New Dance Classes, Different Types of Swing, Dance in Ocala, Tango, Balllroom

Published: Fri, 09/12/14

Gainesville Ocala Swing and Social Dance Newsletter 2014-09-12

New Dance Classes, Different Types of Swing, Dance in Ocala, Tango, Balllroom

Hello and Gainesville Ocala Social Dancers,

I have had a number of people recently contact me about dance classes, group, semi-private and private lessons. Some of the dances people have expressed interest in are: Argentine Tango, Hustle, Lindy, Salsa and West Coast Swing. The classes could be any level, from beginner to advanced. Am looking into renting space for the month of October, maybe on Thursday night. Contact me and let me know if you are interested in some type of dance class and let me know what level. I will see if there is enough interest to schedule it.

Friday Night

This is a full Friday night. In Gainesville, you can get a free lindy lesson with UF Swing club, walk down a block to enjoy and participate in a variety show, then dance off your extra energy at Dirty Bar.

  1. Dance Social in Ocala, from 7 to 10 pm
  2. Lindy with UF Swing Club, lesson from 8 to 9 pm, at the UTC, free
  3. LaQianya has a show at 1982 Bar, with a variety of performers, musicians and dancers, at 919 W University Ave, 9 pm, $5, $3 students. First 50 people get a free download of her book Compilations of Love.
  4. HotRod Lincoln Band (50s-60s music) is at the Dirty Bar, in Thornbrook.

Saturday and Sunday

Saturday night is Argentine Tango Milonga El Abrazo at the Movement with a lesson at 8 pm. $10, free to watch and listen to the music.

Also Saturday is a Ballroom dance at By Ear Musician at 8 pm. $10, $7 students

Sunday, Nick and the Swingtastics play at Loosey's from 7 to 10 pm. $7 for a night of swing dancing.

What Are the Different Types of Swing Dancing

It is important for you to know the names of the swing dances, so you know what is being offered at a particular dance session.

The three most common names I hear are Lindy, West Coast Swing and East Coast Swing. What is the difference? Often people will say West Coast Swing is when the woman steps forward on her first two steps. East Coast Swing is when she rocks back and forward. Lindy is when she swivels. While this is easy to identify, it is not correct.

Swing dancing is swing dancing. There are many different styles, not different dances. What the woman does on her first two steps does not identify the type of swing.

The original swing dance was the Lindy, starting in 1927, or at least the name started then, for Charles Lindbergh, after his flight the same year. You can rightly say all swing dancing is Lindy. Originally the dance was all 8-count movements, which fit the swing music of 1, 2, 3-and-4, 5, 6, 7-and-8. Swing music is still the same, but 6-count basic movements were added to the dance. The dance is improvisational. You could almost say, anything goes. As one swing teacher said, "There is no wrong in swing, if you can lead it and she can follow it."

The Lindy swing dancing you see with swivels is a retro dance, which goes back to the Savoy ballroom in New York City, called Savoy style and popularized by Frankie Manning and others. You can see Frankie Manning here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=um0VleA8jRE. I like to call this style of dance, with the swivels, Lindy Hop, not just Lindy. This style of dance was a show dance, not a social dance. This only became a social dance when swing dancing was revived after the Hustle dance and Disco era of the 1970s and early 1980s.

Unlike today, back in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s every one knew how to dance. They did not go to dance class, like we do. They learned in grade school from their friends. The most popular type of music was swing, or a derivative, and the dance they did was the Lindy. They knew other dances too, of course, like the Rumba and Cha Cha. Since they did not go to dance class, they only knew a handful of moves. Their dancing was simpler than ours and they did not do swivels or the Charleston in their Lindy. This is how my parents danced. I often meet people from their generation in my dance classes. They are good dancers. They all know the same steps and dance the same. No swivels, no Charleston, no Savoy styling. See the beginning of this clip from the 1963 version of the Nutty Professor. You can see them doing Lindy. Thereabouts 1963 was the end of social partner dancing outside of dance classes.

We all know what West Coast Swing is because we do it a lot here in Gainesville. West Coast Swing is characterized by usually slower, sultry music, smooth movements, hip action for the woman and body rolls. The woman is led forward on one, and the woman's line is maintained for the whole dance. West Coast Swing is still swing, like any other swing. The original West Coast Swing dancers did not know they were dancing West Coast Swing. They thought they were dancing Lindy. It was only afterwards that someone started calling their version of Lindy, West Coast Swing.

