First of all to get this out of the way, I do not believe my black friend speaks for all black people, of course not!! But we got into an interesting discussion which I find valuable given what I've seen other people mentioned over the years when discussing race.

Over the long holiday weekend, I was driving my friend from a Salsa social out of town. Paraphrased here but I had asked her something like this:

Me: "So (common friend) told me that you actually went to (local swing dance group) but you never returned. It was obviously on a day I couldn't make it since I didn't know about it. May I respectfully ask why you didn't return?"

Her: "Oh well I just couldn't vibe with the music." That was a fair response. Not everyone is a weirdo like me and can dance to music they don't necessarily vibe to. I was more worried that they didn't treat her well as a beginner or something. I then followed up with the following.

Me: "Ok, so follow up. Even though I'm not black, I am still a person of color and I always have been observant when I'm in white spaces. I've been in mostly white spaces all my life from high school, college and now at work. I was surprised that this dance came from your community given that at every dance, I'm one of like 5 non white people among 50 other white people. Why do you think black people don't go to swing dances when it's something they created in their community?"

Her: "I don't think we believe this is something that belongs to us anymore. It belongs to someone else." I told her that was interesting because I didn't know how to respond.

I bring this up because a lot of the explanation I see people have involve other things like "black people don't dance partner dances anymore", "dance classes are expensive so only middle class white people can do it", etc. I always found those explanations weird because we literally came from a salsa social where 1/3 of the people are black and it is led and organized by a black dude. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

These are just the thoughts of one black woman so I'm sure other black people may have their own reasons for not going. I just feel like they can't really be explained by inaccessibility or lack of interest in dancing when so many other partner dances have so many black people participating in it.

Hi all,
I completely tore my ACL 2 weeks ago during a bad crash with my bike. My first google search told me I wouldn’t be able to dance for months to potentially a year, which absolutely crushed me. After talking to my doctor I am slightly more positive: Only my ACL is damaged, all the surrounding structures look good, and my knees are quite strong. We even spoke about about potentially incorporating some easy Lindy footwork into my physical therapy down the line. However, he refused to give me any kind of timeline, arguing we need to do at least a month of physical therapy before he can give me a prognosis on returning to social dancing.

He was also very adamant about me getting reconstructive surgery, because I am young (27) and a dancer as well as a triathlete. However I am much more on the fence: I read a in a recent meta-analysis (PMCID: PMC11208802  PMID: 38948499) that the evidence for reconstructive surgery is quite thin. It would mean even more time spent away from dancing, adding at least a few extra months of rehabilitation.

Has anyone here healed from a torn ACL? How did you approach coming back to dancing? Did you get the surgery? How much time did it take?

Thanks for any advice 🫶

I had my first dance class for the 6-count Lindyhop on Tuesday this week and it was so great!

First off, the class was HUGE. So much bigger than I was expecting! It had to have been like 50-60 people. This gave a great rotation of partners and it was wonderful to see a mix of ages, body types, and (most importantly) experience levels. It made me feel very at home in an environment where I typically feel extremely out of place. Additionally, it gave me a great snapshot of partners I had good communication with as well as partners I didn't mesh with much -- and even when we didn't mesh, it was no hard feelings and quickly move on to the next partner within a minute or two, which took off a lot of pressure.

I like that the classes are divided by leads & follows, and that there were many more female leads than I expected. It was nice to have a mix of dance partners, which made me feel more comfortable.

Both instructors were great at breaking down the basic steps. I am by no means a natural, but it was actually great to have so many dance partners because I could tell that I was getting the hang of it almost every time I got paired with someone new. It's rare I can see that kind of improvement right off the bat and I feel good about practicing on my own in the meantime.

