Swing dancing: an undervalued form of entertainment?

Managing The Swing Sesh, I get a lot of enquiries from people who want swing dancers as entertainment at their events. The type of events can vary, from corporate events, private parties, product launches, expos, and so on. The more enquiries I get, the more frustrated I become with the way Swing dancing is undervalued as a form of entertainment. I have declined many bookings, because the producer did not expect to pay for the dancers. Or, they act as if it is a great privilege to be performing at their event, and think that we will be thrilled to get into their event for free or have a meal there. Or I hear “it will be great exposure!” (yes, fantastic exposure when your MC pronounces my name wrong or you don’t put my flyers out!). In one example, the producer actually expected us to pay to get into the event and then perform. You can imagine what my response to that was!

This has me wondering why this is. I also work as a professional burlesque dancer, and I don’t seem to have anywhere near as much trouble getting paid what I am worth for a burlesque performance (in comparison – this problem is still prevalent in the burlesque industry, but I have found it much more difficult to get paid decent rates in swing dancing). Why is it that many producers won’t balk at a quote for a burlesque performer, but try and get swing dancers to do demos for free at their event? This irks me even more when an event has a jazz band that is being paid for their time. Why is it that the work a musician does is more highly valued then that of a dancer? We spend many hours rehearsing and training, just like a musician or any other performing artist.
Edit: I didn't mean to imply that dancers should be paid the same exact rate as musicians (though I am now aware that's how it reads). Musicians should most certainly be paid more - they are often there for longer, playing long sets, and as one reader mentioned over at Yehoodi, they can spend more time on their art then many dancers. I also didn't mean to imply that musicians are paid fair rates, on the contrary I believe they deserve more. What I meant by this statement is that in my experience, it is not unexpected that a band will be paid for an event (obviously there are exceptions), but for some reason it is a surprise when I quote for a swing performance. 

Perhaps it is because swing dancing is a hobby for many, and a profession for few, in my city, Adelaide, at least. There are probably less than 10 performing swing dancers that I know of in SA, but a large contingent of people who dance as a hobby. I guess it is also something a lot of people do for the love of it, and so hiring parties might assume that since we love dancing so much we will jump at the chance to dance anywhere. It could also be because often a request is made for several dancers, to increase the visual impact, so the price is higher for 2 or 3 couples then just 1 and this, for some reason, is not expected.

Sadly, we may have set our own low industry rate. When I have been approached to be a performer at a gig that was not booked through myself or The Swing Sesh, I have been appalled at the low payment rates offered. I took on a few of these gigs before I decided that if I didn’t demand what I was worth as a professional performer then I was never going to get it. If people are always going to work for less than they are worth, then sadly we will never get paid the amount we actually deserve.

Dancing is my profession. Yes, I love my job, but this doesn’t mean I don’t deserved to be paid for the work, dedication and commitment I put into my dancing. I take every gig I do seriously and respect those involved in production and venue management – I don’t think it’s too much to ask the same in return. I will continue to fight for rates that are fair for the performers at my school, and it is my hope that all performing artists can start saying NO to people who do not value them. If you do not value me as a performer, then why would I perform for you?


Luna

Edit: Obviously my scope is limited to my hometown. I'd be very interested to know if this occurs in other swing scenes as well. 

Jack and Jill Competitions

This is a very quick post about "Jack and Jill" competitions. As we will be holding one at our upcoming Grad Dance I thought I'd post some information about what you can expect.

For a J&J comp, you don't enter as a couple, you enter as an individual. Then you are matched with random partners who you will dance with at varying tempos. Usually, the first few rounds you are judged as an individual, and then in the final round you are judged as a couple.

J&J comps are great because you don't know who you'll be dancing with, what song it will be, and what you can come up with! Judges are looking for connection with your partner, musicality, energy and enthusiasm.

ANY LEVEL can enter, and it's really just about having a load of fun and meeting new people!

Because the next Grad Dance on July 7th is movie themed, there may be a few songs in there you wouldn't expect......you register when you arrive so make sure you're on time!

Here is a video of the mixed levels Jack and Jill comp at Swing Camp Oz 2011, you may recognise a few Swing Sesh faces in there, including yours truly dancing with David Walton (we placed 2nd...yee!).

Most of all, HAVE FUN!!!!

Here is another video of some professionals getting silly in a Jack and Jill...

Quite a bit of silliness can happen...

