

Well the swing community does seem to love a good pun when it names events! What about the pros and DJs – who are they? 

A: As well as myself, the other pros are Kevin & Aggie Town from London, England, and Estelle Bonnaire from Montpellier, France. Kevin will also be DJing alongside Sharon and I.

If not just for the dancing, why should people visit Belfast?

A: I'd say, the weather obviously is the best all the time (not) haha. More seriously, Belfast has a lot of istory to offer, both recent and older, as well as great food and scenery. The Titanic museum is definitely worth a visit.

And Lonely Planet just rated Belfast as the world’s Number 1 place to visit in 2018 so there's that! 

Swingterfell's hosts: Andrew Shellard & Sharon Matchett

What about who or what has influenced your dancing?

A: I have been influenced by all sorts of dances. I love watching the creativity of hip-hop, so I watch groups like the Jabbawockees or "Les Twins". I also watch Lindy hop (William & Maeva) and Carolina Shag (Brennar Goree) for some more different flavours. In WCS a lot of people inspire me, but if I had to give a top 5 I would say: Kyle Redd, Benji Schwimmer, Maxence Martin, Virginie Grondin, and Ben Morris. Although I’d also like to add Michael Kielbasa and Maxime Zzaoui to this list. As well as Sarah Van Drake.
Andrew, your dancing suggests you know how to count but that is more than five.

And what about your dance background and influences, Sharon? How did you end up in WCS? 

S: Well I actually don't have that much of a dance background. I didn't start partner dancing until I was in my 30's. As a kid I was a figure skater until about 14. I was a national champion and I started training for the Olympics, but alas that was not to be. I may have had a very long gap between but I would but my balance and spin technique firmly down to my skating days.

I had started to learn modern jive as something to do with my husband, you know, like a date night. I however never do things half-heartedly and so began to search YouTube for dance videos, this is when I saw Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollman! I eventually after a couple of years looking in NI found a class and the rest is way too long to go into here!

Jordan and Tatiana continue to inspire and influence me, but I would also add people like Jennifer DeLuca and Sarah Van Drake.

Kevin & Aggie Town and Estelle Bonnaire

And you, Andrew, came to WCS from quite different styles – has this helped or hindered your dancing? 

A: Yes, I have a background in Boogie Woogie and Rock n' Roll and that helped me in many different aspects. As I was competing at a high level in these dances, it taught me how to work, how to be organised and disciplined to get to where I wanted to go in terms of "dance level", but more precisely it helped me with a lot of different aspects within the dance such as frame, musicality, footwork and creativity.

You have come to us from Lyon, which has arguably the biggest WCS scene in Europe - why did you leave?! 

A: Yes Lyon has the biggest in Europe by far. I left to experience more than just ‘teaching’, I wanted to contribute to the growth of WCS somewhere in the world that didn't have the access to so many influences. And I can tell you now, that growing a community is way harder than trying to teach or inspire people to dance! It is a different job entirely but it is definitely worth it!

Sharon, were you the one who convinced Andrew to move here?! 

S: Ha ha! I don't think he needed convincing. Andrew had come to NI for a weekend event that I had organised and our friendliness and charm clearly won him over! He certainly didn't come for the weather. On a more serious note though, I was really shocked when he told me he was going to move here, I couldn't really believe it was happening until he showed me his one way flight to NI. I am incredibly grateful that he did.

So, Andrew, why was it you chose our beloved Belfast?! 

A: I came to Belfast for different reasons, but I would say that the main ones were the people and their incredible sense of welcome, and also because I wanted to get to live in an environment that feels relaxed and easy going, and NI offers all of that and more.

Dawhh...we love you too...

Clockwise from top left: The Dark Hedges (a.k.a. 'The Kingsroad'), the Titanic Museum, Belfast City Hall, the Giant's Causeway

This all said, the scene obviously existed before Andrew arrived so, Sharon, what have been some of the biggest challenges in establishing a scene in a small country and in preparing for this event? 

