r/SwingDancing

Hello all!

At most, I get a chance to dance about twice a month at a social dance scene, but in the meantime I like to exercise regularly to stay in shape. I currently do a lot of cardio (run a few miles and then hop on a stationary bike for half hour), but wondered if there are some specific exercises that may be more beneficial for dancing. Are there specific exercises you do, or have found, that help keep your "lindy muscles" in shape?

I bought a ticket for my first Lindy festival a few months ago, I've been dancing for about 9 months. When I bought the ticket back then, I was hoping I'd have progressed quite a bit more by now, but honestly I don't feel like I've added that much in the last few months. My vocabulary is still pretty limited, with basically a sprinkle of Charleston added recently.

I'm not doing any of the festival workshops or competitions. My pass covers only the socials, but that's still four consecutive nights, with socials going much longer and later into the night than the usual 2-ish hours I'm accustomed to.

I can have great nights socially and I'm comfortable dancing with people around my level, but put me in a room full of really experienced dancers and my imposter syndrome goes to about 100%, and I end up sitting out way too much. I've asked around and nobody from my beginner peer group has tickets.

Did you feel completely out of your depth at your first festival? And how to manage myself through 4 straight nights of extended dancing? I can't really go too heavy on night 1 anyway because I still have work in the morning.

I keep telling myself I'm basically just going to four really big socials, but the closer it gets, the less convincing that sounds.

This concerns a dancer named Natalie Bell (they/them). Natalie works at Atomic Ballroom in Irvine, CA. They also work / volunteer at Bobby McGee’s Swing Dance Party, California Balboa Classic, Camp Hollywood, Minor Swing, and Shag Summer Camp.

During my time dancing at Atomic, Natalie subjected me to constant sexual harassment. They frequently propositioned me for sex, subjected me to graphic details about their sexual experiences, and offered to show me pornography on their phone. All of this was done against my will. I never asked for this type of attention, nor did I ever reciprocate it. If I tried walking away, Natalie would follow me around the studio, continuing to harass me. When I plainly expressed my discomfort, Natalie would verbally abuse me. Occasionally, Natalie threatened to ban me from the studio for rejecting their sexual advances.

When I brought my concerns to Atomic’s teachers and staff members, they said the owners were already aware of Natalie’s inappropriate behavior. According to them, Natalie had been reported at least a dozen times for various instances of sexual and verbal harassment. The staff discouraged me from filing a formal complaint or speaking to the owners. I was warned that reporting Natalie would only make things worse, which some teachers and staff members knew from experience. Since Atomic was the center of our scene, I had to decide between leaving the community and suffering in silence. Since I was unwilling to walk away from my friends, I chose the latter.

As time went on, Natalie grew even more abusive. When Natalie saw me in the studio, they would sexually harass me in front of my friends, verbally abuse me in public, and spread false rumors that we had been sexually intimate. On one occasion, Natalie publicly humiliated me so severely, I locked myself in a bathroom stall and cried for half an hour. All of this led up to Natalie sexually assaulting me inside Atomic. I would rather not describe this specific incident, as it would be hard for me to explain the circumstances without revealing my identity. This incident was deliberate and planned for a specific time when no witnesses would be present. It left me powerless and dehumanized. After this final incident, I quietly left the scene for my own safety.

This has been incredibly difficult for me to relive and put into words. Natalie robbed me of my community and dignity. I feel a profound sense of loss. I don't want anyone else to experience my nightmare. Thank you for listening to my story. Please be safe.

I got dumped recently and my post-breakup impulse purchase was to enroll in beginner swing dancing lessons. The course will go for 7 weeks and then there are other beginner level classes I can take before moving on to more advanced classes.

I am excited but VERY nervous. I have absolutely zero dance experience (unless you count contra dancing 20 years ago when I was in high school) but I'm looking forward to learning. I've bought dance sneakers and am ready to use them

Any advice for a total newbie? Anything you all wish you'd known before starting?

last year, i tried a dancehall class, and honestly, i think my biggest mistake was not starting from the beginner level. i joined a group that had already had 7 classes.
i felt so out of place. the dance was way too high-energy for me, i kept getting lost during the choreography, and i felt like i was constantly trying to catch up with everyone else. about 15 minutes before the class ended, i got overwhelmed, got upset, and ended up leaving.
i was really disappointed because, despite that experience, i still felt drawn to dancing. i kept putting off signing up for another class, though.
a few days ago, i finally signed up for commercial and sensual. part of me is really excited, but another part of me keeps wondering if i’m making the right choice.
a girl from the studio actually recommended these two styles as a good starting point because they’re more relaxed than dancehall, which made me feel a little better.
at the same time, i’m really nervous and insecure. i want to feel sexy, confident, and comfortable in my own body, but i keep having this thought in the back of my mind that everyone is going to judge me.
i’ve also watched a bunch of videos from these classes, and i noticed that so many of the girls have long hair that they can toss around or run their hands through… and i have a pixie cut …
i feel like i’m literally finding a million reasons to talk myself out of going, even though deep down i really, really want to try it.
were you guys nervous before your first dance class too? what was your experience like?
btw i’m starting classes in september, so if you’ve been through this before, do you have any tips for a beginner?