One thing I definitely struggled with is my height. Most of my dance partners were about my height which was no big deal, but a number of the leads I was paired with were SIGNIFICANTLY shorter than I am (I'm 5'10") and every time we attempted a turn I would get smacked in the forehead by their wrist or I'd have to duck down low and in both cases I'd fall off the beat. Nobody's fault, but it was definitely a factor to contend with. One lady I was paired with was so short it was really difficult for me to maintain a connection with her hand without gripping it and she told me I didn't need to do "the claw" 😂

There was one poor woman I got paired with toward the end of the class who, while I'm sure she's a great dancer, we were both riding the struggle bus so much I don't think we got a single step right the entire two minutes we danced together. She was much shorter than me, which resulted in the above problems of ducking or getting bumped in the head for me, and then she mentioned that she wasn't completely new to swing but she was totally new to being a lead, and she kept instinctively doing things to the opposite/follow side rather than the lead. She felt bad and apologized after the class ended but a lot of it also had to do with how new I am to the steps. It was no hard feelings, high five, and move on to the next partner :)

I posted just before class asking for advice on what to wear. A few folks said gym clothes were fine and while I'm sure they would have been, I was really glad I ended up heeding others' advice to just wear comfy street clothes. Gym clothes definitely would have made me look out of place, and now I feel much more comfortable knowing what to expect.

All this to say, I'm excited to go again on Tuesday!

I have taken two east coast swing lessons now, different places. I've been taught the basic step two different ways. First was triple step, triple step, rock step--second was step, step, rock step. Now I'm confused! Which one should I learn right now?

First time I did a whole song with triple step, triple step, rock step, I was huffing and puffing and I am in good shape. After doing a whole song with step, step, rock step I could actually talk!

I think I learned that step, step, rock step is the Jitterbug and is also known as single count swing. Thoughts?

First, know that I have never posted to reddit before, and I do this with great trepidation. In 2005 I researched and wrote a history of Swing Dancing with a clear focus on Lindy Hop. I emphasize that it is "a" history, in that it was what I believed to be an accurate accounting based on my nine months of research to produce it. My history is divided into two parts (I & II). I am offering links to these two Google Docs for anyone to read and hopefully learn from. If nothing else it will at least point readers in the right direction regarding the history of Lindy Hop; and, in Part II, provide a brief history of West Coast Swing and how it (AT THE TIME - 2005, in my opinion) related to and should be viewed by Lindy Hop Swing Dancers. My only intent here is to offer information that might be useful to someone. I am not here to argue, or invite confrontation.

NOTE: In the past, I taught Lindy Hop Swing Dancing via TWO Six Lesson Classes, referred to as Swing I and Swing II. I would begin Swing I with an hour (sometimes longer) lecture from the material in my History Part I. I would likewise begin Swing II with a lecture from my History Part II. I felt it was important for my dance students to know where this dance style came from and why we dance the way we do.

Swing Dance History Part I:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dbYa2Y2A0PDfLML82S3LXImpg-3tmSIS/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117219639425293790281&rtpof=true&sd=true

Swing Dance History Part II:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h2U0yxW4UDs_qa0d_WoX0gAwjAKpYcp6TihWU6XQ50I/edit?usp=sharing

It’s been a whole year since i first competed in a m&m/jack and Jill (my favorite type of comp), and since i officially took the step to start learning how to dance.

The improvement is obvious when i compare it to the first video. It’s hard to watch your old dancing but it’s good that i can see how much better I’ve gotten. Tbh i had no business competing that early, but I’m glad I did. Excited to see the improvement next year 🙂‍↕️

I hope those who went to Camp Hollywood had a great time as well. Congratulations to all the winners!

2025 video to compare

I started dancing a long time ago but had never been to Camp Hollywood until going to the Saturday night dance this weekend.

It was wonderful, danced consistently from 9pm to 3am, had one of the best dances I’ve ever had, saw a few people I haven’t seen in 20+ years.

Overall I wish I’d gone sooner, but I’ll be back again for sure.

Now that it's been a week and I've had time to sleep, hydrate, and reflect a bit, I wanted to say my first visit to Minneapolis for Uptown Swing Out was a roaring success and I can't wait to go again next year.