S: WOW, that's a biggy. The West Coast Swing scene has been a labour of love and I would emphasise the word LABOUR. No one knew what WCS was, I myself came by it by accident and spent 2 years searching for a class.

We had a young teacher for a while from the line dance scene, but after a few months he moved on and I didn't want it to end so along with the original teacher Richard Turner we took the classes ourselves. I was under qualified and honestly that probably had a huge impact too, but I spent every penny I could to go away to workshops and learn from the best.

West Coast Swing is also perceived as a really difficult dance so people come along and after a 6 week course of learning the basics, they can either feel like they know it now and move on to something else or feel frustrated that they aren't dancing it at the level they maybe dance salsa or Lindy hop, so they give up! My biggest frustration is the amount of people who have come to classes, made huge progress and with a few more months of classes would begin to really "get it" but they give up before they reach that stage. Fledgling scenes take time, dedication, money and consistency. We would have a social and 5 people would show up! So trying to then have a social the following month would be a bigger challenge as people would say "well there are only five going, so I won't bother". Trying to turn that attitude into "well there were only five at the last one, if I go this time there might be six" is by far the hardest part.

You've plenty of local events under your belt but how does this one compare? 

S: Well it's really not that different from an organisational point, there was just more fear of the unknown. Will people register? Will students who have been dancing for six months understand that we are bringing world-class teachers to Northern Ireland for their benefit, to give them a flavour of an international event and that hopefully afterwards they will not only have gained lots more skills, practice and love for WCS, but also feel what it's like to belong to this amazing world-wide community.

And how proud are you that NI is finally hosting its first ever swing event?!  

S: I think I will wait until after the event to see if I can say I'm proud, but I am certainly very excited! Oh and nervous!

Finally, Andrew, Belfast has a strong Lindy hop scene, what tips do you have for dancers with a Lindy background who are considering giving WCS a go?

A: Well WCS and Lindy hop are so close as dances and have the same kind of mechanics in terms of patterns and musicality ‘builds’. It is not hard for a good Lindy dancer to be decent at WCS after only a few classes. The major tip I would give, is just relax, come along and enjoy dancing to different kinds of music!

speaking swing with an accent

I refuse to apologise for puns.

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.

Budding Belfast: swing is snowballing!!

Attendance at one of Swing Belfast's weekly classes

Last Saturday night I was at our first social of 2017 and as things started to heat up I noticed that dance floor space was at a premium. This may not be rare at many events and rarely is it welcomed at any, but seeing it in Belfast made me feel incredibly proud as it was proof that our scene is very clearly growing.

We have successfully hosted events in and around Belfast for the past few years where there have been north of 120 people trying to find space on a large dancefloor whilst a live band provides the soundtrack. But such events occur only 3-4 times a year and the bedrock of a scene is not the occasional big night out, when the swanky corner of your wardrobe is perused - no no! 'Tis the humble weekly social that provides the bread and butter of a healthy swing diet!

The weekly social is when someone's mp3 playlist is on shuffle (DJ optional) and folk are bouncing onto the dancefloor to practice everything they've recently learnt or perhaps they are taking the opportunity, drink in hand (and some freshly baked desserts if doing it the Swing Belfast way!) to really get to know others in their home scene.

For much of the first year after I started dancing in Belfast, we didn't have regular socials and actually getting to practice was entirely dependent upon you being free on one of those rare nights that an event reared its lovely head, or upon nabbing a partner with whom you could meet up outside of class.

But now, in the year that I celebrate my third swingaversary, we have regular social dancing every week and our scene is in rude health.

I should clarify that I'm not trying to take credit for my scene's growth but merely sharing that I have witnessed its genesis first hand: Lindy hop classes have gone from 6-8 people to 60-80, from one class a week to four, west coast swing numbers have quadrupled, we've seen the creation of our first regular monthly social, the addition of weekly mini-socials after classes, the establishment of a second monthly social, and now we are surging towards the delightful dilemma that soon we may need to find a bigger social venue.

