The growing homogeneity of lindy hop

Because of shifting priorities and the growing complexity of my life I haven’t studied lindy hop outside of my own laboratory much in the past few years. As a result my exposure to the current trends in Lindy Hop is second hand and I have an interesting perspective as I judge competitions, teach classes, and make the travels I do get to take.

I started to dance in the height of the “Savoy” vs “Hollywood” vs “Wiggle-hop” days. A well travelled dancers could quickly and easily pick out regional styles, the influence of individual instructors, and there was some pride in dancing so that people new you were from Chicago, or San Francisco, or DC, etc.

As I watch You Tube, as I watch dancers throughout the southeast, as I watch various instructors I am disappointed by what I see as a growing homogeneity. And the ultimate irony is that the current trend was initially created by a few exciting dancers seeking out the rawness that exists in plenty in the archives of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers.

Events like ULHS are also accomplices. Created to counter the sterilization of ALHC it has also become a bastion of “dance like us”. Don’t misunderstand me, the dancing at ULHS is fantastic and entertaining, it’s just looking more and more the same with fewer and fewer competitors taking the risk of dancing their “own” way (Todd Yannacone and Peter Strom come to mind quickly as exceptions, as do Mike Faltesek and Sky Humphries – but they helped to create the “raw” trend). The big exception I see is in the Solo Charleston contests, where individualism is often the deciding factor.

I don’t like the homogeneity, I want the variety back. I’m tired of dancing with followers who can’t/won’t follow what I lead because it’s so far removed from their paradigm, even generally recognized exceptional followers. I want to look forward to an event because I love the way they dance in such city. I miss the focus placed on leading and following in classes, skills that allowed you to dance with anyone regardless of how they liked to dance. I miss watching the diversity on the dance floor, not just of levels of experience and talent, but of musicality, interpretation, and even just basic swingouts.

I want people to start trying to dance they way “they” dance again and stop the driving pursuit to dance just like “he” or “she” dances. I want judges to again qualify good dancing apart from “cool” dancing and I want to see a return to instruction about how to do what you want, rather than doing what is cool.

Variety – why so little in Lindy Hop (or where did the groove go?)

Maybe this is just me, maybe it’s due to my absence the last year, but…

All or nothing at all… why is that the theme for so many Lindy Hop events (even scenes)? What happened to events with a huge variety, specifically, I mean, in the music (there is bunch of variety in the classes, but it almost all revolves around the same music). It seems that the music is all of one kind or all of another, especially blues or hot/classic jazz right now. I see very little in between anymore (I acknowledge that it does – it seems to be a niche though, now)

I don’t recall the last time I danced all night to a heavy groove between 120 and 160. I don’t typically want to do that all night, but neither do I want to spend all night dancing at 180 plus to lo-fi records, or spend my whole evening below 100; However I’ve seen a lot of 180+ or 100- only weekends lately and not very many that cover the whole spectrum.

For me, a perfect night of dancing would include both extremes, and the middle. It seems so few organizers appreciate the middle anymore. I miss dancing to a deep grooving swing, that’s so nice to do and it’s so accessible. Where did it go? Won’t somebody please bring back Smooth Sailing, Splanky, Satin Doll, or Shiny Stockings – at least occasionally?

Maybe this has to do with dancing trends. Not too long ago everyone was trying to be all smooth and slick, now dancing like you just stepped off the screen of a ’30s/’40s flick is what we all aspire too. When I started dancing I learned to loathe “hollywood style” in favor of “modern” savoy style (or more accurately described as wiggle hop).

Here’s my question… how hard is it adapt your dancing to a variety of music? Is it that difficult to go from blues, to jammin’, to balboa, to a heavy pulse in 3 hours of music? Are we, as a community, not capable, or too lazy, or just unwilling?

I’ve had more than a couple friends all but quit dancing because they’re tired of the monopoly one style of music has exerted on their scenes, again either blues or hot/classic jazz at the moment. Bring back the variety and I would wager that more people will come out more regularly, and the ones who stomp off in a huff, probably weren’t all that much fun to dance with anyway – if they danced with anyone but themselves.

