hey yall, i’ve been a casual but somewhat country swing dancer for a few years now and am moving from a smaller oklahoma town to a larger city in new mexico. i wanna learn other types of swing but don’t know where to start. im aware that country swing is often seen as the black sheep, but what are the other types close to it? basically anything that dressing countryish would be normal
From a couple days ago. Neither of us knew that we were on camera
Was wondering if anyone uses protective gear like elbow guards or kneepads for swing dancing. Thanks for your responses.
We just lost the Spirit de Milan. Over the past ten years I was there almost every Saturday night for their live music swing nights, not mention of course the Swing'n'Milan festival. It really was the place to be for a significant proportion of the local swing dancers. Their lease expired at the end of May and it turns out the owners actually had plans to sell to someone who wants to redevelop presumably for the monetary value rather than maintain it for the cultural and artistic value. Well the area is currently under a lot of redevelopment but suddenly has a lot less value, at least to me. It's a sad day for swing.
There's a petition, more to show support than to achieve anything I suppose: https://c.org/TjQsVJ4Pwq
I go to social dancing events centred around many different dances and I meet a lot of people. I started to wonder how people conceptualise this space which has a very particular social flavour: you interact with strangers in a way that's fairly intimate, or at least requiring some trust and good communication, and then part ways.
I noticed that some people are pretty open with sharing stuff about their life outside of dancing and exchanging contact information with others, while others don't really want to talk much and seem evasive when you ask them anything approaching a personal question.
How private are you when doing social dancing? Is it like every other social call for you or do you want to keep dancing separate from other areas of your life? Is your approach only influenced by your personality or do you have more reasons? I've met people like uni profs at dance events and I imagine there are more cases where you might want to stay semi-anonymous.
(This question was brought by me wanting to befriend someone interesting I met at a dance event and being seemingly unable to because they appear to be such a private person and only want to talk about dancing or music, which I want to respect. It made me think, though!)
Hi BalPals,
I've been dancing Balboa for a couple of months now and have a reasonable repertoire of moves. Still working on leading these confidently socially but there's one sticking point that consistently trips me up.
- Loss of phrasing
I come from a background in playing swing music so I have a really strongly ingrained sense of phrasing (ie. 8 beats, 2-bar call and response). I know ultimately this doesn't matter - there's no harm in leading off a basic on 5. I know the better you dance that this matters even less - the most impressive dancers I know seem to work effortlessly over the top of the phrasing.
The problem is I'm in this awkward valley where I know it feels wrong where I occasionally end up off phrasing, but I'm not quite skilled enough to make it not matter. I know people will insist it really doesn't matter, but while leading complex moves across phrasing wouldn't be an issue, sitting in the pattern of a couple basics for which ALL are off-phrasing is a little more jarring to my brain. It also makes it harder to work in the phrasing of other moves. A lot of more complex additions are practiced, drilled (and expected by follows as a result) as following a full 8-count set of 2 basics. They're used to being led on the corresponding foot (i.e. right on 1 for a follow).
I understand this will come with time but I feel like in the meantime it'd be really useful to understand how to fix phrasing when this happens. It would really make my dances a lot more comfortable and allow me to express myself better without getting 'stuck' in an off-phrasing for the remainder of the song.
I recognise why this isn't often articulated at beginner-intermediate levels because it probably needlessly overcomplicates things. For most beginners, they might not even be aware they're dancing across phrasing but with my background it feels horribly wrong - at least for now.
Whenever I've asked this I've been told 'it doesn't matter' or 'just correct yourself' but the latter in particular means also trying to correct the weight being on the wrong foot which is easier said than done when social dancing. If a follow is expecting a left-foot basic on 5 and I force another right it's understandably awkward.
I understand the solution is usually 4 steps in 4 beats (cf. 3 steps in a 4-count basic) like a crabwalk or a simple freeze for a 4 count but I'd like to understand better:
Is there a resource that's more explicit in these terms? Any initial guidance to getting over this? 'Just work through it' is creating a lot of frustration and I feel is holding me back from being able to express myself.