It. Is. Incredible!!

And on top of that, a further measure of our scene's evolution shall be proudly on display at the Birmingham Bounce in March this year when Swing Belfast shall be represented by around THIRTY dancers - and that, once again, makes me swell with pride.

I have been to quite a few events over the past couple of years and as much as I have thoroughly enjoyed myself when flying solo, a lot can be said for travelling in a crew.

Having a few familiar faces by your side as you assess an unfamiliar dancefloor (especially when your confidence matches your ability and neither are high) can be immensely comforting whilst the craic to be had from four close friends sharing a room (when it really only has enough space for two people) is something else.

But I have yet to attend an event beyond Ireland's shores with more than three other Belfast dancers, so the idea of rocking up at the Bounce with about six times that number is hugely exciting for the following reason:

I choose the events I go to, not just because the teachers are good or the host city is interesting, but because I've met amazing people at previous events who left me thinking that I absolutely had to visit their home scene.

So considering how many brilliant Belfast ambassadors we shall have in Birmingham, I am well and truly stoked that others may think the same way and start to wonder when they are going to visit our home scene.

9-10th April, All-Stars Andrew Shellard & Hailee Lopez are coming to Belfast!

Next weekend, Andrew Shellard and Hailee Lopez will be in Belfast for a weekend WCS workshop and I am stoked!

Scenes simply don't exist without the serious commitment and enthusiasm of local teachers but it's hard not to get a little excited when you get a visit from a couple of top international pros!

Andrew hails from Lyon, France (what do they feed the west coast swing dancers in that city?!) and has been immensely supportive of our nascent scene in Northern Ireland and as he has friends in high places Andrew is bringing Hailee with him also an all-star dancer and all the way from from Kansas, USA.



For anyone unfamiliar with the title 'all-star', west coast swing dancers are classified by ability and consistently good performances in international competitions are needed to advance from one classification to the next. All-stars are at the top of that tree, having moved up from advanced, intermediate, novice and newcomer, so the significance of having two of them teaching in Belfast cannot be understated!

This will be Andrew's third visit to Belfast and Hailee's first but what makes me all the more appreciative of their visit is the financial compromise both of these guys are making by coming to such a small scene.

There are few pro WCS dancers who can or will enjoy the longevity and financial success of your Jordan & Tatianas (for those reading through Lindy lenses, think Skye & Frida, except imagine they have been dancing professionally since the age of 14!) so it is not a career choice anyone makes for the money.

Andrew & Hailee could teach anywhere and no doubt will have had bigger offers to do so, yet they have agreed to come to Belfast to help us along a little more and we could not be more appreciative.

This is especially thrown into sharp contrast with the recent visit of a Lindy hop pro who, whilst was within their rights to charge as they did for their classes, could have been more sympathetic to a smaller community when it came to their superfluous expenses. So a massive MASSIVE thanks to Andrew & Hailee for their obvious love of west coast swing and a desire to give the little guys a leg up!

More information about the event is on the Facebook page but here it is in brief!

There are two levels with each costing £30 for 3½ hours of class. The first is 'Fundamentals' and is for those starting from scratch or wanting to work on the key moves again, and 'Level Deux' which will involve an obvious step up, and it is also possible to take both levels (7 hours of class) for only an additional £10.

To sign up, follow the instructions on the Facebook page or click here.

See you next weekend!

The SwingSlate Awards: 2015 in Review

Maybe next year, Leo. Maybe next year...

March is just about to saunter off and April is chomping at the bit to get started yet here I am, finally, getting around to writing my review... of 2015.

First of all, I am sorry for leaving you in the lurch. I had most of this article already typed out in my mind well before December but the end of last year also brought with it two hugely significant moments in my personal life and caused me to rearrange my priorities.

On one hand, I met someone who I'm hoping will play a central role in my future, but on the other was the gradual and devastating loss of my grandfather who was absolutely central to the entirety of my past and will continue to be the model for my future self.

