SWING DANCING dvds?

[Dr Doran]

Should this not be in the observation bar? Don't know. Please reroute it, O Bartenders, if you see fit.

Here's the deal: I've taken swing dancing lessons in the past but my heart was never in it. After going out with Fedoragent and Lady Day last night, I have realized that I now really do want to learn to swing dance. Really. Finally. My wife is delighted as she loves dancing in all forms. Eventually I want to learn the tango but I'm figuring an easier dance first. I want to get a swing DVD first before we actually take lessons because I find it easier to practice basic things away from others' eyes. I have noted several swing dancing DVDs on Amazon; I want to know if any are recommended -- that is, if any Floungers can recommend one over another.

 

[Paisley]

Check out the thread "Learning to Dance" in the Golden Era forum. It has some recommended videos and DVDs for learning lindy hop.

But by "swing," I assume you mean "East coast" or "jitterbug." That's easy enough to learn. Lindy, on the other hand, seems to take people months or years to really get down.

Unless you are being pretty goofy in the class, your classmates probably won't pay much attention to you.

 

[Zig2k143]

Last night me and my lovely just took our face dance lesson. It was great fun and I didn't crush anyone on the dance floor. The fun part is after the class the have a dance party from 9 - 12 and that is a great way to practice practice practice.

If anyone is in the North East Pa area... It's a free dance party at a nice club in a hotel. If anyone wants the information I'd be happy to provide.

 

[gluegungeisha]

Check out the thread "Learning to Dance" in the Golden Era forum. It has some recommended videos and DVDs for learning lindy hop.

But by "swing," I assume you mean "East coast" or "jitterbug." That's easy enough to learn. Lindy, on the other hand, seems to take people months or years to really get down.

Unless you are being pretty goofy in the class, your classmates probably won't pay much attention to you.

I agree! I started with Jitterbug, and started getting the hang of it the first time I went dancing...without a lesson! I had some very patient dance partners. Lindy, on the other hand, I'm just starting to get into the swing of (no pun intended). Then there are a few dances I can't imagine ever learning properly -- the shim-sham, for example! A friend started to teach me Balboa, but that's particularly hard to learn since it's a chest-to-chest dance...you communicate through weight shifts. It's easier if you've been following for a while.

I really recommend taking classes. A lot of teachers will give private lessons if that's what you're more comfortable with, but there are certain things that are really hard to teach through videos...or easy to explain, but harder to grasp.

 

[thebadmamajama]

Steven Mitchell's are pretty fabulous. And if you're looking for the total basics of lindy hop, learn from the master, Frankie Manning!

But social dancing--no matter HOW inexperienced you are--is invaluable and incomparable. You'll go so much further learning by doing. Even if it seems scary.

 

[ChezPez]

Lindy, on the other hand, seems to take people months or years to really get down.

Which would be why my first swing dancing class went absolutely horrid. Well, that and the partner I was with, who supposedly was able to dance 'decently', really had 2 left feet. And commonly went by the name of his favorite Final Fantasy character. Oh, and then there was the older man twice my age who 'accidentally' kept grabbing my booty. [bad]

The evening ended with me drinking my pain away to the amusement of my girl friends, and swearing off dance interactions (and likely, all hetero boys, like all proper drinking sessions with one's girl friends, as well as dancing in a circle around your shoes and purses) for the rest of my life.

I returned to class but 2 more times, and weirder people kept joining (nothing that beat that first night!), so I quit. I hope to find a different class eventually, since I can see where real social dancing experience is invaluable. Especially if you're female and not used to social dancing- I have a terrible time being a 'follow' instead of a 'lead'. One of the guys once said we should switch roles because I was a stronger lead than he!

Lesson learned: don't settle for free classes.

I'll be trying those DVDs in the meantime!

 

[be_lovely]

Last night me and my lovely just took our face dance lesson. It was great fun and I didn't crush anyone on the dance floor. The fun part is after the class the have a dance party from 9 - 12 and that is a great way to practice practice practice.

If anyone is in the North East Pa area... It's a free dance party at a nice club in a hotel. If anyone wants the information I'd be happy to provide.

Twinkle toes got it better than I did when it came to the dance party in front of people, but also, on August 8th they are having a Sinatra Tribute from 8-12. Quality Inn, Pittston PA Details to come....

 

[Hondo]

1941

See "1941" While its not really a swing dance film, it does have a nice swing dance scene, thats really fun and wild

 

[Dr Doran]

Which would be why my first swing dancing class went absolutely horrid. Well, that and the partner I was with, who supposedly was able to dance 'decently', really had 2 left feet. And commonly went by the name of his favorite Final Fantasy character.

Instant clue ... AVOID.

 

[Dr Doran]

Last night me and my lovely just took our face dance lesson.

face dancing? Isn't that from Dune? Something the Bene Gesserit nuns taught? Something like that?

