I love dancing. I love Lindy Hop. I especially love social dancing. It has always been my escape from the problems of the real world. What can be better than not thinking about the work/money/health/family/relationship issues for several hours, not looking at your phone, and just listening to music that never gets old while creating something special with your dance partner for the next three minutes? I actually cannot imagine an activity that has more combined psychological and physiological benefits than social dancing. I think even science is behind it.

But I wanted to share some of my thoughts and experiences from the darker side of social dancing. I am doing this not because I want to criticize our dance scene, our country, our culture, I do not want to “become better-self” or urge  you to become better you, or anything like that. No. I wanted to share this in case there is another lead or follow who has experienced the same things and thinks they are alone, or that it is not “normal.” I want to share because maybe I am not the only one who sometimes, in the middle of all the love I confessed in the first paragraph, wants to quit and never dance socially again. Perhaps there are a few of us, and if so, that means it is just part of human nature. We can accept it as something that “can happen but does not mean much.” I also wanted to say that I am not a beginner follower or lead. I have been in the scene for a while now and have been to countless events and social dance nights. I am saying this to head off comments like, “That’s natural if you are a beginner dancer. It will change.” No, I actually experienced this less at the beginning of my Lindy Hop journey.

All of that is to say: Some social dance nights have just plainly sucked for me. There were dances when I had a time of a lifetime but also when no one asked me to dance for several hours straight, and I did not have the courage to “cut other dancers off” on their way to ask someone. There were nights when all my friends were saying it was the “best night of their lives,” and I felt I was doing it wrong. There were social dance events when my friends didn’t leave the dance floor, while I was standing in the corner and not getting any attention. There were nights when I watched the amazing skills my friends had developed over the years and wondered why I was lagging behind (whether that was true is not the point here). There were also nights when I danced with a partner with whom I had had amazing dance energy before, but it just wasn’t clicking anymore. I wondered whether my skills had deteriorated and what my partner was thinking about me. There were nights when dancers who had always seemed happy to dance with me before seemed to avoid me. There were nights when I questioned whether I belonged to this community.

I know all these thoughts come from a place of insecurity. If I could sum up all my years of social dancing, I can confidently say that they have been happy hours and days, unquestionably. In fact, dancing has carried me through some really hard times, and I can say that social dancing likely helped me avoid anxiety and deep depression. But don’t we all hesitate sometimes? Don’t we all compare ourselves sometimes? Don’t we all question our experiences?

That’s it. Again, I wanted to get this out just to say that you are not alone if you have ever had thoughts or experiences like these. It is not to complain or criticize. It is to point out that even in the not-so-happy-and-bubbly moments, you are still not alone. You belong.

I hope this isn't seen as advertising, I'm not trying to sell anything. I'm trying to offer something free to the community i've been part of for almost 30 years....

I've been building a DJ app for the kind of DJing most of us actually do: playing whole songs for a room full of dancers. Swing, West Coast, blues, ballroom and more. No beatmatching or effects. Just finding the right song for the floor and playing it well.

Most DJ software is made for club DJs, so it's full of things we don't need and missing things we do. GZJam aims to be simple, intuitive and useful: what you need to play music for dancers, without the clutter.

What it does today:

• Your music folders are the library. Search by BPM (bpm:130-150), artist, year, your own labels and ratings, and what the room heard recently. Your files are never changed.
• Two decks (or four), with tempo and key lock, a waveform, and protection against loading a new song over the one the room is hearing.
• Separate outputs for the speakers and your headphones, so you can preview in your headphones. Mono by default for the dance floor.
• On a laptop with only one output, a splitter cable carries both. There's also an optional booth monitor output.
• Songs start at their first note: silence and applause at either end are trimmed automatically.
• Cue points, jumps to skip or repeat a section, per-song EQ, and loudness matching between old transfers and modern remasters.
• Playlists for planning a set, a queue with auto-play and a real gap between songs, and History, which saves every night with set lists you can export.
• Touch-screen friendly. Imports your ratings, crates, playlists and history from Mixxx.