TIA!
Hey guys, I recently went to an out of town social and realized how tough it can be to get into the rotation when you don't know anyone in that specific event. I try to stay near the floor, look approachable, and smile, but it still felt like a struggle to get asked.
I’m heading to another event next month and really want to make the most of it. Someone mentioned using role signaling clothing to help stand out, and I saw that Feather Three has shirts specifically for that. Has anyone tried using gear like that at big events? Does it actually help strangers approach you to dance, or do you have any other tips for breaking the ice in a completely new environment?
Turns it from routine steps to real movement and flow. I've been working on mine this week while also making sure to stick with my lead and continue the connection. Sometimes musicality leads to back leading if I get too into it haha
Being able to count the music helps so much with that. I agree it's not a “requirement,” but i’ll always recommend people learn when starting to dance. At the very least knowing where the 1 and the 8 is.
I am curious what people’s method is that they use in place of counting?
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Also side note, I’ve noticed that the outfit really does play a part in swing too. Dancing in skirts is very stylish.
Hi community,
Which sreaming provider do you recommend for swing & blues music? I am especially looking for nicely curated playlists for dancing - in our scene, we have open sessions where no dj is present and a good playlist would be enough. Please share your recommendations :)
Hi all! I’m an intermediate Lindy/bal dancer and I am confident while dancing, but before and after the dance I come across awkwardly, *especially* when it’s being videoed. Like I don’t know where to look, don’t know where to put my arms, and look like I’m shrinking away lol.
I’m working towards dancing in competitions, and I think improving this would massively improve how I come across.
Any tips for becoming better at this? What on earth are you supposed to do with your body after the dance is finished but before the video is over? How do you remain standing tall without slouching in embarrassment at attention? 😅
Edit: Guys I'm sorry for not replying to any of the comments but thank you so much for the encouragement! I ended up going and a few other classmates also came ❤️❤️ we had a nice time despite it being a bit overwhelming 😅 the event location is quite cramped and it's hard to dance when 3 other advanced couples are basically taking up half the room haha. But we did our best and hopefully more of us will feel comfortable going from now on ❤️
So i've been doing Lindy as a follow since January and i *think* I'm doing okay. I haven't missed a single class and i genuinely enjoy it every week, despite being anxious even before class. I still have a hard time reading cues from more soft handed leads, and kinda dissociate when tired or anxious, but I'm definitely not terrible.
Still, i have only been to *one* social because of how scared i am to go 😭 it's mainly anxiety about the *people* aspect of it, since there's many strangers and much more advanced dancers there. The only time i went i brought a friend who doesn't dance and we mostly hung out on the sidelines. Once my friend left and the people i did dance with got caught up in other circles i just hung out there by myself watching other people. I got pretty uncomfortable after an hour and left.
Only one friend from class goes regularly, and they're a lead who i really love dancing with, we have great rapport. But they're 23 and have their own friends who also go to the social, while I'm a 32 yo awkward woman lol. I don't wanna be the weird lady who follows them around all evening 💀 i know I'm probably overthinking it but I do also want to be mindful and not make them feel like i need my hand held all night.
In more neutral contexts i am very friendly if you come up to talk to me, but here there's like an added layer of pressure to not be a terrible follow, not to mention being in close contact with a stranger, which is quite hard for me. I know this is super rambly but I'm trying to hype myself up to go this evening, and I'm so anxious i can't even eat lol. It's ridiculous, you'd think I'm going to be presenting my doctorate thesis 😅
Do you have any advice? Litterally anything lol. I've been saying "this week I'm definitely going" for *so long*, i HAVE to do it at some point
...At least until he gets scared and runs to hug his mom
Video credit: Pauldance.tv on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2778583232
Hello,
Our group came up with another fun choreography and performed at Midtown Swings in NYC.
Cheers!
I was just wondering, how are y'all logging your dancing? Dancing? Jazz Dance? Ballroom Dance?