Stuff I need to work on and what I intend to do about it

It's time for my confessional....

So I just got back from an amazing weekend of dancing at Melbourne Swing Festival, and like any time I throw myself into some hardcore workshops, I came away with a list of things I want to work on in my dancing. No matter what level your dancing is at, you always have something to learn...and boy do I have a lot!

So I thought I'd share with you guys two things I want to work on in my dancing and how I intend to do it!

1) Articulating my footwork

I tend to have a habit to have muffled footwork, especially at higher tempos. If you're body is a representation of the music, then I feel like sometimes my feet cause that annoying static you get on the radio! The one thing in common in all the top notch dancers that I love is that there footwork is super clear and not slippy or shuffly unless done out of necessity/styling. Sometimes my feet tend to slip around a bit, and when the music picks up, my footwork gets a little lazy, even though I don't cut out my steps.

In order to remedy this, I reckon I need to drill doing various footwork patterns around my place at different tempos, and playing around with the different levels of clarity you can get with your feet. I have also recently started taking tap classes, which I think might help, because you need clear footwork in tap to get the distinct sounds. This also ties in to the next thing I want to work on....

2) Rythym changes

We did an amazing workshop with Nina Gilkenson and Mike Faltesek that was all about different footwork rythyms, and playing around with rythym styles taken from the music and put into our feet. Man, I found this class HARD. I can change my footwork around, but usually my stylings will keep a swung rythym. We were working on stuff outside of that rythym, and although I got it in the end it made me realise I need to work on this stuff!

I think tap classes will help a WHOLE bunch with this. Even the basic steps in tap have lots of fun footwork rythyms that I think could work great in Lindy Hop. The sounds also help me feel like I'm a part of the band too, which is an awesome feeling. I also intend to play around with rythym concepts more in my practicing.

These are just the two new things I have recently added to my long list, which includes responding quicker to frame changes, allowing hips to create rotation instead of shoulders, swivelling as bad-ass as Nina Gilkenson, aerials, and so on....

Lindy Hop is a bottomless rabbit hole of awesome technique to work on. I love it!

Lindy 2 June 7th - Hand to hand charleston

This week we started learning an important aspect of Lindy Hop - Lindy Charleston.

Hand to hand charleston is awesome fun and has loads of potential for variations and fun bits. Here is a great video with some hand to hand and tandem (which we'll be learning next week!).

See you next week!

Frankie moves and Suzie-Qs: Lindy 2, 31st May 2011

 In Lindy 2 this week we learnt some classic Frankie moves, following on from the Frankie Fling, as well as beginning to incorporate solo jazz moves into your dancing. This week was the Suzie Q!

There are many great videos on YouTube that show Frankie demonstrating classic moves, such as...

This is a good collection by Kenny Nelson and Tiffany Wine, including the "Round the World", which we learnt in class.

And here is a vintage clip of Al Minns and Leon James demonstarting how NOT to do the Suzie Q, as well as how to it should be done!

Hope you enjoyed the class folks! Remember, we are always after your feedback, so if you have some, good or bad, we'd love to hear it in our feedback form here.

Inspiration for The Frankie Fling!

A few have asked about what to wear to The Frankie Fling this Thursday night at Estonian Hall, 200 Jeffcott Street. So, I have posted some vintage dance photos from back in the Savoy and all over the place! Enjoy!

For the ladies, there are lots of different YouTube tutorials for vintage hair and makeup. I reccomend checking out this post on the Peaches 'n' Gin blog. There is loads of stuff there!

Lindy Hop 1 Recap: Week 2

This week we introduced you to some new techniques, including how to get out into open and how to stay connected with your partner once you are out there!

Here is a quick recap of the moves from week two's class:

The Swing Out to open and closed
This week we learnt the "basic" of Lindy Hop, the swing out. This move will be something you will work on for the rest of your dancing days, simply because it is something that can always be improved. With a little bit of practice you'll be swinging out smoothly in no time! Points to remember:

• Leads, on 5, point your toe in the direction you wish to send your partner and use your body to create the momentum to send her out in open.
• Follows, keep your feet under your hips and step where it feels naturally, thinking about travelling backwards until you reach the end point of your connection.
• Both leads and follows, remember we are aiming for a "2 or 3 level" of connection, and keep your arms nice and relaxed with a kink in your elbow.
• When going back into closed, the leads do not use their arms to pull their partner in, but step back and use their body. Follows, remember to keep right foot in front whilst triple-stepping.

