The Buzz: Music for the (young) Lindy (grass) Hopper

One question we frequently get from level 1  students is “where can I get music good for practicing”? The easy answer is to look for swing era jazz. Jazz from the 1930s. Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimmie Lunceford, Chick Webb. Great artists from the swing era but the library of material from these …

The Buzz: Kick-start Your Improvement

 –  The Myths and Facts of Getting Good Fast When any dancer decides they would like to pursue Lindy Hop more seriously they inevitably want to “get good” really quickly, and through this desire many people fall prey to comparing themselves to other dancers. The fact of the matter is that some people learn faster than …

The Buzz: Putting Toronto on the Map

 –  A How-to guide for self-coached teams Since late 2013, I have had the pleasure to work with a group of fabulous dancers in the troupe That Swing! Many of us felt that working towards a big goal would help push our dancing and to help us to develop as a team. No one from our …

The Buzz: Look Ma, I’m Doin’ It!

Last edition, Buzz Blogger Kris gave us some insight on coming to Swing Dance with a ballet background. No matter what your dance background is, there are likely to be unique challenges ahead. Here’s my perspective on starting swing dancing as an adult, having never danced a step in my life. My hips can do WHAT??? I …

The Buzz: From Swan Lake to Swing-Outs

Confessions of an Ex-Ballerina   At a recent solo jazz workshop weekend, I had an interesting experience that has stuck with me and really forced me to think about my Lindy Hop learning style. At this workshop, I was taking part in an individual technique assessment that involved performing an improvised solo jazz set to …