Ballroom studios have about a dozen dances. These dances have strict definitions that stylize them for the ballroom. While people do dance socially in the ballroom, studios are organized to advance dancers into performing in showcases and competitions. The ballroom dances remind us of the original, folk dance, but have been stylized for the ballroom, often not being the same dance. Ballroom Samba is not the same dance as Brazilian Samba. Ballroom Tango is not the same dance as Argentine Tango. In the ballroom, there was a version of swing dancing called Jive. When West Coast Swing became popular, to attract students, ballroom studios began offering West Coast Swing lessons, even though West Coast Swing is not a ballroom dance. For simplicity, the ballroom renamed Jive to East Coast Swing. East Coast Swing is both a swing dance and a ballroom dance, stylized for the ballroom, with strict definitions for all the movements, done in showcases and ballroom dance competitions.

In conclusion, here is what you need to know about the different dances:

  1. Lindy - all swing dancing, all tempos of music, what you do on the second Sunday of the month with Nick and the Swingtastics at Loosey's. What you do when you dance casually at a bar or where a band is playing music. The most useful type of swing dancing. This is the one you want to learn first. Lindy encompasses West Coast Swing. Everything you do in West Coast Swing, you can do in Lindy.
  2. Lindy Hop or Savoy Style - showy, stylized version of Lindy. What they do at the UF Swing club, along with straight Lindy. There are Lindy Exchanges where people come from all over to dance. They do both Savoy Style and straight Lindy at these.
  3. West Coast Swing - a sultry, stylized, subset of Lindy. What you do at Josh's dance on the first Saturday of the month. River City Swing, that took place two weeks ago in Jacksonville, was a West Coast Swing competition and workshop weekend.
  4. East Coast Swing - stylized version of swing for the ballroom. At ballroom dances, they may only play one or two East Coast Swing dances a night. East Coast Swing is not done outside the ballroom, except by ballroom dancers. If you are a ballroom dancer, this is the version you want to learn. Otherwise, learn Lindy.

Happy Dancing,
Andy

publish@gainesvilledance.com
352-327-3672

Gainesville and Ocala Dance Calendar

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Dance Quotes

I do not wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know that it has to get down to earth. ~ Pearl Buck

Dance Schedule

Confirm all programs before going

  1. Friday 09/12 - UF Swing Club
  2. Friday 09/12 - Friday Night Social in Ocala
  3. Saturday 09/13 - Argentine Tango Milonga El Abrazo
  4. Saturday 09/13 - Ballroom Dance with Ray and Eileen
  5. Sunday 09/14 - Swing Dance with Nick and the Swingtastics
  6. Sunday 09/14 - Bachata and Specialty Latin
  7. Monday 09/15 - Israeli Dancing with Andy
  8. Tuesday 09/16 - Ballroom with Ray and Eileen
  9. Tuesday 09/16 - Line Dancing with Andy in Hawthorne
  10. Tuesday 09/16 - Salsa LA Style
  11. Wednesday 09/17 - UF Argentine Tango Class and Dancing
  12. Wednesday 09/17 - West Coast Swing Dance with Judi
  13. Thursday 09/18 - Senior Line Dancing with Andy via SFC Community Education
  14. Thursday 09/18 - Ballroom with Ray and Eileen - Rumba International
  15. Thursday 09/18 - Salsa LA Style
  16. Friday 09/19 - West Coast Swing Dance Social with Josh
  17. Saturday 09/20 - Contra Dance
  18. Saturday 09/20 - Tango Y Te with David and Thuy
  19. Sunday 09/21 - Vintage Waltz Brunch
  20. Wednesday 09/24 - West Coast Swing Dance Social with Josh
  21. Saturday 10/04 - West Coast Swing Dance Party with Josh
  22. Sunday 10/05 - Contra Dance
  23. Sunday 10/05 - Argentine Tango Milonga Papirusa

Ongoing Dancing

Classes with Andy

To sign up for classes offered via Santa Fe College Community Education (SFC) call Jennifer 352-395-5193 or visit www.sfcollege.edu/cied/communityed

  1. Israeli Dancing on Mondays at B'nai Israel, 3830 NW 16 Blvd, 7 pm, $5, no sign up required, ongoing.
  2. Line Dancing on Thursdays at noon at the Senior Center, sign up via SFC, ongoing.
  3. Private Lessons, classes for Novice Dancers, Wedding Dances, also for Argentine Tango, Contra, Hustle, Lindy, Line, West Coast Swing, Vintage Waltz contact Andy
  4. Line Dancing in Hawthorne starting September 9 from 6 to 7 pm for 4 weeks, sign up via SFC

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Andrew Weitzen, publish@gainesvilledance.com, 352-327-3672, Gainesville, FL