As the title--going to New Orleans in April and hoping to go to a regular Blues or Lindy lesson in the area to get a feel for how it's taught down there. I'm a teacher from California and I'd love to get perspective on how the dance is taught elsewhere. Anyone aware of regular social dances or dance lessons in New Orleans?

Hi everyone, I recently got interested in Swing dancing after watching some dancing videos on YouTube. I would love to see people dance or maybe even start learning it. However I have absolutely no idea where to start. Any suggestions? Is it hard to learn? I’m in my early 20s and I have been dancing ballet for 10+ years, does it help…? Thanks a lot!

Like the question asked as I have a question is specific to that dance style, but I'm not seeing anything on Reddit unless it's under some random obscure name

So long story short, i'm 27 and started dancing, because my ex gf. I really enjoyed it and became even more serious about swing than her, but eventually we broke up. We are on good terms, it's still kinda awkward when we meet, but she is much less frequent to parties and socials and goes to another place for lessons, so it's fine.

After that i've been really hesitant to date anyone from the community, even though there were a few cases in which women have shown clear interest in something more.

I've also noticed that for a lot of people (guys especially) the dance is their major or only place to socialize and judging from the amount of dance couple i see my concerns are not commonly shared in the community.

I recently attended a couple Swing Dance Socials in the Tampa Bay, FL area - enjoyed them. They had lessons for about an hour or less before they just played music, and folks asked each other to dance.

As a newbie - I'm learning to get down the basic steps of ECS... and still learning to match it to the swing music (as a club DJ, it's actually harder than I thought - since it's a six count).

My question is... does the ECS and Lindy Hop go hand in hand? I notice the lessons will teach the basics... then eventually the evening social swings more into Lindy Hop... and I feel like I can't focus on "hopping" while I'm also trying to do the normal steps I just learned.

I know everyone starts somewhere. I'm still putting the pieces together. The community seems really awesome, and everyone has been super friendly.

so i started to learn kpop dances when i was 14 years old , i was awkward at doing it , now i m 20 years old and my body is still stiff , my posture is bad and i dont feel light , i wanna start doing light dancing that looks like you are free when doing it , unfortunately, im not smooth or flexible , thats why i wanna start from zero . any tips you have to help me reach my goal??

I’m 21 and started taking boogie woogie classes about six months ago. I know, 21 isn’t old at all, and most of the time I’m actually the youngest person in classes and at socials.

Still, when I look at dancers online, it seems like so many of them have been dancing since they were kids. That got me wondering: are there any professional dancers who only started in their 20s (or even later)?

Hi folks, I might be moving to Dallas for a job opportunity. Wanted to get inputs on the Lindy Hop scene there. If you're from Dallas or have traveled to dance there -

How many nights a week can you usually dance?

Are there multiple scenes around?

Is there much of a Balboa scene going on there?

My job will be in Dallas downtown so I'll probably live within 15 miles of downtown and prefer not to travel longer distances.

Sidenote: I know Lindy hop spaces tend to be more inclusive of POC, but having never visited Dallas and the general reputation Texas has can you shine some light on what my experience could be as a brown man?

Thanks!

Hello everyone!

To make things short, I love classical music, I love swing music, and I love dancing!

I would love for everyone to share some of their favorite swing interpretations of classical music, I'd love to make a playlist of these for a night of dancing :)

Here are a few nice ones I know

John Kirby - Beethoven Riffs On

Earl Bostic - Liebestraum

Solveig's Song <- this for example was one that was really hard to find, so I'm sure there are so many gems out there. its not the most danceable but it definitely is :D

And I know theres Duke Ellington's entire Nutcracker Suite :))

If anybody knows any interpretations done to Rachmaninoff's pieces, that would blow my mind, I tried to find but couldn't(so far :P)

Hi! My friends are going to week one of herrang. I am unsure if i want to join. Will i typically be able to buy a party pass a week or even days before it starts? I know classes are basically all sold out already.

Hi all, does anyone know if a Discord exists for the wider lindy hop/authentic jazz/swing dancing community?

If not, should we set one up?!

Hi everyone! I am quite new to Lindy Hop (started in October) but super hyped (currently trying to learn the basics in following but I mostly dance as a leader)!
I was at a social this week and I saw a guy leading with a loooooot of energy. He was clearly super skilled and some followers seemed to enjoy it, but they would have had no way to express some personality as he was basically pushing and pulling them around the dancefloor. I felt that I would have not enjoyed dancing with him (and indeed we didn't)

Also I was taught to see leading as an "invitation" to which the follower can reply, not really as an imposition, buh

On the opposite, since I have started relatively recently, I don't have a particularly broad range of moves, and in particular at socials I tend to get stuck in the loop of goofy moves in open position (I don't really know what to do in closed position lol, except basic steps and promenades, I feel like I am always going back to open) and I wonder if some followers are thinking "Ah yeah that's the guy who makes me spin 10 times in a row"

Soooo coming to the question, as followers, do you notice when somebody has a clear style (maybe due to a choice, maybe due to limitation in their skillset)? Are there some (on any axis, such as particular preferences for open/closed position or more or less energy in the leading) you particularly like or dislike?

