I've danced as a lindy hop follower for 1 year. I think dancing becomes more fun the more comfortable you are in your role, so I haven't tried hard to learn anything else. I'm not a very fast learner. But I feel like I've stagnated a little and I wonder where to go from here. Do you think I'm better off focusing on following, or should I try a new class? I could try leading, or try to learn blues and/or collegiate shag so I can dance to slower and faster songs. Could something new help developing my skills?

What were your aha moments (anything that suddenly/eventually clicked) in regards to your dancing this past year?

I’ve had some centered around when a movement went from feeling forced to feeling more natural. For example, kick steps in moves like scissor kicks or charleston turns, felt like I was exerting a lot of effort. And at one point it switched, so that my body doesn’t have to exert a lot of energy to do it.

I find that when somethings clicks, my body is finally doing specific advice that an instructor initially gave.

Hi!

My new year resolution for the next year is to become better in solo Jazz, (and solo blues!), do you have any recommendations for videos, repositories, and courses either free or to pay that are worthy to really improve? For context, I have danced for 3 years, and I will describe myself as an intermediate-advance dancer with a lot of potential to learn from musicality and body awareness :). There is no class of solo jazz and blues in my area, and the lindy courses are up to intermediate, but I do take training by myself very seriously, so challenging but well-explained content would be the best for me!

Do you make dance resolutions for the new year? Have you kept the ones from 2024? What are you looking to work on or try out in 2025?

Hi all!

In your local scene (would be helpful if you can share whereabouts, like US or EU or more specific if you can), when an event is described as “Entry: Donation based”, does that mean:

A) Free entry, optional donation (sometimes with a suggested amount)

B) Mandatory minimum specified amount at the door

C) Something else?

And when describing an event as Donation based, what is the goal or reason for doing so? How is the band and venue paid for in those cases?

I’d love to know more of how things are in your area. Thanks in advance!

For West Cost swing is it 123-123-rock step --OR-- rock-step 123-123?

Quite recently (in the past few months or so), I’ve noticed that there’s been a lot more new leads than follows in my local community, which I’ve found a bit odd considering it’s usually the other way around. I haven’t been dancing for too long either, so just wondering if this is something everyone else has noticed internationally?

Please dear God can we stop using this phrase wrong.

What you mean to say is that your triple steps are "swung".

Syncopation describes a moment; swung can describe an entire song.

When musicians talk about it, you don't say you have straight eighth notes and then syncopated eighth notes, that would be a nonsense statement. You say they are swung eighth notes.

If you want an example of syncopation, you could look to the song Castle Rock. That accent in the melody at the beginning is it good example of syncopation.

Syncopation does happen a lot in swing music, but it is not present in a step-step triple step basic in either six or eight counts.

When you have a class of students where this is likely their first dance/swing dance lesson, what do you teach them? Do you have an opening spiel about the history of swing dancing, the dance roles, and how to rotate during class? How much time do you spend having your students moving solo (pulsing, triple stepping, working on footwork)? Do you talk about frame and what to do with your hands? Do you have them start in open or closed position? 6 count or 8 count? Triple step or single step? How many moves do you teach? What kind of dancing etiquitte do you cover? Does your lesson change if this is a one off lesson versus the first lesson in a series? What else do you do to encourage people to start dancing after the lesson ends?

I want to know how people approach the first lesson. Feel free to answer or ignore any of my questions. I am just want to know what you think is important.

I'll be visiting Durham for the holidays (12/25-1/2) and I'd love to check out swing dancing in the area. Are there any events happening that I should check out in the Triangle? Or, any bars/venues with live jazz that dancers usually go to?

Also, what's the best city for swing dancing in FL?

Thank you!

Hello, I'm interested in travelling to Camp Hollywood from Europe by myself. I'm wondering if anyone could give suggestions as to other events that are worth checking out in the area or even on the broader West Coast while I'm there so I can think about scheduling. Other tips also welcome about how to get the best out of the Festival and if you think it's worthwhile if you aren't really planning on competing! Thanks in advance!

I am a relatively newer dancer (less the a year, maybe around 8 months of dancing.) I typically dance at least once a week, or more by taking classes or social dancing.

I have recently been told I am a heavy follow. It seems like it becomes more pronounced when I am doing a swing out, and sounds like some of it may be due to providing too much momentum when being brought back in that it is hard to redirect some of the momentum. I did watch some videos of myself dancing, and can clearly see the difficulty with moving me due to that momentum issue, but I am honestly not sure how to fix it. I know some of it is likely due to physics, based on my weight and my weight distribution giving me a higher then typical center of gravity as well as momentum being significantly affected by weight, however, I am sure there is a way for me to try to compensate for this to some extent, I am just not sure how.

In other parts of the dance it sounds like I am still "heavy", but in a more heavier side of average vs being truly hard to move. It sounds like at times I may need.more direction, but I suspect some of that is me still learning some of the movements and some slower reaction time, and still learning a bit of what certain things feel like.