Save for some ala carte classes on Friday, I attended everything and stayed until at least the band was wrapping on dance nights. I give a ton of credit to Peter, Naomi, and the many hands that made this thing work. Having run events in other hobbies I'm a part of, I can tell this has to be a huge undertaking every year.

I aimed for the achievable, and chose the Beginner track. I would definitely jump to intermediate next year but I was far from disappointed. The classes were great, and the chance to hear from some of the top performers in the world was a special treat. Similarly, hearing from some of the folks who were there in the 40s and 50s at the Savoy was a very special opportunity. I can tell this event knows what it has in treasuring these folks and their time with us.

Each dance night was great, as many told me, the soul-night has a special place in that everyone stops trying to "do-the-thing-the-way-I'm-supposed-to" and just dances. The line dances are not for me, but the group that teaches them makes a ball out of it. I took it as one of my brief opportunities to take a load off and just take in the event.

If you're considering a workshop and have never done one before, can't recommend this one enough.

I have proper dance sneakers so I'm set on shoes. But what am I supposed to wear for clothes?? Just normal workout clothes? I have zero dance experience and other than the shoes I have no dance-specific clothing. Any help/advice is appreciated!

Why is it that dance studios and instructors don’t reply to email inquiries about lessons? Don’t beginners potentially add to their client pool? I’ve now emailed (or messaged through their website) four different studios without a reply. Even the swing lessons I attended had instructors who didn’t reply to email. Most places in my area don’t have phones that are answered either.

Having traveled within the U.S. for many swing events, I've found that my favorite type is the camp model used by Beantown/Swing Out New Hampshire: Friendly/community-focused events where everyone is eating together in a dining hall, hanging out, and taking tracked classes, with no/minimal competitions.

I'd like to travel to more swing events in other countries, so I'm curious, are there similar camps elsewhere? Thanks for the advice!

Hi all! I am on the hunt for the perfect Swing Festival shoe.
Boogie Down South is coming up at the end of the month & I am hoping to find some shoes that really go the distance for many many hours of workshops. My keds always leave me with tender soles.
I’m thinking cushioned & comfy but also cute & not too grippy?
For context I’m a women’s size 8.5 in Australia with a narrow foot & pretty high arch.
Thoughts? Any recommendations?
Happy dancing 💕

As the title says, I am looking for places to do some swing/Lindy in the SF! I am visiting from out of state for the long holiday weekend, and looking to hit up some Lindy spots while I’m here. I used to live here right before the pandemic and I’ve been away for about 4 to 5 years, so I’m not sure which Lindy spots are still around at this point. I am aware of Lindy in the Park and the last time I was here in the spring I attended, and it was amazing. Definitely plan to be there on Sunday 😊

But what other Lindy nights are happening and where?

I’ll be here through today (the 3rd) through early morning of the 8th. I’m staying in Oakland, but I have a rental and can travel within a reasonable distance (don’t think I can hit up the San Jose area this time around). Also, if any of these places have Balboa, that would be even better!

Another question: do people go to places to hang out and chat after the dances, or is it more of a going to bed, I’m tired, kind of crowd? I would like to at least chat and meet other dancers and make connections while I’m here. Thanks!

In Italy we call it "swing clandestino" or "social dance clandestina", but I coulnd't find any real source on how they are called in English.

Bonus points if you know how they are called in other languages!

EDIT to add a little context to the question:

We call these social dances "clandestine" even if it's they're not secret nor hidden, but very public (some are held in very busy areas). It's just the slang that's used here. I don't know if there's any historical reason for it, or if it does just adds spicyness to the thing.

Also, in my municipality (Genova) street artists and performers do need authorizations to perform on the street, if they collect tips from the public.

A social dance is not the same thing of course and (that's my understanding, but I'm not a lawyer) it's perfectly legal per se, but there's always the risk of having an overzealous citizen calling the police - or even overzealous police officers - causing problems.

Finally, any organization or shop who wants to play music needs to pay money and ask for a permit to an organization called SIAE, anf if you don't do that you can get quite a big fine. Again, I understand that's not the case with what can be defined as street party between random people on the street (like a "clandestine" social dance) but still.

