When I adopted my little brown Tabby, Frankie, three months ago, I wanted to teach her how to walk in a harness and to do high-fives. I used to volunteer at a small zoo, so I had some experience using clicker training for birds.* Thanks to internet research, I’ve used clicker training to teach my cat to come, stay, sit, turn around, high-five, sit on my shoulder, walk in a harness, jump over my leg, and jump through my arms in just three short months!
Here are a few things I’ve learned on this journey, which I believe are also relevant for sports training:
1. Consistency is Key
The YouTube channel I was watching suggested training in short sprints, 3-4 times per day. Cat attention spans are short, particularly if they aren’t used to training. Over the holidays, I was able to train with this frequency, but now that I’m back at the office, I aim for 2-3 short sessions per day.
Depending on your sport and other life priorities, it may not be practical to train multiple times per day, but I recommend practicing at least 2-3 times per week to see results. Try not to be hard on yourself if you miss a couple of days here or there – just try to get back on track.
2. Small Steps Lead to Huge Progress
When I train my cat, we progress very slowly. Cats need to feel comfortable with the exercise and require a lot of encouragement and positive reinforcement. I plan exercises in such a way that it’s easy to achieve a successful outcome, and difficult to fail.
The most impressive achievements require dedication and long-term commitment. One thing that struck me when I read the biography of Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield was the small habits he had built over the course of a lifetime that eventually led to amazing accomplishments.
3. Keep It Short ‘n Sweet
I always try to keep my cat excited about training and looking forward to the next session. We do this by staying focused and keeping our sessions short ‘n sweet.
4. Reward Yourself
Cats don’t do tricks for free. I reward desirable behaviours: Click = Treat.
Humans have other motivations, like self-fulfillment, recognition, etc. Find out what motivates you and how you can reward yourself for staying on track.
5. Don’t Rush
Progressing too quickly is setting yourself up for disappointment and failure. You can’t go straight from Level 1 to Level 10 – try to take things one step at a time and pay attention to detail.
6. If You get Stuck, Go Back
This one is obvious with a cat, but not always easy to see in my own training. If my cat is frustrated, I try to go back to an easier step/skill to keep her motivated. In many cases, revisiting basics might be the exact thing that will help you progress.
7. Choose the Right Coach
My cat is obviously learning from the best… haha!
If you can find the right teacher, it makes a world of difference. I trained on trapeze for about a decade before I found my coach in Montreal. After a few months of training with her, I cleaned up my technique and accomplished more than I would have in a lifetime of training in Toronto. The success was a combination of her knowledge/experience, as well as just being the right fit for me. I learned an immense amount while training with her – I feel incredibly fortunate to have had this experience, which was one of the most rewarding in my life.
Whatever your sport or discipline is, it’s reasonable to expect that there will be challenges that you’ll need to overcome. I hope that these tips are helpful on your journey. If Frankie the cat can do it, so can you. Frankie says: just stick with it!
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* I also met this tiger trainer once during a ride share between Toronto and Montreal and for 8 hours, I asked him everything I could think to ask about training cats. You never know when that type of information might come in handy.
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I’ve been thinking about how I can contribute to the evolution of Lindy Hop. I’m interested in incorporating influences from other street dances that I study, and I want to keep the dance agile, open-ended, and adaptable.
I’ve started thinking more about Lindy Hop as a set of principles rather than a syllabus of steps. I can’t really say that a movement is or isn’t Lindy Hop – either it works with the music or it doesn’t. Lindy Hop – and Jazz music – were created in a melting pot of influences that included (but not limited to) African, Caribbean, and European cultural elements.
In my opinion, the basic principles include:
- Dancing to music in 4-4 time signature (4 beats per bar)
- Maintaining a groove (down-bounce, up-bounce, rock, etc.)
- Seated posture
- Dancing with a partner
Let’s let go of everything we think we know about Lindy Hop for a minute. By focusing on these four principles, we can create a new framework full of new possibilities! We can dance to many types of music in so many ways!
Most music is in a 4-4 time signature, but dancers generally count in 8’s, which represents two bars of music. Polka and Waltz are examples of music in 3-4 time signatures, but this is far less common. For contemporary dance, I’ve danced to music in all sorts of wacky time signatures, but let’s assume that we’re using music that has four beats per bar.
Maintaining a groove is fundamental to virtually all American street dance styles: Hip-Hop, House, Soul, Disco, Lindy Hop, Tap, etc. Groove is the way that we hold rhythm in our body, most commonly by bouncing or rocking. The groove goes hand-in-hand with seated posture, because you can’t bounce or rock with a stiff pelvis and straight knees.
Dancing with a partner has its own set of principles, such as Lead/Follow, transferring information through physical point(s) of contact or visual ques, follower shoulder matching, etc. If you want to learn more about this, come to our class!
Does this mean that you can do a swingout to all music? No! You should only do what fits. For example, swingouts don’t work well with certain blues songs or Soul, but I think they could work great with some Hip Hop music if styled correctly. There’s also a lot of jazz music that’s terrible for doing swingouts… so it really depends. Don’t try to put a square peg into a round hole.
Is this still Lindy Hop? I don’t know, you’ll have to ask the Lindy Hop Police. Does it matter? No. Different can be good. You may even create an entirely new dance in the process.
That’s the concept – I challenge you to open your mind to new possibilities. Have fun!
