Intro to Swing - Learn to dance in a Day

Have you ever wanted to learn how to dance with a partner?
We'll have you dancing Lindy Hop or Balboa Swing in just one morning!

What is Lindy Hop?

From Harlem, New York, the Lindy is the world’s most popular dance of the Swing era. A massive melting pot of jazz movement, Lindy has flashy swing-outs and Charleston kicks and is usually danced to mid-tempo swing dance tunes.

Lindy hop is such a BIG FUN dance that we decided to break our weekend beginner workshop into TWO 3-hour parts, the 6-count basics and the 8-count basics. Each part will cover the fundamentals of a portion of the dance and we will alternate which part we teach each time. See below for the scheduled dates.

What is Balboa?

From 1930s Southern California, the Balboa is a closely partnered swing dance that is fun and groovy, but also subtle and refined. If you want to be able to dance to incredible up-tempo Jazz bands all night long, this is the dance for you!

Who are these workshops for?

- Absolute beginners who've been wanting to learn to swing dance, but are unable to attend regular weekly classes.

- Beginners looking to fast-track their learning or cement knowledge gained from weekly classes.

- Intermediate students wishing to learn the other Lead/Follow role.

Do I have to have my own partner?

You don’t have to bring your own partner, as we’ll be rotating partners, but if you can encourage a friend to give it a go and try the opposite role to you, that’s excellent.

Do we have to change partners?

If you bring a partner and wish to stay together we can accommodate that, but bear in mind that dancing with many different partners is a large part of the fun of swing dancing. Rotating will help you to get the steps faster with fewer technical feedback loops. For these reasons rotating partners is strongly encouraged, but rest assured that we will support your decision if you choose not to.

LOCATION: 

The Danish Club, 36 Austin St, Newstead

WHEN: 

Usually the second Saturday of each month from 10:00am to 1:00pm (arrive 10 mins early to check-in)

Schedule:

Jan 13th: Intro to 6-Count Lindy Hop
Feb 10th: Intro to 8-Count Lindy Hop
Mar 9th: Intro to 6-Count Lindy Hop
Apr 13th: Intro to Balboa Swing
May 11th: Intro to 8-Count Lindy Hop
Jun 8th: Intro to Balboa Swing
Jul 13th: Intro to 6-Count Lindy Hop (CHANGE OF VENUE TO WOOLOONGABBA - CHECK YOUR BOOKING DETAILS)
Aug 10th: Intro to 8-Count Lindy Hop
Sep 14th: Intro to Balboa Swing
Oct 12th: Intro to 6-Count Lindy Hop
Nov 9th: Intro to 8-Count Lindy Hop

COST: $50

Pre-booking through our website is essential to secure your place. Purchase directly from https://cornerpocketswing.com.au/store

WHAT TO WEAR: 

Deodorant! Please use low-scented or hypoallergenic deodorants and apply before you enter.

Dancing is exercise! So wear clothes you can move freely and sweat in. Most people go fairly casual to classes and save their fancy duds for going out social dancing. Some people like to dress a little bit fancy wherever they go, and we love to see it!
You do you, swing kid. You do you ;)

Shoes! Wear comfortable shoes that won't kick off your feet and that aren't too grippy! The floor is slightly sprung timber with medium grip.

The room is well air-conditioned, so if you are a person who chills quickly when you stop moving, you might want to bring a layer you can quickly throw off and on.

GETTING THERE:
- On-street parking is available, but make sure you get there early enough in case you have to park in the next street.
- 5 minute walk from Breakfast Creek Road Bus Routes (300, 306)
- 12 minute walk from Teneriffe Ferry Terminal
- 13 minute walk from Bowen Hills Train Station

WHAT TO EXPECT:
In partnered swing dancing there are two roles, Lead and Follow, which are both equally challenging and fun in their own distinct ways. These roles have never been strictly gender-specific and we have no problems at all if you are a woman who chooses to lead or a man who chooses to follow. We only hope to achieve an even balance of the roles in class if possible. If there are a couple of bonus leads or follows don’t worry, the class will rotate and everyone will get to try the steps with multiple partners. Occasionally we’ll have one couple who want to stick together and we can accommodate that. At the beginning of a Level 1 class we often go through some easy solo warm-up movement to music. Then we teach a “Basic” repeatable footwork pattern that will be the basis for the additional moves we will teach you later in the class. Students are welcome to give positive feedback and encouragement to each other, however if things are unclear or something isn’t working we ask that students ask questions of the teachers rather than giving each other unsolicited corrective feedback. There may be some more experienced students or some of our other teachers dancing in the group to even up the numbers and help the class progress more quickly. You may ask your partner for brief feedback, but please do not hold up the rotation or be talking with your partner while the teachers are trying to teach! Assume that whenever the teachers are talking, they are talking to you.

HEALTH & SAFETY

Our current COVID-19 Policy can be found here: https://cornerpocketswing.com.au/covid-19

Attendees at our classes and events must abide by our Code of Conduct at all times.

If you have questions about anything at all please email: info@cornerpocketswing.com.au

You may also find some useful info in our FAQ: https://cornerpocketswing.com.au/faq