Anyway, long story short, I am hoping for some advice to help become a bit less "heavy", or at least things to try that may help me out, or even some practice drills that I can do while alone as well.

Thanks so much!

I am visiting San Fran and I was thinking about stopping by but I am a little bit out of the city, is it worth the drive?

I'm an experienced dancer (of mainly West Coast Swing and Zouk) who, unfortunately, has no interest in learning Lindy Hop, but lately I've been intrigued by Balboa (watching Mickey & Kelly on YouTube is mesmerizing). This has made me wonder, if I were to learn Balboa, how many opportunities I would have to actually dance it. There aren't usually balboa only parties, are there? If I were to go to a swing dance party, how good would my chances be to find someone to dance balboa with for, say, half the songs?

Relevant context: I live in Germany.

Hey, so I do not know how to swing dance and I really want to learn. I go to line dancing every week at my local bar and all the guys are very good at it and I feel like it would be annoying to have to teach me since I literally know nothing. Do guys who know how to dance well find it annoying to teach someone? Are they just gunna say yes out of pity and be annoyed the entire time that I suck?

Side note: a boy has asked me to dance before and we did but ive been too scared to ask him again. Should I or should I wait for him to ask me again?

ps not to be conceited but I am attractive and skinny so that is not an additional issue

Hi all,

I am a student based in DC and I’ve had to privilege to swing dance at Mobtown, New Columbia, and Glen Echo. I am going back home to KY for winter break and I am currently if there are swing venues in the state or nearby.

Thanks!

[Edit]: I now understand what happened. The follower didn't want to dance with anyone or noone wanted to dance with her. She managed to get the teacher to dance with her for a song. During a break, i asked her in front of said teacher whether she wanted to dance with me, but she refused (which actually confused me, so i tried convincing her). Out of disdain, said teacher didn't want to keep dancing with her, so she spent the rest of the time not dancing, looking around while i danced like crazy. She then came to me, asking why i tried to steal her and should apologize, which i did.

[Edit 2]: This has been a good lesson for me. 1. When asking to dance, a "no" is definite. I will never ask you to dance with me again until you explicitely ask. 2. If i get a "no" followed by an explanation, i will try once more. A second refusal is definite.

+----------+

Hello, something happened while i was dancing last week and i would really like your point of view on it, as i could be in the wrong.

So, there is this woman from another city that comes to ours to attend our swing social dances. I have asked her some time ago whether she and i could dance, as i have not danced with anyone from her city before but she refused, saying she didn't have time and that she was getting ready to leave.

Fast foward, last week, we met at a social gathering. I again asked her to dance, she says no, explaining how the music was too slow. Later, after she finished dancing with someone, i tried to sneek in, trying my luck once again:

I: "Hey, would you like to dance with me?" She: "No" I: "Come on ..." playfully She: "No" I: "I could dance as the follower too if that's ok with you" She: "No".

I then left and went dancing with others.

During a dance-break, she approaches me, berating me that i should not have tried to forcely remove her from her dance partner. To which i answered that they were not dancing, and even if they were stealing is a legal move in Lindy Hop. She replied that she said "no" multiple times and wants me to apologies to her for trying to force her. (Guys, i have never had a single problem asking for dances up until this point, even in different cities). I was shook and confused, i then profoundly apologised and she left.

I assumed that everyone was different, so tried to forget this event. However, it keeps coming to me. What should i have done differently? I suppose, after the first "no" to stop asking. What do you think?

Thanks.

We have plenty of evidence for Lindy Hop, but not so much for balboa. There’s the beach clip and a bunch of videos from Bobby McGee, all featuring white dancers. Do we have evidence for if balboa was first danced/created by African Americans?

As a follow, how would I better read it.

I'm going to be visiting so I think it could be fun ☺️

Inspired by a recent convo on another post. A previous poster asked for people to help restart some of the now defunct college clubs, many of which were hit bad by COVID. If you're interested, there's a bunch of advice (and commiseration) in there for people interested in running college clubs, and the main point the poster was making is that, without those college clubs, the broader swing dance world in the U.S. (and maybe abroad as well) is faltering a bit. I agree with the poster about what's happening in the U.S. at least.

So, my question is - where do you think swing dance is genuinely thriving right now? What can other organizers learn from that?

There are many cities that had strong clubs prior to the pandemic that have mostly picked up where they left off. I want to hear about local swing dance clubs and schools that have done effective things recently from 2021-2024 that have made sure that classes are growing, social dances are growing, and students are inspired to get better. I'd like to know about local cities that you've seen or been a part of that are bringing in even more people than before, where the people who attend the swing dance and take classes are asking for more.

These are the foundational trends that keep the broader community afloat, without which many local swing dances would just fold and larger events would soon after. Most places need to grow right now. What can they do?

Hi, everyone. I'm a complete beginner in salsa and just went to my first social (hosted by my university). We had a lesson for the first hour and then just music. I danced with a few people as a follow, and didn't feel very confident at all (they were mostly more experienced than I am). I've decided to start taking classes once a week. How long will it be until partner dancing starts feeling natural? TIA