That's a pretty heavy statement to kick off an otherwise trivial article but I wanted to share nonetheless as it was for these two very different but important reasons that my spare time, when I normally write my articles, was otherwise occupied. But now, lets get things back up and running.

As far as swing dancing goes, I honestly don't think I'll ever top 2015. I brought in 2015 swinging out in Calgary, Canada and then departed for 2016 whilst teaching a group of friends the Charleston Stroll in Metzingen, Germany. In between I visited 16 countries, swung in 11 of them, attended 10 international events and I'm willing to bet a hefty sum that I'll never have another year like it ever again.

However, and despite all my raking around, last year didn't involve any hefty sums at all.

To begin with, at the start of last year I was given an obscene amount of unwanted airmiles that had to be spent before the end of October or they'd expire, so rather than blow them all on a single big trip I decided to see how many little weekends away I could squeeze in. Apparently, quite a few.

Once February was out of the way, I didn't pay for another flight all year, and add in that I had won passes to a couple of events and that I was fortunate enough to also be hosted by local dancers at several of these, the cost for my year of swing bliss actually wasn't too bad after all.

And on top of it all, and easily the highlight of my year, I was awarded a Frankie Manning Foundation Ambassador Scholarship that included an all expenses paid trip to Herräng Dance Camp.

I've reviewed most of the events I went to last year (a few still need written up!) so I won't go into any major detail again, although you can follow the links if you're curious, but I thought I'd at least try to put together an award list of sorts and I've arranged them by style.

Lindy hop

events attended
Galway Lindyfest
Herräng Dance Camp
Paris Swing Workshop
Dublin Lindy Exchange
Oxford Lindy Exchange

teachers
Norma Miller • Ryan Francois • Thomas Marek • Max Pitruzzella • JB Mino & Tatiana Udry • Henric & Joanna Stillman • Mattias & Hanna Lundmark • Peter Strom & Naomi Uyama • Vincenzo Fesi & Katja Hrastar • Mikey Pedroza & Jo Hoffberg • Manuel Micheli & Serena Rizzo • Nick Williams & Sylvia Sykes • Juan Villafañe & Sharon Davis • JeongWoo Hong & Crystal Lee • Anders Sihlberg & Marie N'diaye • Trisha Sewell & Martyn Nelson • Lucille Pinteaux & Marcos Agote • Skye Humphries & Frida Segerdahl • Nicolas Deniau & Mikaela Hellsten • Adam Brozowski & Valerie Salstrom • Remy Kouakou Kouame & Ramona Staffield

favourite event, teaching: Herräng Dance Camp, Sweden

It has the world's best teachers in one hallowed location. That cannot be topped.

favourite event, social dancing: Herräng Dance Camp, Sweden
It attracts some of the world's best students and when there aren't classes there are parties so you can pretty much dance 24 hours a day. Add in that you don't have the fear of work starting in 48 hours (in comparison with weekenders) and this place was just immense! Heaven on earth.

favourite teachers: Mattias & Hanna Lundmark
close contenders: Vincenzo Fesi & Katja Hrastar, JB Mino & Tatiana Udry, Peter Strom & Naomi Uyama

Considering the number of pros that I took classes from last year, this was not an easy decision, but with special mentions for the three couples also listed, Mattias & Hanna just snuck to the top of my list.

There is no denying that almost all of the pros appear very much still in love with their trade but some show it a lot more than others and Mattias & Hanna are one such example. Add in that they added a lot of theory and history to their classes, which were also challenging and yet still really fun (a 1-2 combo that not all pros seem to manage), and they were my favourite Lindy hop teachers of 2015.

favourite scene visited without event: Calgary, Canada
These guys made a solo traveller feel incredibly welcome and helped me kick off 2015 in style at a brilliant NYE party with swingouts and a lot of craic.

my favourite events & teachers of 2015, clockwise from top left: Herräng Dance Camp, Mattias & Hanna, HolyLand Open, Jordan & Tatiana

