Week 4 of Monday Nights had our final group of Lindy 1 beginners class excited and energised. We delved into the mysteries of the swingout and everyone dived right on in.

Congratulations to all of our Graduating Lindy 1 students, we can’t wait to see you next week.

Lindy 2 as always was a blast as we put them through their paces, hats off to Vince and Aimee who busted out some sweet scissor kicks and swivels before finished it off with a great Quickstop.

Once again thanks to everyone who came down to make Monday nights so enjoyable.

Clearly the news had spread that Alissa and I were back from Sweden, because Lindy 1 was chockablock with new faces eager to become sultans of swing.

We had a blast in this class! The energy was high and Flavio, despite arriving late, was clearly ready to get his groove on. Well done everyone!

More back charleston this week for Lindy 2, including some fun variations. Class was also spiced up this week by my impromptu and appalling Sean Connery impression. Everyone did very well to ignore me and nail the moves to some fast music.

So where do you start?

Swing It! Beginner Workshops

This is the ground floor and your introduction to the world of Lindy Hop.  Our Beginner Workshops are the perfect way to start since we’ll teach you how to Swing dance in just one afternoon!  Not only that but we’ll also feature some incredible dance clips from the original era as well as clips showcasing some of today’s best dancers.  You’ll be guaranteed a fantastic, fun filled afternoon where you’ll not only learn to dance but also enjoy a peek into the history and culture of this incredible dance.

Our workshops are held once a month on a Sunday and run through the afternoon (approx 4hrs with breaks).  Check our main page for times and locations.

Swing It! also run weekly classes several nights a week at multiple locations around Perth:

Every Monday night in Subiaco
Every Tuesday night in West Perth
Every Wednesday night in Subiaco
Every Wednesday night in Fremantle

Our weekly classes are run at three different levels:

Lindy 1 - This is where the real Lindy Hop journey begins.  Once you’ve done one of our Beginner Workshops you’re welcome to take part in this class.  Here we explore the basic moves further and show you a range of styling and variations you can add to your dancing.  Lindy 1 classes are easy, relaxed and a whole lot of fun.

Lindy 2 - This is the intermediate level class.  Here we explore the classic moves and rhythms of the Lindy Hop further with a greater emphasis on lead and follow techniques, musical appreciation and of course FUN!  The moves will become a little trickier and the speeds will be a little faster but all are welcome.

Lindy 3 - This class is for the more advanced students. If you’ve been dancing for a while and feel its time to take your dancing to the next level this is the class for you. Lindy 3 focuses on the more intricate and complex side of the Lindy Hop. You need to be experienced but all are welcome!

For class times and prices visit our school location pages: Subiaco or Mt Lawley or Fremantle.

Private Lessons:

Learn to dance or advance your dancing outside of our regular classes with professional one on one tuition.  Read more…

And Specialty Workshops:

Swing It! regularly run exciting Specialty Workshops focusing on a range of topics including Air Steps, Solo Charleston, Solo Jazz and much more.  Swing It also feature large scale workshops staring some of the best Swing dance instructors in the world.  For more information on dates and times sign up for our weekly newsletter.

It was great to be back and teaching on Wednesdays in Subi.  Lots of fun was had, limits were tested and the dangers of Night Time Sudefeds was revealed.

Big tip of the hat goes out to Brody for best t-shirt ever.  Seriously, if you want bonus points, wear a shirt with the world’s best superhero on it.  Brilliant.

Big thank you to all the Lindy 3s that turned up and rocked out as well.  It was great seeing you all and a pleasure pushing your brains once more.

lastly, word of warning, don’t take the Night Time Sudafed tablets unless you’re about to go to bed.  They make you sleepy and cause teaching advanced classes to be somewhat difficult.

-Shane

For some time now I’ve been looking for a way to make the transition from Beginners (previously Lindy 1) to Intermediate (Lindy 2) easier for people.  The jump from one to the other has always been tough and often results in people leaving due to being too overwhelmed with the sudden increase in difficulty.  What Swing It! will now be offering is something that will make the transition a smooth and enjoyable one and will also give new comers a better understanding of the dance and culture we have in Lindy Hop.

Here’s the new look structure:

Beginner Workshops - These will run monthly on a Sunday afternoon and will cover all the basics of Lindy Hop.  We’ll also show vintage dance clips as well as clips that feature the top modern dancers in the world.  Once you’ve done a Beginner Workshop you can then move to Lindy 1 at any of our venues.

Lindy 1 - This is the Improvers class.  Here you’ll learn basic styling and variations and the essential moves that will take you up to Lindy 2.  Lindy 1 will now be a weekly drop in class like Lindy 2 and 3.

Lindy 2 and 3 - These will remain as normal.

We look forward to seeing how this new, beginner friendly approach is received.

–Shane

We spent a fine June evening getting to know our swing outs a little better and giving them some fancy new clothes. Now not only do West Perth’s Lindy 2s have shinier swing outs but they can spin pretty much any way you ask them to WHILE SWINGING OUT. That’s why we Lindy Hop! Good night!

(Our Lindy 1 class are awesome too. Next week they will learn the joys of the swing out. It’s our favourite; we can’t wait!)

Because of this, working on your Swing Out is essential but, more importantly, a good Swing Out leads to improved dancing technique.  It requires good connection, balance and rhythm which are the backbones of the dance.

We don’t get as much time as we’d like in class to concentrate on the Swing Out so we’ll be running a specific Swing Out Clinic to concentrate on everything you need for the perfect Swing Out.

During the class we’ll show you the prefect Swing Out technique plus cover the three basic entries and three   basic exits of the Swing Out.  After this class you’ll have the perfect Swing Out to be able to add any variation or rhythm to!

WHERE: Como Primary School Hall, Cnr Thelma and Coode Streets, Como

COST: $20

TEACHERS: Shane & Ruth

Week 3 mayhem as we introduced our Lindy 1s to some new moves, saw the return of Thanh and pushed the limits of our Lindy 3’s brains!Texas Tommy is most certainly one of the coolest moves around but on Wednesday we took to making it even COOLER and added a host of variations to make sure our Lindy 2s could never get bored.  Not only did we have the return of Thanh but also the return of Paul and the smiling face of Nicole on her first night in Subi.

Lindy 3 was a thrill, mostly because we challenged the Lindy 3s and pushed their musicality knowledge as we played with 6s, 8s and the ‘Sexy Dan’ variation.

Fun all round.

–Shane

Our devoted band of Freo lindy hoppers were out in force again tonight, eager to learn the ancient secrets of six-count. 

After mastering the pass-by, we moved on to the holy grail of lindy hop: the swing-out! Alissa and I were truly astounded at the ease with which everyone picked up the new rhythm and move. Special mention goes newcomer Kat, who not only nailed the swing-out in her first class, but somehow knew my secret nickname (Benjo Banjo).

See you next week for more swing-outs and (hopefully) Stuart’s baked treats!