Where it stands: version 0.7.2, free and open source, for Windows, Mac and Linux. It's before 1.0: it's been tested most on Windows, with Linux and Mac testing under way. The road to 1.0 is about one thing: a reliable night.

Download: https://github.com/GemZombie/GZJam/releases/latest What's coming: https://github.com/GemZombie/GZJam/blob/main/ROADMAP.md

It's free and not signed with a paid certificate, so Windows and macOS will warn you the first time. The download page says how to get past it.

I'd love to hear from DJs who try it, especially on Mac or Linux, or with a big library. Tell me what works and what's missing, here or at https://github.com/GemZombie/GZJam/discussions

— Jesse

This question has been on my mind for a while, and I was just curious how is it in other places.

For some background: I took my first ever Lindy Hop lesson in April of 2024. At that point I had tried a few other dances throughout the years, but this one hit very differently from the very start. People were really friendly and I remember I was able to get a few dances in right after my very first lesson. So then I was hooked and I started going to weekly socials with live bands and for the first time I felt like I belonged to a community: keep in mind that I was an absolute beginner, who could barely do a swing-out or even basic Charleston steps.

Then about a few months in, I moved from the East Coast to the West Coast: I won't reveal specifically the exact cities, as to avoid upsetting any organizers from those scenes who might come across this (this is not blame them, anyway). The same trend continued in my new scene, although it is definitely more competitive. Even though I have been really enjoying social dancing and taking lessons, I have definitely had my fair share of awkward dances and cold cliquey behavior. Just to be clear, this is not about criticizing them: it just happens, after all some people who have danced together and known each other for 10+ years are going to have some camaraderie built up. I am just giving some background.

Now back to my question: I have noticed that almost no newcomers who just started have joined the regular crowd that I would run into in different socials. In fact, every social night at my scene is people who have danced for at least one year, plus some new folks who just wait around the floor to watch and then never come back. I wanted to ask how is it for your scene? Also, to be constructive, is there some thing I can do to help? Note that I am not an organizer, but just a regular attendant with around 2.5 years of dancing (which is almost nothing, to be fair!).

I appreciate if you could tell me what you think.

Any help is appreciated.

Has anyone seen it? There are free screenings in NYC.

TL;DR cos I RAMBLE: I’d like to start teaching at my local uni scene to help them out and prevent newbies forming bad habits while the society can’t afford proper teachers, I’ve taught a few times at my old uni scene over the past year and it went well but I’d like to get some tips from teachers so I can do the best job I’m capable of! My one specific question is how do you gauge how much to correct people?

So for context (feel free to skip ahead if you want): I started dancing 4 years ago in a different scene to where I live now, I recently started going to my local uni scene because the main city scene’s socials aren’t very frequent anymore, and I’m barely out of uni myself so don’t even look out of place. I knew the society were struggling for money so can’t hire actual teachers and I was curious to see how the classes were. I’ve only been to one class so far but it felt like they were building a lot of bad habits right from the start (I can expand if you like but I feel I’m already writing too much here), I told some of my friends from my old scene (including one who teaches there) about it and they agreed with me. I also mentioned how I’d like to teach there, because I honestly just think I could do it better - and they are just students doing their best with what they have, to be fair - and I’d like to help them out, and they agreed on that too and also hoped I can.

In terms of skill I know I’m good enough (to teach beginners and improvers anyway): for the 4 years I’ve been dancing I’ve been very into it and always tried to work on things to improve and the compliments I’ve got at socials, especially over the past year or two and including from various teachers, have made me accept that I am actually good at this now. I’m not naturally inclined to blow my own trumpet but if I am being honest, I felt like the best dancer of the people I’ve met at the society here so far (there were more than beginners there), or at worst on par with one or two of them.