West Coast Swing
events attended
Budafest
Italian Open
Swingtzerland
Holy Land Open
Midland Swing Open

teachers

Coleen Man • Cameo Cross • Andrew Shellard  • Joshua Sturgeon • Arthur & Colleen Uspensky • Maxime Zzaoui & Torri Smith • PJ Turner & Tashina Beckmann • Ben Morris & Jennifer DeLuca • Kyle Redd & Sarah Vann Drake • Jang Wilder & Sylvie Burgnard • Lee Easton & Fabienne Henshall • Michael Kielbasa & Catriona Wiles • Maxime Zzaoui & Virginie Massart • Jordan Frisbee & Tatiana Mollmann • Maxence Martin & Virginie Grondin • Chuck Brown & Nataliya Kharlanova • Mario Robau & Melanie Stocker Bucher • Brennar Goree & Crystal Lambert-Auclair • Myles Munroe & Tessa Cunningham Munroe • Alexandre Peducasse & Christelle Antenucci

favourite event, teaching: Budafest, Hungary
Without even considering the fact that it's hosted in a beautiful 5* hotel that you can stay at for buttons, the teachers at Budafest are some of the best, the event is one of the biggest and it's one of the very few events that can actually manage student ability levels properly.

favourite event, social dancing: Holy Land Open, Israel
I cannot glow about the warmth of this event enough. The passion of the Israeli WCS community for their dancing is one thing but I don't know another scene that makes you feel quite as loved. Dances do not end with forced smiles, they end with hugs and genuine thanks. Every time. I. Love. This. Place.

favourite teachers: Jordan Frisbee & Tatiana Mollmann
close contenders: Maxence Martin & Virginie Grondin
Jordan & Tat are regarded as the Greatest Of All Time for a reason and their teaching isn't too shabby either! Maxence & Nini consistently give more individual attention to the students in their classes than any other pro couple I've learnt from, which really cannot be appreciated enough, but as I happened to be at two different events where they taught the same class, Jordan & Tat just nick it as every class I had with them was something new to me.

favourite scene visited without event: Reykjavik, Iceland
Maybe it's because I think this city has a lot in common with Belfast's nascent WCS scene, as it's passionate but small and friendly and not the easiest to get to from the major European swing hubs, but I really enjoyed my visit to Reykjavik and hope to get back again soon!

Additional Awards
overall highlight
receiving a Frankie Manning Ambassador Scholarship (it couldn't have been anything else!)

favourite pro moment
dancing with Katja Hrastar (Lindy) at Herräng and getting to see those swivels first hand

biggest pro fail
lacking the testicular fortitude to dance with Virginie Grondin (WCS)

best live act
Hot Sugar Band (Lindy). These guys are insane. Their performances were effervescent in the extreme and they 'overstayed' their allotted time at Herräng by a measure of hours. Immense.

best DJ set
Remy Kouakou Kouame's (Lindy) stint on Slow Drag night at Herräng was the funkiest set I've ever swung to. Utterly incredible music and I am devastated I didn't have Shazam on the rip!

favourite songs to dance to
Trying to choose only one song is impossible, and especially for WCS where I have a real love for so many (especially anything by Sia, Bieber, Ed Sheeran, and Sam Smith), but I've gone for three each... for now... and I feel inspiration for a much larger playlist-based article coming on...

Lindy hop: Charlie Barnet - The Right Idea  • Lionel Hampton - Lavender Coffin • Amos Milburn - One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer

West Coast Swing: James Bay - Let it Go • Betty Who - Missing You • Ellie Goulding - High For This/Omega Remix

favourite venue: Folkets Hus, Herräng.
close contender: Oxford Union, England
I don't think there is a more iconic building - still standing - in the Lindy hop pantheon, than Folkets Hus, however, getting to dance in such an historic venue as the Oxford Union at OLX was not far behind.