"We have just folded space from Ix ..."

 

[Zig2k143]

face dancing? Isn't that from Dune? Something the Bene Gesserit nuns taught? Something like that?

"We have just folded space from Ix ..."

oppps really bad typo.... if it wasn't a typo it would be very painful

 

[gluegungeisha]

Which would be why my first swing dancing class went absolutely horrid. Well, that and the partner I was with, who supposedly was able to dance 'decently', really had 2 left feet. And commonly went by the name of his favorite Final Fantasy character. Oh, and then there was the older man twice my age who 'accidentally' kept grabbing my booty. [bad]

The evening ended with me drinking my pain away to the amusement of my girl friends, and swearing off dance interactions (and likely, all hetero boys, like all proper drinking sessions with one's girl friends, as well as dancing in a circle around your shoes and purses) for the rest of my life.

I returned to class but 2 more times, and weirder people kept joining (nothing that beat that first night!), so I quit. I hope to find a different class eventually, since I can see where real social dancing experience is invaluable. Especially if you're female and not used to social dancing- I have a terrible time being a 'follow' instead of a 'lead'. One of the guys once said we should switch roles because I was a stronger lead than he!

Lesson learned: don't settle for free classes.

I'll be trying those DVDs in the meantime!

Hahaha, I've gotten to the point where I hardly even notice the creeps in class. A few are very persistent, but they mostly prey on the beginners because they're not good dancers. However, this one guy..."One-Eyed John," drives me nuts!! He doesn't dance...he just tries to frisbee the girl over and over, except the frisbees are actually just shoves! And he gropes, and you get a big whiff of body odor from under his arms when he knocks you in the head in an attempt to twirl you.

Oy vey.

 

[Dr Doran]

Hahaha, I've gotten to the point where I hardly even notice the creeps in class. A few are very persistent, but they mostly prey on the beginners because they're not good dancers. However, this one guy..."One-Eyed John," drives me nuts!! He doesn't dance...he just tries to frisbee the girl over and over, except the frisbees are actually just shoves! And he gropes, and you get a big whiff of body odor from under his arms when he knocks you in the head in an attempt to twirl you.

Oy vey.

First they don't like quantum physics and then they stink you and grope you. You, my dear, have met some bad men.

 

[Paisley]

Ladies, you should tell someone in charge about these creeps. The teachers or club owners, whose income depends on customers, most likely want to know if someone is driving people away.

 

[Paisley]

Dan and Tiff have a wedding dance video out. It covers fox trot, swing and blues. I haven't seen the video, but I've taken many classes from them and they're good instructors. In fact, they're the national lindy hop champs.

 

[ChezPez]

Originally Posted by Doran:
Instant clue ... AVOID.

Trust me, if I had known beforehand, I would have! That tidbit I didn't learn until the end of the evening, at which point I was well beyond trying to avoid him. One could only wonder why anyone would admit that.

Originally Posted by GlueGunGeisha:
Hahaha, I've gotten to the point where I hardly even notice the creeps in class. A few are very persistent, but they mostly prey on the beginners because they're not good dancers. However, this one guy..."One-Eyed John," drives me nuts!! He doesn't dance...he just tries to frisbee the girl over and over, except the frisbees are actually just shoves! And he gropes, and you get a big whiff of body odor from under his arms when he knocks you in the head in an attempt to twirl you.

Ah! That sounds like at least a quarter of the class that I went to! Haha! I feel your pain though. Its real lousy what the girls have to deal with, and I'm quite certain that's why less and less people are learning social 'partner' dancing with this kind of behavior going on.

Originally Posted by Paisley:
Ladies, you should tell someone in charge about these creeps. The teachers or club owners, whose income depends on customers, most likely want to know if someone is driving people away.

I did notify the teachers, and they did warn the class about inappropriate behavior. But by the third class they stopped warning, and the behavior picked up again. And I stopped going. I really should have talked to them more about, admittedly. But it was a free class series, taught in a weirdo-infested neighborhood. There's only so much I could expect- although, that doesn't make it any more excusable. :/

 

[Zig2k143]

Lol had our first dance class this week.

Being 9 girls and about 4 guys we had to switch partners all the time.

I wasn't ready for that but I think I handled myself well.. heck I try as hard as I could to stay as far away as I could when I held the other girls...

My lovely would kiss me whenever it was her turn again. I had to tell her I hope she didn't kiss the other 3 men like that when she danced with them.

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

I want to get a swing DVD first before we actually take lessons because I find it easier to practice basic things away from others' eyes. I have noted several swing dancing DVDs on Amazon; I want to know if any are recommended -- that is, if any Floungers can recommend one over another.

"An introduction to 6-count swing & beginning Lindy Hop", by Julee Mertz & Chris Yee:
http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-...0694225?ie=UTF8&s=video&qid=1182656986&sr=8-4

covers the *fundamental basics* best