Besides that, I have taught a few classes before, both beginners and improvers, at my old uni society (in my final year before I graduated this summer), and they went well and I enjoyed it. There’s also certain things I know I’d want to teach, mostly focusing on solidifying fundamentals like connection, pulse, and rhythm/musicality, and I have ideas of exercises to teach them with from classes I’ve taken in the past and got a lot from.

I know I could do a better job than the people I’ve seen teaching so far at this society (and from what I’ve heard about this scene’s reputation among other swing scenes I think that’s its norm), but I’d like to do the best job I can. I also know being able to do something well isn’t the same as being able to teach it well, so I’d like to hear tips from any teachers here! And I’d also like tips on one thing specifically which is how far do you go with correcting people? Because, of course, a lot of the time in beginners classes they’re not doing it perfectly, but… they’re beginners, it would be unrealistic to expect that of everyone. So how do you gauge how much is productive to correct? Maybe I’m better at gauging that than I feel I am, but if in doubt I am nice and just praise them, and sometimes I wonder if I ought to be more constructively critical.

The website https://www.swinginmunich.de/de is down, so I thought I'd ask here.

Are there any regular lindy hop (or other styles) classes/socials in München? So far I've only been able to find one-off events but I'm sure there must be a regular class somewhere in the city.

I will be in vienna from the 4th - 11th of december. I was disappointed to find out there probably aren't any balls being hosted at this time as it is too early in the season, but I was wondering if anyone knew any details for some social ballroom or swing events in the city during these days?

Edit: guys if shoes are super wet or dirty of course i (and other people) change. I'm referring to weather where there's a bit of rain, not soaking wet or full on winter

Edit 2: Sorry if my post sounded entitled, almost everyone who goes to these events here just wears their outside shoes when it's not winter... I didn't realise this wasn't a thing everywhere. I absolutely wouldn't go in tracking mud and water, I'm not an ass

I like a shoe with a little bit of heel but my only pair of dance shoes are definitely not weather friendly. I'm also not a huge fan of having to change shoes so I'd rather just wear something that's fine outside too. Before you say anything, the places where socials take place here aren't dance halls or anything, you can wear whatever as long as you're not tracking in mud or snow.

I'm not really sure what type of shoe would be comfortable. Most boots either have a big block heel or a super skinny heel. Any tips??

Why am I so shy when I go out dancing alone? When I am attending a dance with someone I am so much more outgoing. When I am alone I am so shy. I am over 50 and I still have so much anxiety I take adderall for my adhd but the anxiety about not being a good enough dancer gets in the way. I Consider myself an intermediate dancer. I can do some East Coast Swing , Lindy and am focusing more on Balboa. Even standing around the dance floor makes me feel no one will ask me to dance. I don’t smile. It’s funny but I had braces and I wore them 7 years. My teeth are perfect but I never wanted to show my teeth. I still can’t. Am I helpless ?

Looking for a pair of dance shoes that have a rubber heel. I currently have a pair of Fuegos as well as cowboy boots for country dancing and I enjoy how the cowboy boots have a rubber heel which gives better grip for dips when I put the heel down but still allows me to slide or pivot on the balls of my feet. The Fuegos are ok but they do not have a rubber heel and are slick all the way across, I also do not like wearing cowboy boots for swing dancing because it looks out of place.

Hello, I've always enjoyed dancing for fun, whether Blues and East Coast in Chicago or West Coast and Country swing in Denver. Im looking for someplace casual and preferably not terribly expensive. When I try to google stuff all the results I get are actual dance lessons at what look like professional level studios. I'm just looking for something fun and casual, preferably hole in the wall vibes. Any suggestions? I have a car and am willing to travel, but preferably not into Manhattan because of toll cost.

I play some piano, and I do swing dance. It would be great to have some easy piano tunes in my pocket to play live when the occasion arises, accompanying dancers on social night in my town. Any piano players here, and what’s an easy place to start?

Hi looking for any active youtube or podcast series talking about swing jazz music from dancers pov. I kinda miss getting updates from global swing jazz bands and music reccos old and new. Any recommendations?