Yesterday while the band was taking a break I danced to a really excellent recorded song;

now it’s stuck in my head and I can’t find it.

a distinctive part of the chorus is the repeated line “Jackie, Jackie Horner(my best guest at the last name)”

sorry for the lack of information but I hope one of you will be able to save me !

We’re visiting my mom for her birthday and trying to find a good dance to go to. There’s no active Dayton subreddit so I have to ask here. There’s a weekend event in Dayton in July so I know there’s a scene, but no clue where to go. Pls help make a (obviously very young) woman’s weekend!

EDIT: Thanks everyone!

I started learning swing dancing because I wanted to try something different, and i was not sure I would stick with it. The first few classes were a lot harder than I expected. Trying to remember the steps while also keeping up with the music made me feel completely lost sometimes, once I stopped worrying about getting every step right, I started having a lot more fun. There is something really satisfying about finally getting a move that you have been struggling with.

Hi friends, I recently started taking a beginner Lindy Hop class, starting with the 8 count steps as a follower. Needless to say I was terrible! I am an athletic person but I feel like I don’t have enough strength in my calves & I just can’t make my feet & brain connect to do the steps correctly at a fast pace. I’ve watched YouTube videos & I do ok but I feel like the class moves at too quickly & I can’t keep up with the frequent partner changes. Does this mean I’m just not cut out for this or should I have done something else to prepare before signing up for classes? I am feeling very defeated & I am going solo so I don’t have anyone to practice with outside of class. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Hello everybody!

Question to non-beginner follows or even advanced follows - how do you handle dancing with quite a beginner leader for whom even keeping basic step (especially in shag) is already a great challenge?

(Not sure the context will add anything to the question, but anyway - there is a beginner leader whom I started to avoid after a couple of dances since it is exactly the case - he is very beginner. I felt shitty but can't help it)

Hey everyone! Lindy Hopper here! I'm looking for events that may have swing music from the 21st-25th of August. I won't be in town early enough for the social dance at the Firehouse, nor will I be in town for the jam session at Panama 66.

So, reallly just wanting to find a spot I can go and dance for a bit! Thank you!

One of the things I really love about leading Balboa and Lindy Hop, and in particular social dancing a bunch with follows I have a trust and good chemistry with, is happening upon moves independently, that I then find out through some other means later is a “legitimate” move that other good leads I know use, or some legend was doing 90 years ago.

For me it’s less about feeling like I’m charting never-before-entered territory and more really cool to feel like I am capable of doing the thing, and also that I’m engaging with this art form like my forefathers, foremothers, and fore-others. It helps me understand intimately for myself how dancing is culture and sharing, instead of just reading about the idea. It’s that I literally embody my ancestors through movement and the processes that it takes to generate to movement. This is what they were doing! (and many of them were doing so much more)

As I hone my lead, I hone my ability to flow with intention and read my dance partner and really start to get a feel for momentum and redirection. I’m in a specific hold which I drive in a specific direction to a specific end or transition point starts to really click, and suddenly that was a move! And maybe I never learned to lead that move in a class and I may have followed it while dancing the other role but when following, I was so focused on receiving that I couldn’t tell you how my lead got there. But then when I’m leading a follow, I feel a path within our connection and the music too and it’s almost like prescience kicks in.

I’ve never watched avatar the last Airbender, but I feel like maybe that’s what leading is in a way 😂

Anyway I am really coming to enjoy social dancing in continuously rewarding ways. Sometimes I get in my head still and there’s always something to work on, but it really does light me up. And it also feels good to be somewhat of a regular at my local haunts. I’m glad I had the courage and good sense to throw myself into regular socials despite anxiety from the start when I was a lot more nervous about dancing with strangers who all seemed so much more experienced than me, because now, even with how little I know compared to the world of endless things to learn and experience, I do feel confident that I know at least enough for my follow and I to enjoy ourselves safely.

I 21f have only recently started swing, and more currently just completed my first aerial class!
I can’t help but be infiltrated by the suspicion that I’m too big, both height and weight wise. I’m 173.5cm and 64kg. And I’m knotted by dread and guilt for partners, that all the jumps, throes, dips ect. are all made harder because of me and body. Perhaps I’m caught too far in a stray thought, but it’s difficult when almost all the other follows in my class are all shorter and slimmer.

It’s official— I’m busting through my comfort zone and will start attending swing dance lessons next Monday evening in Aurora. I signed up for 4 classes and I will hopefully have a good idea by the end whether I can learn it. I believe this studio teaches Lindy Hop, which I’m told is a fun social dance.

My only dancing experience is in square dancing, which I learned a little over a year ago. I’m hoping that that experience will help me get through these lessons unscathed.

Hi there fellow dancers! I've been dancing a variation of swing in 4/4 count with the step on 2 and 4 for several years now. As I've progressed I've started styling more and experimenting with different music that could work. So I was wondering if any of you had any good music recommendations or playlists that could work? Everything from older classical music to modern pop from 2026 is welcome!