Weird cross over question with landscaping. is there an ideal hardscape, not wood, that is good for swing dancing? I generally don’t have problems but I suppose an irregular surface like stamped concrete or slabs with grass or gravel between would be really bad. Smooth concrete seems the best imho but is aesthetically not very nice. welcome to be referred to any articles.
Okay everyone, it's time for my Camp Jitterbug infodump
First, I hereby declare after the fact that Thursday's T-Town Swing was the unofficial pre-party. We had live music from a local high school jazz band and let me say that those teenagers really know how to jam. That girl playing all the sax solos is gonna be a pro one of these days
This year, I didn't do any competitions or wear any over-the-top outfits like last year. I did spontaneously say "what the hell" about doing the switch contest at the last minute, but it was too late to sign up. No biggie, I'm fine with just social dancing. I also only did the night time events and not the full package because I have a non-dancing family that likes to see me at home enough to know that I still exist
Friday featured a Balboa class. I've tried Balboa in the past and didn't really get it, but this time, I've been doing Kizomba for a year, and the hold and connection are similar, so I understand now. After the class, I drilled the crap out of it, asking everyone I danced with if they'd so some Balboa. So guess what, I'm a Balboa dancer now y'all
Last year, when they announced the solo dance winner, everyone started throwing shoes at her, and shortly after, I threw my hat to her. I didn't bring the outfit, but I did bring the hat, but no one threw shoes this time so I didn't really get the chance to throw it. I did offer it to the winner for the rest of the night, but she turned it down because we've all been sweating enough as it is
On Sunday night, for the band's last song, I managed to get a dance with THE Laura Glaess. She commented on me stretching an ordinary turn over 8 beats or even more, and now that I think about it, it's one of signature moves. The whole idea is to give my followers an opportunity to milk it for all it's worth. I also got a dance from THE Chester Whitmore at the end of the night. By joking with him that a man of his age (70) has no business sitting on a chair and instead belongs on a dance floor
Monday afternoon was soul day and started with Laura teaching about dance circles and her energy level is fucking bonkers (she dropped an f-bomb right at the beginning of the class so I'm doing it too), and one of the most fun dance classes I've ever been in. This last day was motown and soul, and I ended the festival with a dance with the silliest dancer I know (this first time I danced with her, she licked my elbow for some reason) and I always leave dances with her laughing hysterically
Naturally, every day of the festival, I stayed until they kicked us out of the building. That's 2 AM Friday, and 4 AM Saturday and Sunday. If your eyes aren't twitching due to lack of sleep, is it even Camp Jitterbug? I set an all-time high step count on my step tracking app, of over 40,000, and burned thru more than 2500 calories each day according to my fitness tracker. My heartrate peaked at 159 BPM. It was about 30 hours of dancing over these five days
Special recognition to all the switch men that I danced with, we really showed the women how it's dont
As usual, Camp Jitterbug was the highlight of the entire damn year, and 2027 is gonna be even better. Until then, you can find me on the dance floor
When the topic of sexual attraction is discussed in swing dancing, it’s usually something like: “there are two kinds of people
As a single straight male lead who’s been doing Lindy and Balboa for 1.5 years, my experience has been a mix of the two. The attraction I still admittedly feel toward my dance partner friends adds fuel and motivation to dance well, in the way Freud describes sublimation: a deflection of libido into higher pursuits. Do any of you feel this way?
It’s important for dancers to distance themselves from the sexual interpretation because it appears to necessarily reduce the art to an animal mating ritual. But a core thematic element of a partner dance as an artwork seems to me to be flirtation, an encounter with a possible lover. Historically social dancing functioned that way; like dogs sniffing each others butts, a greeting enacted through the body and not through language.
So I don’t think I’ll ever get over how attracted I am to the dancers in my scene. But I think you can have both: you can think of yourself as an actor acting out a flirtation. And flirtation is just that: play without serious intent.
Great resource. There was definitely a few in there I hadn't heard about before