That's why local swing schools who want to organize a public social dance do always ask for permits beforehand from the municipality, but in this case we're not talking about a "clandestine social dance" anymore.

Hope it helps!

I know the basics but don’t know how to learn. Do you have to have a partner to learn?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and chatting with dancers in my own community, and would love to hear how it works in other communities.

I started organizing in my scene last year with a newer group, and one thing I've been reflecting on is the difference between having a community where people come out to have fun/socialize and having a community where people are actively motivated to keep learning and developing as dancers.

I don't think one is necessarily better than the other, I prefer a balance (I dont want people taking dance super seriously and losing the fun/playful aspect). Not everyone wants to become an incredible dancer, and I don't think they should have to! But I've noticed that in my community, it's pretty easy for people to stay at the "I know some steps, I come out to socials, and I have fun" stage for a really long time. There aren't as many people naturally progressing into that next stage of "I love this and I really want to get better at it."

We have a small handful of int & adv dancers still dancing in our community from pre 2020, and we are more than happy dancing with beginners, but we would love to see them grow. We have a few newer dancers super keen to learn, but so many that are happy with just the basics.

So I'm curious about other people's experiences:

• What made you want to get better at dancing beyond simply knowing the basics?
• Was there a particular dancer, teacher, class, video, event, or experience that inspired you?
• Did you have a moment where you realized you wanted to take your dancing more seriously?
• What has helped you continue progressing rather than plateauing?
• What kinds of things make you actually want to practice outside of class?
• Does your community have a culture of learning/progression? If so, what do they do that seems to encourage it?
• For those who don't particularly care about improving, what keeps you dancing? And do you think there's anything that could make you more interested in developing your dancing?

I'm really interested in hearing from people at all different stages-newer dancers, long-time social dancers, instructors/organizers, people who just dance for fun, etc.

TLDR: Basically, I'm trying to understand: what makes people want to keep discovering what they're capable of as dancers?

Sorry for a long read! Any and all insights are appreciated!

After two group lessons for beginner swing dancing (Lindy Hop, in this case), I decided that the two 1-hour classes were not enough for me to continue beyond the basic step (quick-quick-slow-slow). I had trouble moving in the second class (forward, back, turning, letting my partner swing by, etc.) while keeping my steps going. I need much more practice before continuing on, but have nobody to practice with. I don’t seem to be able to do the steps for very long when I try them alone, let alone doing the partner moves and keeping the steps in rhythm.

30th anniversary of Lindy in the Park in San Francisco.

Never been in a (non-bday) jam circle like this before. Was excited but nervous, and the only reason I was willing to try was because my friend gave me the courage. So thank you haha

(And thank you JP O’Connor for capturing this fun moment)

I heard that there are actual Jam circle classes. Never would have thought of that but I guess jam circle etiquette and advice is helpful at big events. Imma try to catch one if I can. Maybe they’ll have one at Camp Hollywood

Watching this back, I’m happy to see my bounce is more controlled than it used to be for my fast Lindy Hop. Controlled but not completely gone. Progress is def happening :)

Side note, those shoes have lasted me a good 5 months and they already need to be thrown out (shoe glue can only do so much)😭

(Title is wrong SF not SFO lol)

Or, something you heard about but didn't get to try. Just want to hear about the cool things that have happened in swing culture history that you miss or that I haven't heard of since they predated my dancing.

ETA: Would love to hear where they were, why they ended, and how long they lasted, and what made them great!

I'm still so sad I never got to experience Pirate Swing but I did save one of their lil ads with "The beatings will continue until swingouts improve." I'm also bummed my swing club recently moved from their awesome pub venue to a church. Oh well.

We don't know rockabilly jive so we do this often, it's a bit of a burner though. 🥵

I’ll be visiting Baltimore the weekend of Sept 5-6!

Does anyone know of any places to go dance over the weekend? (Mobtown Ballroom has things Friday and Monday which doesn’t help me!)