The Walk Hard
This move aimed to help break up your footwork a little and give you a chance to relax and get a little groovy!

• Leads, be confident in your steps and use your arm as a bar to bring your partner with you.
• Follows, try and step as far as your partner so as not to get ahead.

See you next week for continual swing outs, turns, and other awesomeness!

Lindy Hop 1 Recap : Week One

This week is the first week of our brand new Lindy Hop blocks! To help you remember everything you learn in class we have decided to do a little recap of the moves and technique with some important points to remember about each. It's definietly not a substitute to the class, but it may jog your memory!

In the first week we talked about the roles of the lead and follow, how the lead initiates a move and the follow waits to feel the lead before responding. As you get more advanced these roles can become a little more flexible, but for now it's good to keep a nice and clear structure.

First we started with the basic footwork, (step,step, triple step, step, step, triple step), and did this along a line with our partner. This is just a nice building block for learning the footwork, but be prepared to adapt!

The next two moves involved the leads staying on the spot and moving their partner in front:

The Promenade

• Follows, you are always trying to keep connected with the hand on your back, hence you walk backwards.
• Leads, think about walking straight through your partner confidently and clearly.
• At the end, follows stay on the spot and leads move to the side.

The Yo-Yo

• Follows, don't expect the move, step as if you were being led in a Promenade. This will help create that nice stretchy feeling we talked about.
• Leads, provide a nice squishy wall for your follow to hit, as opposed to an uncomfortable solid wall (which causes whiplash!).

The next two moves involved the follows staying on the spot this time, and the leads moving directly in front of their partner.

The Lindy Circle

• The big bad daddy of the class-you will use this move for the rest of your Lindy Hoppin' days! Practice makes perfect.
• Leads, think about pivoting around, as opposed to crossing your feet either in front or behind.
• Follows, only step as far as necessay (as in, only as far as your led). If you feel like you are tripping up on your feet, remember to cross in front and not behind.

The Outside Turn

• Leads, create a nice high five and then send your partner through on count 5.
• Follows, pace your steps and only turn as far as your partner has led you. Keep your forearm in front of your face to protect your shoulder.

We hope you enjoyed the class! If you have some feedback, we'd love to hear it! You can access our feedback form online here. You can remain anonymous.

Stay tuned for a video recap of week one, as it won't upload at the moment. We will add it later!

In case you were wondering

Just in case you were wondering what Mr Charm is up to....

Hmmm.....maybe you should check out his blog Fidgety Feet.

Random thoughts on leading and following

Wooosh time flies by. It's been way too long since I last posted here. I shall make an attempt to do so more often!

The Swing Sesh was recently visited by the amazing Todd Yannacone and Lexi Keeton, who taught some fantastic workshops with a lot of solid core fundamentals as well as some nifty new "moves". For some reason or another, not many leads came along. I'm not really sure why this is, it seems strange to me seeings as Todd is such a phenomenal lead, here in our own hometown! But anyway, we had quite the turnout of enthusiastic ladies, all eager to learn some new material and work on their skills (this makes me do a little happy dance). As the ratio was fairly out of whack, most of The Swing Sesh teaching follows took the workshops as leads, myself included.

I was actually quite excited. I've always been somewhat of an ok lead, mostly at a beginner level, garnered from teaching experience and just socially dancing. Unfortunately, as I said before, we do have quite a lot of follows in Adelaide so sometimes I'd hear a song I really wanted to dance to, but couldn't find a lead. Thus, I began leading myself. I also found it an essential tool whilst teaching, because it is often useful to be able to give feedback to both roles, and as such you need to know something about both! I've always remained at a beginner level though because I haven't really worked on it, plus I am so busy teaching now I find it hard to get to classes and take them as a lead.

 The workshops with Todd and Lexi were the first time I'd really focused on my leading and critically thought about it, turning on my minds eye to look at myself and see what I'm actually doing. What an eye opener that was! Wow did it make me appreciate the complexities of leading a little more. Not that I didn't appreciate it before hand (nor am I saying following is not complex!), but I really felt like there was so much pressure, as I was directing the flow of the dance in this context. I know how frustrating it can be as a follow in a workshop where it is difficult to practice a technique when the leads are still practicing initiating it. So this was always on my mind during the classes.