saddest moment: Paul & Sarah Neary leaving Galway
To see the progenitors of swing in Ireland leaving our Emerald shores for life anew in Birmingham was tough but I'm excited to experience their new scene in Brum soon!

most bizarre dancefloor moment: dancing off a girl's bra
It was Belfast Culture Night, it was a pretty up-tempo Lindy number and we had much of the floor to ourselves. We set off at a rare pace and fairly early in the dance, one of my partner's shoulder straps came loose on her bra. She rejected my offer to pause so she could fix it and instead, with a quick flick, she had the strap off and flung to her friend in the corner. A few moments later, and perhaps unhappy at having to do all the work on its own, the other strap also gave up and was immediately discarded in a similar fashion.

The tempo, however, was unrelenting and the whilst the main bit of the bra was doing its darnedest under the circumstances it apparently wasn't doing enough and must have been causing some discomfort because before I knew it the whole thing was whipped off; all without my partner losing connection or breaking rhythm.

and finally...
Reading this article, it sounds like I've had a brilliant time zipping about the place to learn from pros who do nothing but dance, and that's true, but it would be remiss of me not to give a massive thanks to my teachers in Belfast who also taught me both Lindy hop and WCS throughout 2015 after putting in full shifts at their jobs that same day: Sharon Matchett and Richard Turner.

There is no doubting the work that the pros have to do to prepare their classes (although for some that doesn't always appear true), but to come up with new class content on a weekly basis is not to be sniffed at.

Thanks also to my regular dance partner, Anna McLister, to Scott & Naomi Magowan for sharing their practice space and a lot of tips, and to Adib Ma'ani-Hessari and Carolyn Timpany for their teaching and event organising respectively !

2016 is already 3 months old but here's hoping it continues to bring great things!

Swingtzerland 2015

our final class of the weekend with PJ & Tashina

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Tomorrow". I thought to myself...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video: Ben & Virginie @ Swingsation 2015

I've got into the habit of posting wee things on my Facebook page but not actually on this blog so this is the start of me addressing that!

And as it is Wednesday (henceforth referred to as WESTnesday... see what I did there?!) I'm sharing a video from an annual west coast swing event in Australia called Swingsation.

The default video I go to when showing people what WCS can look like at its finest is from last year's Swingsation event and features my favourite couple: Maxence Martin & Virginie Grondin. This year, it has has produced another incredible bit of lead and follow action, again featuring Virginie Grondin but this time being led by Ben Morris.

Enjoy.

dance faces

sometimes photos can be less than complimentary

We all have them, they can sometimes reveal what we're actually like to dance with, and as the photo above shows we can absolutely guarantee that our worst ones have been caught on camera.

It's very rare to find someone that holds exactly the same expression throughout a dance or, for that matter, throughout their dancing life, but generally there are a number of default dance faces that are most commonly seen on a dance floor. Males and females alike.

McDonald's Eyebrows - the beginner's giveaway, the look of fear may be obvious or only nuanced but it is almost always accompanied by a well arched 'brow. Commonly an indicator of a first social dance but generally just suggests a lack of confidence. The altitude of the eyebrows is directly correlated with experience and, much like the balls of a pubescent boy, they drop with time.

Shy Guy - it doesn't matter how incredible some dancers may be, they inconceivably still lack confidence. Their extravagant solo flourishes are as rare as their eye contact but that doesn't mean they aren't 100% focused on you or incapable of giving you the best dance of your night. Ephemeral glances and simpers are worth a fortune and they're always gracious. (geek points if the name reminded you of these chaps)

Sexyface - these folk crack me up. There's usually a subtle duck-face vibe with the lips slightly pouted, and eye contact is either sporadic or constant but always intense and invokes Lauren Bacall at her coyest. Sometimes this actually looks demure but more often than not they're trying so hard to smoulder it looks like they've just awoken from a stupor sucking lemon rind. Fairly uncommon in the Lindy hop community but slightly more prevalent in west coast swing and salsa/Latin circles.