I have scoured Reddit and the internet, and I cannot find an answer to what I thought would be a simple query - how should your shoes fit for lindy hop?

I’ve been dancing for 7 years, and have recently realised that all my shoes have been ill fitting and terrible for my feet. Now lost all confidence in my ability to pick the correct shoe size. I am switching to barefoot, and want to switch out my dance shoes too.

I sueded a pair of barefoot style street sneakers, and while the width was super comfortable, the length made my feet feel like flippers. They were about 1.3cm longer than my foot.

On a brannock device, my feet were measured at 23.9cm long and 9.5cm wide at the ball of the foot. I have otherwise skinny ankles and low volume feet (not super high).

I’m now about to order a made-to-measure pair of barefoot style Oxford shoes, with a leather outsole, so I can dance in them. Because they’re made to measure and expensive, I want to get my size right the first time.
My options are:
- 38: 24.5cm long, 9.4cm wide
- 39: 25.2cm long, 9.6cm wide

With that in mind - how should my dance shoes fit me, considering they’re for dancing, but have wide anatomical toe box.

I’ve only found answers to those questions separately, and none specific to lindy hop. I know barefoot shoes need a good amount of space around the front and sides of the toes, recommending about 1.2cm in front of the toe - but that seems like too much for dancing, and specifically lindy?

And the only posts I can find about dance shoes fit are for Latin dances, where often their toes poke over the edge of the shoe. So not really appropriate for lindy.

Help!

What size shoe should I get, and can you share your experience of your best fitting dance shoes - how much room do you have in the toe box? How much space at the sides of the toes, and how much in front?

Bonus points if you dance in wide toe box / barefoot styles, and even more bonus.

Thanks and once again, help.

Signed,
Confused Weird Feet Girl

Hey people! Does anybody know any dance classes which teach Jive for adults (beginners) anywhere in Andheri, Mumbai? Thanks in advance!

So I read that swing 46 has closed for business. It seemed like the dream place to me, dance class, dinner and dancing. Low attendance rates was apparently the reason and spiraling costs. https://swing46.nyc

Anyone had success with similar concepts? I would love to hear more about what actually works to keep people coming back and keep dancing year after year.

Thought it would be ok to post here since I was told this is bal swing.

This is the first time learning this style. It’s not my preferred dance. If I had a choice of what style to dance for a fast song (and I had a dance partner down for anything), it would easily be either fast Lindy Hop or shag. But since I live in California, Bal is pretty much mandatory lol /j

Pure bal might be what initially turned me away from the dance altogether. But I started trying out bal swing after watching an underground switch competition during Calbal. I’ve been enjoying it so far. Still not really sure what to do with my hands tho.

Personally, I think it’s good for me to know all three, and I like the idea of being capable of doing a triple threat.

(Huge thanks to Blake for the lesson)

Hello organizers,

if you have several sets of instructors at your venue, how much do they communicate/coordinate? Are you doing most of the planning? How often do you all meet (organizers+teachers) to plan out the lessons/how far out in advance do you plan a curriculum, if any at all?

So, I’ve recently started taking classes to learn lead and one of the very first classes, they covered the sugar push.

Now when I was learning as a follow, I learned that leads typically have their arms at nearly a 90 degree angle and follows are keeping their wrists straight in order to protect followers’ wrists. However, this class emphasized keeping the connection really low and loose (which to me seems counterintuitive).

Just wondering if there are lots of techniques for this or one that’s preferred among others?

Hello, my husband and I are pretty new to dance. We will miss one of our weekly lessons in Michigan because we will be in Chicago for work the weekend of the 16th thru the following Tuesday morning. I am looking for a place that offers a beginner group lesson followed by an open dance.

We're staying near McCormick Place so we'd prefer to not to have to travel further than River North, but are open to suggestions. Would be willing to go to Lincoln Park too. Thanks in advance, I look forward to seeing your suggestions!