At the end of the day I felt like I had gotten so much out of the workshops. Not only had I learnt some techniques as a lead, but I was also able to take all the follow-based feedback and slot that into my mind for future reference. How's that for getting 100% out of a workshop! I feel much more confident leading, and, I guess a little more aware of what I am capable of at the moment (I recently went through that phase of leading where my body wants to do something to the music but I can't quite pull it off and it turns into a little of a mess!). Now I have some tools to play around with and try and express the music with that I feel I have a solid grasp on.

The other big plus I have found from working on my leading is that it enables me to play around a lot more with shifting the roles when I am following. So, if I decide whilst following that I'd like to take a few counts or a phrase in a certain direction, and I want to initiate that myself I can communicate that a little more clearly to the lead I'm dancing with (well, most of the time anyway!). I don't feel like I'm interrupting the flow as much because I have a better idea about what the lead needs in order to continue the flow of whatever it is that I am offering him.

I know there are quite a few leads in Adelaide who recently have started taking classes as a follow, and I think this is great! Understanding both sides of the dance can only make us better dancers. Sometimes people have said things to me "you're to feminine to be leading", and I think that's crap! One can still be feminine and lead, or be masucline whilst following (actually, when I first started dancing I did a workshop with Josh McKiterick and Noni Clarke that challenged gendering the roles, that was a darn cool workshop), so I love that the dancers in the scene are embracing that.

Yeah! So ends my random thoughts.

Later, I'll add some resources related to this topic. *Hunts through favourites*.

The inaugural Swing Sesh Championships!

I'm thrilled to announce that we are holding the first Swing Sesh Championships at the first graduation dance of the year, on March the 3rd!

The Swing Sesh Championships are open to all levels of dancing, and are open to Lindy Hoppers from all over SA (so if you're not coming to Swing Sesh classes, you can still enter!). We want you to think less about this as a competition, and more as an awesome way to work hard on your dancing, and show off your mad skills!

I know a few students I have spoken to are a little bit hesitant about entering, so I thought I would write this blog post to flesh out the finer details a little, and give you a little more information. If you have any questions about the competition, please feel free to speak to me at classes/socials, phone 0405 144 301, or add me on Skype by searching for info@theswingsesh.com (and you can email me too!). 

So here are the details of the competition:

• You enter with a set partner. This is different to the Jack & Jill Competitions we have run in the past, where we have paired you with a random partner on the night. This way, you can choose a partner now, and work with them on all your fancy moves!
• Couples must register by the 28th of February, by emailing info@theswingsesh.com. 
• The competition is open to all levels of dancing. If you think you're not good enough, take inspiration from the fact that Level Two leads took out first and second place in the Camp Oz competition a few weeks ago! Whilst the judges will be taking into account the technique of your dancing, this will be based on YOUR skill level. We don't expect people who have been dancing for 6 months to swing out the same as those who have been dancing 6 years. 
• The competition will begin with an all-skate, which is when all couples dance on the floor at the same time. Then, each couple will do two spotlights, which is when only one couple dances, and is your chance to show the audience what you are made of! 
• The first spotlight will be in the tempo range of 150-165bpm. The second spotlight will be between 166-180bpm. It's a good idea to practice in these tempo ranges.

So what will the judges be looking for?

• Technical ability: as stated earlier, this will be based on your skill level. If you have been dancing a couple of months, then this will be taken into account. For this aspect of the competition, it's a great idea to bust out a few solid swing outs, as well as a few moves which might involve different kinds of techniques. Swing outs are where it's at!
• Partner rapport: the judges will be looking for couples that dance together, and that have good partner rapport. Leads, take care of your follows, and let them have their moment to shine! Follows, listen to your leads, and make sure your styling still allows you to keep connection with the lead. Look at your partner, smile at them, be happy when they do an awesome move. 
• Musicality: you won't know what music is being played until you are up and ready to dance! This way, the judges can look at your musicality. Listen to the music whilst you are dancing, and try and express the music with your dancing. During the spotlights, couples get a full phrase (eight 8's), and as we all know, something fabulous normally happens at the end of the phrase, so that's the best time to bust out a sweet move! A good way to work on your musicality is to listen to lots of kinds of music, and dance a lot. Even if you just dance by yourself around the house in a silly 80's fashion, just listening to lots of kinds of music and trying to interpret it with your body will teach you a lot about swing music.
• Fun and entertainment of the audience: entertaining the audience counts for a lot when performing, so try and think about things that will grab the audiences attention. Try and project your awesomeness through your chest and out through the whole room! A couple that may not be the most advanced dancers in the world, but who are smiling at eachother and the audience, and having a lot of fun are much more entertaining then super advanced dancers who look serious or bored. SMILE!