Monolith - when I say their faces appear hewn from stone I'm not celebrating a flawless bone structure but instead suggesting that they resemble the expressionless Moai of Easter Island. It's not immediately clear why they dance as they don't appear to enjoy it or to be peacocking for a mate, but yet they still get up for as many dances as the next guy. Sometimes the default dance face of pros who are social dancing out of obligation or self-promotion rather than desire.

Smilers - completely self-explanatory, these folk just exude joy for their dancing, their partner, the music, life in general. Without question, smilers are the most fun to dance with because they offer the simplest and most satisfying form of feedback you can get during a dance. Even if they smile at everyone for the entirety of the night, and not just because you did something awesome, a smile across the face of a partner is a confidence builder that never fails to put a spring in my step. I love these guys and thankfully they are the most abundant!

Divas - immeasurably worse than sexy face and the pure embodiment of pretension. You're not good enough, not hot enough or simply not French enough (I once danced with a girl who infamously only 'turns it on' for the Gauls). Although the sexyface types may not always offer eye contact they at least focus on you, but the divas would rather look beyond and around for someone more befitting of their status to rescue them from boredom - despite the fact that divas are almost always only barely above average dancers. A rare species but sadly not yet extinct and demonstrating a frustrating penchant for survival in every dance habitat.

Eye Contact Max - sometimes this is just a cultural thing (I've found it to be especially common with Central and Eastern Europeans) and sometimes the face can be otherwise entirely neutral but holy good heck: these people!! As someone brought up in a culture where staring is discouraged, to find yourself the sole object of another's fixation for a few minutes can wreak all manner of mischief within. I appreciate that paying attention to your partner can improve the connection and therefore the dance, but to the inexperienced social dancer unaware of these cultural nuances, having someone stare at you for an entire song triggers intense inner monologue:

"Is there something on my chin?"
"What's wrong with my hair?"
"I think she likes me!"
"...no, no, I think she's angry!"
"Did... did I mess that up?"
"Has she fallen asleep on her feet? Hellooooooo?"
"She... she is staring... into my Soul!!"

Game Face - comparatively inexpressive from the eyes down but the eyes themselves are completely alive. Sometimes the tongue protrudes from between the lips or pokes against the inside of the cheek with the mouth slightly open; demonstrating supreme concentration. They are utterly focused on their partner, the floor, and the space around them. Also most likely to be accused of staring at their partner's décolletage but, chances are, they're just so focused upon the movement of their partner's core and so lost in the moment that they're entirely oblivious to how said core is furnished.

☺

And additional to the list above there are also a few 'occasional' faces that appear during those special moments where further expression is required:

Whoops! - it's like McDonald's Eyebrows but the whites of the eyes are more prominent and the chin is frantically attempting to recede into the neck. Most commonly occurs after an errant kick-step, flailing arm or accidental inappropriate hand placement. If they've also got flaming red hair then there is an obvious and unfortunate comparison.

'Daheckuat?! - this expression can flash across the face of even the calmest of dancers irrespective of ability or affability, but simply implies that they have no idea what their partner is attempting. There may be fear involved, it could be contempt, but if the eyebrows and the lips simultaneously make a lunge for the nose it's because they're asking the person opposite "what the heck are you at?!"

Nailed it - it doesn't have to be a super advanced move or pattern, just one that three minutes ago you thought was beyond you, but that don't matter: you just owned it. Maybe your entire dance was on point, but you're far too cool to smile: eyebrows high but eyelids low, rest of face impassive. If this was a movie, you'd be calmly swaggering towards the camera while stuff explodes in the background.

Derp - never actually apparent on the dancefloor but very obvious when the photos hit social media. Some people (myself included) are capable of some of the most ridiculous facial contortions: eyes focused on opposite walls, forehead and neck trying to out-crease each other, all framed between inverted jazz hands while trying to bite my own ear. So hawt.

And I'm willing to bet at least a couple of you attempted to recreate some of these descriptions while reading!

why I love west coast swing

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!