Are you a Swing dancer? Maybe this is how you identify: you’ve been dancing for years and still get that little buzz every time you step onto the floor. Perhaps you once danced every week, but somehow life got in the way and your dancing shoes have been gathering dust. Or maybe you’ve taken a few classes, learnt a Swing Out or two, but still wouldn’t dream of calling yourself a dancer.
When exactly do we become dancers? Is it after our first lesson, our first social dance, or the moment we stop counting every step in our heads? And once we’ve crossed that invisible line and started thinking of ourselves as Swing dancers, can we ever really go back to being non-dancers?
We all arrived on the dance floor by different routes. So, what did your journey look like?
If you aren’t dancing regularly any more what made you stop? Was it work or family life that just got in the way, or did you find another passion/pastime that now consumes you? Many of us have gone through, or will go through, some of these different stages in our lives, but I believe once a Swing dancer – always a Swing dancer!
For me, being a Swing dancer has never simply meant knowing the steps. It’s that little tap in your toes when you hear a great piece of music and, if it’s really good, the almost impossible task of sitting still.
It’s also about belonging. There’s something rather special about walking into a dance, hearing the music, seeing familiar faces and feeling, Ah yes, I’m home.
Dance can give us a rhythm to life beyond the one coming from the band. There are regular classes, social dances and friends to look forward to. It gets us away from screens, work, the daily news and the everyday stresses of life. For a few hours, the outside world can wait.
Then there’s the journey itself. You learn a few steps. You get a little better. You stop staring at your feet. You discover you can lead or follow something you once thought impossible. You start hearing things in the music you never noticed before. And somewhere along the way, your confidence grows.
But perhaps the greatest gift is connection - with the music, with another person and with a whole community of people who understand why hearing a Count Basie track can suddenly make you want to get out of your chair.
And something else happens. The confidence, friendships, creativity and sheer pleasure we find through dancing don’t necessarily stay on the dance floor. They can spill over into the rest of our lives.
Perhaps that’s when we really become dancers: not when we’ve learnt enough moves, but when dancing becomes part of who we are.
What was your spark?
Do you remember your first experience of Swing dance?
What hooked you?
When did it feel like you were part of a family?
Can you remember the moment when you stopped feeling like someone who was learning Swing dance and actually started thinking of yourself as a Swing dancer?
Maybe you felt this way the first time you even just saw the dance, maybe you are not there yet.
Perhaps there was a moment when you experienced a deeper connection with the music, and you became aware of musicality? When you felt more at home on the dance floor than off, and found a freedom to express yourself you couldn’t find elsewhere? This may have been when you moved from just repeating class steps and sequences, to being able to improvise and find your individual voice/character.
Perhaps you don’t currently dance as much as you like but it has changed the way you move, stand or think outside the box, how you connect with others in your daily life and it still feels part of your DNA. You have developed a long-term relationship, and Swing will always remain part of your identity.
Whilst I hope you will find pondering these questions an interesting invitation to think about your own unique dance journey and identity as a dancer, as we approach our 40 years celebrations, I’m also interested in whether SwingdanceUK had a role, no matter how small, to play in your life. I would like to ask you four simple questions. The first three are just about your personal experiences with the dance and the last question is particularly about your connection to SwingdanceUK:
1. What originally brought you to the dance?
Were you specifically looking to learn Lindy Hop/Swing, or were you really looking for something else; fun, friends, exercise, confidence, a new hobby, the music, vintage culture, something to do with a partner...?
2. What made you stay once the initial novelty wore off?
Since you are reading these Swing Notes, I expect your relationship with the dance was not a “one-night stand” but something that became important to you. Was there something you discovered about dancing that you hadn’t expected when you first started?
3. Did dancing change anything for you?
Perhaps confidence, friendships, musical appreciation, fitness, self-expression, a sense of belonging - or something completely different?
4. Why did you continue learning with me/SwingdanceUK?
This is the one I’m particularly interested in. What, if anything, did you feel you got from my classes, events or the SwingdanceUK community that made you want to stay?
Please don’t feel you need to write an essay or give me polished answers! A few lines, bullet points, random thoughts, whatever comes naturally.
And please be candid. The useful answers aren't necessarily the flattering ones. I’m genuinely interested in understanding what worked, what mattered, and why.
Thanks so much, after teaching for all these years, I realise this is something I should have asked you a long time ago!
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Click Here & let me know your thoughts.