Variety is the spice of life, Lindy Hop included

Lame

I had the pleasure of DJ’ing at RHLX this past weekend (more on that later). The weekend was great fun, except for one little experience during the afternoon dance on Sunday.

The dance was in a big old gazebo with picnic tables arranged in a circle around the central support pillar, much of the dancing occurred within that circle of tables. There was the general goofiness often present at these final day afternoon dances and the tables added an extra dimension. I was swept up in the craziness of a song and playful atmosphere and careless danced right into another couple.

Fortunately it was not a serious collision, my partner dutifully warned me in time for me to put on the breaks, but not quite soon enough to avoid the collision. I turned my head an apologized (it was entirely my fault) and expected the normal “no problem,” or nod, or reciprocal apology. Instead I received a one word response, “Lame,” and a condescending head shaking!

I still kind of wish I had just stopped dancing and slugged the guy rather than ignore him. But that would merely have proved his point, I guess.

Getting onto the dance floor you’re accepting that you may get run into, no one is perfect at navigating a dance floor. What happened to courtesy in that moment? I think it highly unlikely that he’s never accidentally careened into someone else in a moment of musical inspiration (or silliness). Maybe he was an abused child.

So what’s my point? A little courtesy goes along way. Had he not responded with such a mean remark he and I might actually have become friends, I’d have apologized again to him after the dance and perhaps learned his name. But no, he insulted me, and so I chose to ignore him.

So the next time you’re run into, be a little forgiving, especially if an over the shoulder apology is thrown your way. Remember how many times you’ve bumped someone else. And of course if you do the bumping apologize, and maybe even apologize again after that dance, you never know who you might become friends with.

Tags: courtesy, lindy hop, rhlx, friends, lame, apology, swing dancing, lindy exchange, memphis

Returning to the Swing Scene

Alas I have dancing thoughts to share again. I’ve been out dancing again for 3 or 4 months now and I finally have observations, adventures, and ideas to share.

I disappeared from dancing while my wife was singing in New York (opera). I visited her about every other weekend which took resources that I would have otherwise spent on dancing, but she was worth it and I got to hang out in the Big Apple a bunch (man I love that city, almost as much as Chicago). Since going out dancing (since most of Nashville’s dancing is on the weekend now) or to weekend events was a choice to not go visit her, I didn’t do much dancing save for Lindy Focus and a couple workshops in Boone.

But now that she’s (mostly) home I have returned to warpath, DJ’ing, teaching, and dancing with a vengeance.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tags: LindyFocus, lindy hop, swing dancing,

Alumni

A long time ago (in the midst of “the resurgence”) I came across a thing on the internet I’ve not been able to find that categorized Swince Dancers by class year (Freshman, Sophmore, etc.). The Alumni were listed as those who’s names you know from the “seniors”, who’s faces you only see at “special” events or when they are teaching a class.

This weekend I realized I’ve become one of them, one of those “legends” who don’t go social dancing, when they do they merely socialize dancing very little, and about the only dancing they do is while they are teaching.

In my defense this fall has been nuts. My wife moved to New York to sing and I commute up there every other weekend. I don’t get in until 11:30 on Thursday nights so there’s no Frim Fram (she lives in Inglewood and I wouldn’t get to Frim Fram from La Guardia until well after midnight anyway) and there isn’t much weekend Lindy Hop with a “reasonable” cover. The only dancing in Nashville right now is on those every other weekends I visit my wife. I didn’t plan it that way, it just happened.

Because of the money and time involved, if I go to a dance weekend (e.g. I’ve missed AVS, Southern Belle, and a few others) it means I’ve chosen to not visit my wife but go dancing rather.

This last weekend (at the Swing Smorgasbord in Cincinnati) was the first dancing I’ve done since early October teaching in Boone, and just like that weekend, the only reason I went is because I was teaching.

I used to feel some resentment towards those who were like this. Now that I am one, I feel resentment about being like this, but mostly because I resented those who were similar back when I was an absolute addict.

Tags: LindyHop, Swing Dancing, Cincy Swing, New York City, Frim Fram, Cinicinnati, Social Dance