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!