Using words inspired by Jackson Galaxy: All light, all love, all Lindy Hop mojo to you.
– Zoey
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THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO JOINED US FOR WORLD LINDY HOP DAY 2024!
Sunday, May 26th, 2024
Celebrate the rich history of Lindy Hop! Mandi Gould and partner Osman Omar will be teaching special workshops to mark this important global event!
We will also welcome Alexander Hall whose uncle, Charlie Meade, we will be honouring. Charlie Meade is a longtime dancer from Harlem and was a friend of Frankie Manning’s. Zoey Gould will also be helping with the workshops.
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Why is World Lindy Hop Day important?
World Lindy Hop Day honours an important part of history. Not only is Lindy Hop a super fun swing dance and form of creative and musical expression, it also holds cultural significance as the dance emerged during a time of racial segregation in the United States. Since the development of Lindy Hop in the late 1920s, the has continued to spread around the world and now has global representation in most countries. Celebrating World Lindy Hop Day allows us to appreciate and remember the Black community who created and popularized this dance, as well as the diverse groups that continue to share the joy of Lindy Hop around the world.
The date for World Lindy Hop Day was picked to mark Frankie Manning’s birthday. Frankie was one of the founders of Lindy Hop; he was an American dancer from Harlem, dance instructor, and choreographer, and a member of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, the greatest Lindy Hop performance troupe of all time. Learn more about Frankie Manning here.
Did you know that Mandi isn’t just the co-founder Bees’ Knees Dance? She’s also one of the founders of World Lindy Hop Day globally, was a member of the board of the Frankie Manning Foundation for 9 years, and was the producer of Frankie 100 in NYC. Having been lucky enough to work intimately with Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, and other important figures in Lindy Hop, Mandi will be sharing her wealth of knowledge alongside Osman on May 26th.
*Join the Facebook event
About the Instructors
Mandi Gould has taught Lindy Hop across Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, China, South Korea, and Japan and was honoured to assist Frankie Manning on multiple occasions. She was a member of the board of directors of the Frankie Manning Foundation from 2011 to 2020 and was also the primary organizer of Frankie 100 in NYC in 2014, which included the show Swinging’ Frankie’s Way at Harlem’s World Famous Apollo Theater. She is also the co-founder of both Toronto Lindy Hop and Bees’ Knees Dance and the co-signer of World Lindy Hop Day globally.
From Ottawa to Toronto and now residing in Hamilton, Osman Omar is a pleasure to to watch on any dance floor. His playful dance philosophy, musicality, and light touch as a leader all make him a favourite leader wherever he goes. Osman is happy to share his insights with students of all levels.
Toronto has strong ties with Frankie Manning. Our city had the privilege of hosting Frankie Manning on 4 different occasions:
- 1996 hosted by Simon Threlkeld of Swing Toronto
- 2002, 2006, 2008 hosted by the Toronto Swing Dance Society
In fact, one of Frankie’s very last workshops before his passing was in Toronto.
Toronto also hosted legacy dancers Norma Miller, Dawn Hampton, and Chazz Young on various occasions.
Mandi’s Connection to Frankie Manning & World Lindy Hop Day
Mandi Gould was honoured to assist Frankie in his workshops in 2002, 2006, and 2008. After Frankie Manning passed away in 2009, the Frankie Manning Foundation was formed and Mandi Gould acted as a member of the board of directors from 2011 to 2020. She was also the primary organizer of Frankie 100 in NYC in 2014, the largest Lindy Hop event of all time, which included the show Swinging’ Frankie’s Way at Harlem’s World Famous Apollo Theater.
In 2020, Mandi chose to withdraw from the Frankie Manning Foundation and her participation in shaping of the global Lindy Hop scene, in order to make room for Black leadership with the formation of the Black Lindy Hoppers Fund. In alignment with the BLHF mission, she is passionate about the Lindy Hop legacy and bridging the gap of knowledge, access, and development for Black Lindy Hoppers.
Scholarships for Black Students
Bees’ Knees Dance would like to welcome and encourage people of Black and African diasporic heritage to attend the World Lindy Hop Day workshops for free. Please use code BLHF at checkout.
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Chelsea comes from an early background of ballet, tap and jazz training, however, these interests quickly gave way to hockey and soccer. She rediscovered dance – in particular swing dance – at her University’s swing dance club and has been swinging out ever since. Her love of dance stems from a deep-seated desire to fly which she acquired from multiple, repetitive viewings of Mary Poppins and Peter Pan. From this, evolved a passion for fast dancing and aerials – her dance specialties. She is also known for her skill in Rock and Roll, Charleston, Balboa and East Coast Swing. She can often be found flying around the various dance floors of the Toronto scene and many other cities during her travels.
Randy dances. All the time. He has trained extensively in New York Mambo, Afro-Cuban, Funk, Lindy Hop, Vernacular Jazz, and Blues. Randy is excited to be part of the Blues Dance scene in Toronto and to be able to spread his love of Blues Dancing through Bees’ Knees Dance.
Kathleen loves to dance. She took her first dance class at the age of 9 and can’t remember a day that she hasn’t danced since then. After 14 years of competitive Irish dance, she retired after representing Eastern Canada at the World Irish Dance Championships in Belfast, and took her first Lindy Hop class with Mandi at the TSDS. She started training with Randy in Lindy Hop and Blues in 2009, choreographing and performing a routine together at Swing Out to Victory.
