Let's talk about the places where you can Lindy Hop – If I wanted to start, how could I do that?
Most major cities have a Lindy Hop scene. The best place to start is the internet- finding the local dance and going out. Of course lessons are a helpful way to get a handle on the basics, but the most important thing is to go out and start moving to the music.
In the last decade, swing dancing in general has seen a surge in popularity – what accounts for that? Can you explain the time line?
Well certainly Neo-swing in the 90’s gave a certain form of the dance and music a new kind of visibility. Clubs put on Swing nights, young people flocked to bars and clubs and dance classes.
While the scenes co-existed, (with more or less overlap in different regions) they were never identical. When Neo-Swing faded, Lindy Hop had gained new enthusiasts but didn’t disappear. [Lindy Hop] had been around before and continued after. Many young people were exposed to it though college started Swing clubs and the demographic began to shift towards a younger crowd.
What are some of the “core moves” of the Lindy Hop?
The basic of the Lindy Hop is the Swing Out: a circular step done in eight beats in which the partners come together and then move apart. I have never seen anything so perfectly put together, there is no more versatile or meaningful basic in any dance I’ve seen.
How were you introduced to dancing in general? Were you a trained dancer before going into swing? If swing was your first exposure to dance, what drew you to it/ made you want to become a dancer.
I always had an interest in movement- though not necessarily dancing.
I used to want to be a clown. I loved the old movies of Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. My brothers and I would recreate slapstick scenes, walks, and a million other little motions we watched in those old movies. I loved the way those guys moved, I loved the way their specific movements felt when I watched them and later when I tried them myself.