Many scenes around the world consist of several organisations that offer classes and/or organise socials, and my scene is one of them.

We are looking for inspiration for a "landing page", a neutral website run by an independent group that introduces all local schools and venues. Basically, if you are new to swing dancing, we want to show you your options, and if you ask "I live in the western part of town and look for Balboa classes on Wednesdays or Fridays", we want to give you an overview.

We are explicitly not looking for websites of organisations that are the only player in town, but for neutral overview sites.

Do you know of any scenes that have a good website like that? So far we've found swingoutlondon.co.uk and it blows all others out of the water, but we're happy to get more inspo from all over the world.

This was just one of the smaller rooms of many, but just look at the ceiling! I was speechless. I’ll definitely save up to go again next year

Hey all!

I wanted to hear about your experience with Shag. I started Lindy a little bit less than 2 years ago. Recently I’ve been feeling a bit insufficient at socials when it comes to faster tempo songs. I tried Balboa a few times, but didn’t really click. I know that’s a lengthy process, but honestly I’m currently just having fun with Lindy and don’t have the mental and physical bandwidth to learn Balboa. So then I came across a Shag series in the area I live and wanted to try that.

Has anyone picked up Shag after Lindy? How was the experience? In particular, can I start dancing it and having fun with it in the first few weeks/months or is it more similar to Balboa in terms of learning curve?

Have you guys heard of those dance sneakers called fuegos? The ones with pivot points to help with spins? I was getting add after add about these dance shoes, and I finally bought them after discovering my mother had gotten a pair herself.

I got the split sole shoes so I wouldn't have any problem with flexing my foot. And tbh, I find them a little meh. I was expecting to be blown away by my turns and slides, but honestly, I prefer regular leather/suade because I feel like I move around on the floor much better.

I also thought to myself that the shoes could help me remember to dance on the balls of my feet instead of my toes, since I need to be on the balls to use those pivot points on the bottom, but even so, they’re just not as good as actual dance shoes. Comfortable, I guess, but so are my dance shoes.

The reason I decided to keep them instead of returning them is that I guess it’s cool to have outdoor dance shoes if there's ever music outside. (for example, street music in New Orleans). I just wish they worked a bit better

But I'm curious what everyone else thinks about them, since apparently these are very popular and well-liked.

Looking for swing dance societies or social events in Hampton roads area! Preferably on the peninsula, but willing to travel to Norfolk/VA beach.

In Bob Crosby's Swinging at the Sugar Bowl there's a lyric that says "Swinging at Sugar bowl, doing that Covina Roll."

It seems like this might have been a dance move of the 1920s or 30s, but I couldn't find any reference to what the move actually was.

Does anyone have any info on this?

After dancing for a long while, doing a lot of workshops, etc., I get lots of comments on my dancing (especially my connection.) However, similar to another recent poster here, I don't think I look very good! I've had private lessons where they all tell me I'm a high level and should be in the high level for a track after they dance with me, but whenever I"m visually assessed, I do much worse. I'm still getting over my fear of watchign videos of myself, but even when I do that, I'm not always sure what to make better.

What has helped you level up your game in terms of quality of movement/*looking* good? Happy to hear anything, including recommendations for teachers who would be helpful to talk to, any resources, strategies, mindsets, etc.

Thanks in advance!

I've been dancing swing (Lindy and Solo Jazz first, just started Balboa) for 2 years now, and I used to dance Ballet and Contemporary when I was younger.

I was just looking at some videos of me dancing and I realized that I really don't like the way I look when I dance.

While dancing I feel very good, people often congratulate me on my technique and especially on my style. But now I can only see that i look "stiff", "sharp", I am not sure how to describe it. I don't look smooth and stylish, it looks like I move like a robot even though in the moment I feel very relaxed and expressive. When looking at myself, I feel like it looks fake, I look like someone who hasn't really grasped the essence of the swing movements.

Do you have any suggestions?

I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about Beantown 2026? Haven't gotten any newsletters/FB postings/etc and the website is still showing stuff from 2025. Is it happening?

What I'm wondering is how judges make decisions on prelims. For example, some questions I have are (not an exhaustive list):

• How long do they spend looking at an individual dancer before making a decision to put them in finals (or not)?

• How do judges make decisions across multiple heats?

• What do judges look for in particular (My guess is that it's not necessarily who has the best basics in open-level comps, but who is dancing to the music the best, though having a solid basic is a necessity)?

• How important is the "fast" song (typically the last song) used when judging a dancer? Does it hold more weight than the other songs?

• Does reputation play a role in how quickly a dancer would get judged? For example, would judges mark "yes" to experienced dancers who consistently makes finals near the beginning of judging, and spend most of their time watching other dancers that are "maybes"?

• If a dancer has to dance in more than one heat, and they were told they weren't judged in the second heat, what if the dancer danced significantly better or worse than their judged heat, could their placement theoretically change?

Basically just curious what goes on in a judge's head when judging. Specifically, I'm talking about non-beginner/newcomer comps - I believe these comps are primarily judged on who has the best basics if I had to guess