I think a lot of the students are concerned that this is a super serious competition, and I want to dispel this myth! Chris and I decided to run this competition right after Camp Oz. We were inspired by the number of students who entered the Jack and Jill competition, and 6 out of the 16 finalists were Swing Sesh students and teachers! We were so impressed that we wanted to give all of our keen and enthusiastic dancers a chance to showcase everything they have been working for. We want it to be a fun and supportive way of working on your skills and showing them off!

We don't have a full on prize pool, because that would make it a serious unsmiley face competition, however you could win a free workshop with Todd Yannacone when he is here March 25th on the Tour de Todd! Everyone will also win huge amounts of kudos from their fellow dancers :D

Jarryd and I will be teaching a short course called "More Bang For Your Buck" leading up to the competition, which will cover fancy entries, exits, and flashy moves which are really easy to pull of but look spectacular (hence the title!)! This course is of course open to anyone who wants to come along, and not just those competing. These moves are great for jam circles, competitions, and impressing your mates. You can RSVP to the course on Facebook.

The most important thing to remember is to HAVE FUN!

See you on the dance floor!

Luna

 
The Swing Sesh
www.theswingsesh.com
info@theswingsesh.com
Ph 0405 144 301

Hello from Luna!

Hello! For those who don't know me, my name is Luna Godfrey and I am a swing dancing instructor and burlesque performer. I have recently taken over the management of The Swing Sesh, and have many exciting plans for the school! Chris Härm, the founder, will also be co-directing the school, but spends most of his time travelling the world and teaching Lindy Hop and blues at an international level. This post is basically to tell you a little bit about myself, and what I hope The Swing Sesh will become.

I've danced for pretty much my entire life. For around 10 years I was a professional bellydancer, and I have been a burlesque performer for about 4 years. I've also dappled in other performing arts like contemporary dance, theatre and jazz. I only started swing dancing around 3 years ago, but I immediately caught the bug. I attended as many classes as physically possible, as well as private lessons with local teachers. I knew I was obsessed when I was triple stepping around the house, garden, work...anywhere! Another sign was my inability to watch anything other then Lindy Hop competition videos on YouTube, and my distaste for any kind of music that didn't have a swing rythym. My obsession hasn't changed much today! Since starting Lindy Hop, I have tried to travel as much as I can and to learn from as many different people as possible. I am a firm believer that there is something to be learnt from everyone you meet, and always try to remember this in any level class.

A lot of people from outside my dancing life can't understand my passion for the dance, and I don't think you can really appreciate it until you've caught it. There is something about sharing a dance with a partner you've never met before, and being able to create something new, fresh and artistic with that person. It's such a joy and a challenge, and the experiences are continually changing as you dance with different people. There is also much to be said for the rich history behind Lindy Hop. Reading the about the lives of those who pioneered the dance gives me so much inspiration, and also makes me feel like we all have  a responsibility to pass on the dance to others, and to help them find the inspiration and joy we feel ourselves.

The Adelaide swing scene is quite small, but we have a really great community here. I really hope to help make that grow and expand, and through The Swing Sesh give people an avenue through which they can learn more and discover their own personalities as dancers. The people in the school have so much potential, and it's my dream for us all to grow together as a community, and look back on where we started and see how far we've come.

There are going to be many changes at The Swing Sesh, all looking to create a positive environment for all levels of Lindy Hoppers. It will take me a while to get a hold on how the system is working right now, so please excuse any hiccups that may occur whilst the changeover is taking place. I welcome any feedback you might have, so please don't hesitate to email me with any comments, queries or ideas at luna@theswingsesh.com, or you can phone me on 0405 144 301. You can also add me on Facebook and Skype (search for luna@theswingsesh.com) The Swing Sesh would be nothing without it's students so if you've got something to say, please don't hesitate!

I look forward to sharing the Lindy Hop journey with all of you. There is so much to learn and see!

Luna
The Swing Sesh
http://www.theswingsesh.com/
Ph 0405 144 301
info@theswingsesh.com

Chris and I...partners in crime! (and lindy hop)