Swing Dynamite Blog
Thoughts and news about swing dancing in Ottawa
Bar and Band Etiquette for Swing Dancers
[ 2 Comments ] Posted by byron on Nov 28, 2011 in Getting Good at Swing Dancing, Live Music
Do you know why most cities don’t have swing dances in bars? Or why it’s uncommon for swing dances to feature live music? To begin with, did you know that in 1999 that many cities, including Ottawa, had a number of bars that featured swing dance nights?
Most of those venues died, and one of the reasons was the behaviour of some swing dancers. Now that we’re getting more bar nights and live music in Ottawa, let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again. Together we can help build a culture of etiquette, respect, and also the party attitude that will make more nights of swing dancing possible. You can go further than “not being a problem” and actually join together with other dancers to spread good etiquette and a respect for the musicians and venue.
Remember that musicians are professionals. They rely on the success of the bar to be paid. A few bars don’t even charge a cover for their swing, jazz or blues nights, which means they rely completely on drink sales (and some cases food) in order to pay the musicians. That means two things: one, that buying drinks is what pays for the privilege of dancing in the bar, and two, that realistically speaking it’s the people who sit all night, drinking and listening to the music, who are really paying for the band. As swing dancers we need to treat the people who sit and drink as a very valuable resource, because without them there is no bar night or live music.
Many dancers make the incorrect assumption that merely by showing up and dancing, they’re providing entertainment and therefore value to the bar. It’s simply not true. Have you ever tried to watch two hours of Jack ‘n Jills in a row? Yeah. Some people like watching the dancers, and others just get annoyed at all of the people obstructing their view of the band.
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Travel Checklist for Swing Events
[ No Comments ] Posted by byron on Nov 24, 2011 in Competitions, Travelling to Swing Events
Are you going on your first trip to a swing event? Or have you finally realized that every single time, you forget something? After over a decade of travelling–whether to learn, to teach, to DJ, to perform, to compete, or just to have fun–I’ve collected a pretty extensive list of stuff to remember.
First, a few extra tips for travelling:
- If you travel a lot–say more than one weekend a month–it can be worth it not to completely unpack. I usually leave items in my suitcase that I’m not likely to need until the next time I travel.
- Get extras of everything. I like to have a travel toiletries bag with extra everything–toothpaste, a toothbrush, etc. In fact it’s useful to own a lot of extra socks and underwear.
- Cash, plastic, papers, and shoes. Remember that as long as you have travel documentation (eg. passport, visa, driver’s license etc.) and money (cash, credit card, debit card) you can probably buy just about anything else you might need, so those are the big priorities. Next is dance shoes, although you can buy those at most dance events.
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Swing Choreography and the Tibetan Sand Mandala
[ 1 Comment ] Posted by byron on Nov 23, 2011 in Getting Good at Swing Dancing, Teaching Dance
Some swing dancers love routines, some hate them. Since I started off in the “not a fan” dept. and moved on to choreograph more numbers, routines, sequences and so on than I can remember, let me explain the value of choreography for people whose only goal is pure social dancing.
Swing dancing is an improvised, social activity, a collaborative art form created in the moment. And when I first started taking swing lessons I couldn’t understand why teachers kept insisting on doing mini-routines. After all, my goal wasn’t to memorize a choreography, it was learning to lead the moves. Let’s face it, when classes use routines, there’s often as much back-leading as there is following. So why do it?
There are a few reasons:
- Spotting errors. If everyone’s doing the same thing, teachers can spot obvious errors like major footwork problems or timing issues immediately, even in a very large class. Good teachers can also spot when dancers are backleading in order to make it work.
- Transitions. If you’re just learning to dance, often the transitions between moves are the hardest to lead and to follow. By doing a sequence, we ensure that everyone knows how to go from move to move. This is important for the leaders, who sometimes freak out and need about 137 basics in a row before they’re willing to try the new move, because having a sequence gives them a chance to get quicker transitions into muscle memory. But it’s just as important for followers, who need to get their bodies ready after one challenging move to do the next.
- Memory. When students leave the class, the mini-routine helps ensure they remember the moves when they try to practice them at home–or out dancing.
- Repetition. By doing the same moves over and over again in a sequence, you engrave them into muscle memory, which means that instead of worrying about what’s next, you can relax and think about doing them better.
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