Swing Dancing - great outlet for Fedora Lounge type

[Tommy]

I've been swing dancing lately. My wife and I got involved with a local swing dance club, and most local Swing Dance clubs have a set pattern of providing lesson opportunities along with hours of dancing, whether your single or connected. with our club, they run it practically every weekend, with other dates mixed in.

I have found swing dancing to be a great outlet for my vintage style, meeting others inclined to the same, along with the great swing music, and peripherals like going out before or afterwards from time to time. And meeting lots of new, and different people.

East coast swing and Lindy Hop are the primary styles for me, but am trying to work in learning the Charleston and Fox Trot.

Highly recommended activity!

 

[Dan'l]

I've been pining over the idea for a couple of years now. My wife has danced (ballet, tap, swing, modern) throughout her life and has always tried to get me to go dancing. I have two left feet but she things I'd do much better than I'm giving myself credit for. Now that I'm finally open to giving it a try we're having trouble finding anywhere local that has swing dancing, such is small town life.

Mrs. Dan'l tried showing me some of the Charleston one day. It was fun, and funny because I felt like a fish out of water while my wife looked like a darked haired version of Ginger Rogers.

 

[Miss Moonlight]

I did a search on swing dancing just now and I don't see another has been started for a very long time... so I'm glad you started this one. Don't know if it will end up merged or such....

I have been thinking seriously about taking lessons. I have wanted to for ages. Then I had a boyfriend who said he would with me but kept making excuses, then he was in a wheel chair (turned out to be a big horrid lie) so of course I felt like taking dancing lessons while my fiance couldn't walk was just plain not cool. A couple years later I am single and ended up with a bad injury that almost had me unable to walk (no lie) and now I've recovered so much that I really don't want to let anymore time pass and anymore social ineptitude keep from lessons now.

I know I would want to start with something a bit slow if that's out there. For the sake of my weaker foot. If anyone can recommend a type of swing dance to start with for someone with no experience and a problematic gait, please let me know!

 

[Swing Motorman]

I know I would want to start with something a bit slow if that's out there. For the sake of my weaker foot. If anyone can recommend a type of swing dance to start with for someone with no experience and a problematic gait, please let me know!

Hello Miss Moonlight,

I'm not a very experienced swing dancer, but I'd highly recommend East Coast swing as a slow start. It tends to be a slower dance than the Charleston and Lindy Hop, and to some extent, it's a dance you can learn at your own pace. At least how my college taught it, you learn the basic steps first and then slowly add turns and variations to that until you know so much, you'll never again dance the same way twice.

Plus, obviously, it's fun and classy as could be. Best of luck! :yo:


-Steven

 

[MikeBravo]

do it! do it! do it!

Don't worry about being "unco" (uncoordinated), I have two left feet and have been lindy hopping for years.

There are different styles, the type you do may depend on what is taught where you got for classes. Some have a lot of twisting and twirling which may not be best for gait issue, as oppposed to "gate" issues (swing joke), others are more gentle. Don't forget there is always blues which is very free-form and gentle (and very sexy if you want it to be)

There are plenty of examples on Youtube, including the Portland Oregon Blues Dance comp. Or Blues Demo although this is actualy pretty fast!

 

[Miss Moonlight]

Hello Miss Moonlight,

I'm not a very experienced swing dancer, but I'd highly recommend East Coast swing as a slow start.

do it! do it! do it!

ok! ok! ok! BTW, the gate joke made me chuckle.

Thank you both! I will check out your recommendations!

 

[Mae Croft]

I adore swing dancing, but I live in a town of about 1500 people and the only kind of dancing they ever do is the chicken dance at weddings (seriously), unless you count formal school dances like the prom. It takes a little of the wind out of your sales when there's literally no way to immerse yourself in things like this, especially if you have, like me, no transportation and no free time.

But I gave up trying to find the time and the place to do it, and have started doing the ladies footwork for the Lindy and others to keep practiced while I do things like clean the kitchen, since our floors are varnished hardwood with a bit of a slide and they work well for this kind of thing. I'm tired of waiting for the world to catch up with me! lol

 

[swinggal]

I've been Lindy Hopping since 1999 and am a committee member of the Perth Swing Dance Society here in my city. It is indeed a great way to find people with similar interests and a lot of people used to dress vintage here to dance up until about 6 years ago. Not so much these days, but for big events people pull out all the stops.

Some of my friends who are dancers are swing DJs like me and so we have a passion for jazz music as well. I also have made great friends with people interested in collecting Art Deco etc and dancing has lead me to meet people form all over the world. When you swing dance you can go to almost any city and world and find a place to swing dance. I've done this in the US several times and all over Australia. Quite amazing really. I say go for it

 

[Blonde]

For me it has to be Merengue and Salsa dancing! The music is great, what I love about it is that the style is unchanged so you can enjoy new songs. Plus, I grew up with the music, my family owns so many records/discs of it I've always enjoyed listening to it at home.

I would love to learn proper Lindy one day though, since it looks like a lot of fun. Perhaps get into the music side of it more too, it would be worth expanding my library.

 

[Tommy]

I have the basics of the East Coast Swing and Lindy Hop down. I've yet to to learn Charleston and fox trot, they are on my list of things to do. I think most any kind of couples contact dancing is vintage in fact. It's really only since the 1960's that non contact dancing has taken off.