Sheesh!
Talk about a rough start! First it was COVID-19 delays, then last week it was another once-in-a-hundred-year flood, on top of the catastrophic war happening in Ukraine O_o Our aching hearts are badly in need of some respite. Luckily we've got just what the doctor ordered. This is what you've trained for.
Swing dance family, activate!
LET'S GO!!!!
We have a special social dance planned for the 18th of March with a live swing band travelling up from Sydney - tickets available now!
All our regular classes are back on like Donkey Kong - See details below.
We have another 3-hour Saturday Lindy Hop Crash Course for beginners scheduled for the 9th of April - booking is open now!
This newsletter is a day late, but we are still celebrating International Women's Day by acknowledging the amazing women who have taught classes for Corner Pocket in the last couple of pretty difficult years. They are all legends and you can find out a little bit about each of them below...
All of our regular weekly classes are 1 hour long and are taught in a drop-in format so you can start any week and it doesn’t matter if you have to miss one. First-timers are always most welcome in our Fundamentals classes (Level 1). No partner is required, as we encourage rotating partners. However, if you bring a partner and wish to stay together to reduce COVID risk we certainly will accommodate that.
We ask that you click here to book each class through our web store so that we can ensure a reasonable lead-follow ratio, avoid overcrowding, and streamline the check-in process.
Prepaid 8-Class Passes are also available for purchase. To use your Class Pass when booking online, simply choose "Register to pay at door" from the pass type drop-down list. Don't forget to click on the cart icon and complete checkout or registration will not compete. You should receive an email confirmation.
Explorers classes (Level 2) will assume that you know the basics taught in Fundamentals (Level 1) and you must talk with your teacher before moving up.
We take the health and safety of our community very seriously and we are so grateful that all of our dancers have been ready and willing to do what it takes to look after one and other. The recently updated COVID-19 rules are as follows:
If you are sick do not come to dancing. Obvi...
Everyone in our classes and social dances must have proof of vaccination or a valid exemption as a condition of entry.
Contact tracing via the "Check In Qld app" is still required in venues where vaccination is required. (This one was a surprise to us)
Wearing a mask is not currently mandatory, but is still recommended when social distancing is not possible.
Bring your own filled water bottle with your name on it.
While surface contact has only proven to be a rare vector of transmission for COVID-19, good hand hygiene is always a particularly good idea for partnered dancing.
MONDAY LINDY HOP
Monday Lindy Hop classes are GO!
Teachers: Susie & Nick
6:30pm: Level 1 - Lindy Hop Fundamentals
7:45pm: Level 2 - Lindy Hop Explorers
Venue: Danish Club, 36 Austin St, Newstead
(arrive early to find a park and check-in)
Level 1 & 2 - $17 Adults ($15 concession card holders)
*Level 2 students may attend the Level 1 class on the same night at no additional cost, provided there is room.
Please book on our website so we can monitor and avoid overcrowding or wildly imbalanced lead and follow ratios. It also alleviates a traffic jam at check-in time!
TUESDAY BALBOA
The first Tuesday Balboa class for 2022 will be Lolly Kicking off on the
22nd of FEB
Please note the new start time!
Teachers: Emma, Rob, Rylie, Michelle, & Rachel
6:30pm: Level 1 - Balboa Fundamentals
7:45pm: Level 2 - Balboa Explorers
Venue: Danish Club, 36 Austin St, Newstead
(arrive early to find a park and check-in)
Level 1 & 2 - $17 Adults ($15 concession card holders)
*Level 2 students may attend the Level 1 class on the same night at no additional cost, provided there is room.
Please book on our website so we can monitor and avoid overcrowding or wildly imbalanced lead and follow ratios. It also alleviates a traffic jam at check-in time!
THURSDAY LINDY HOP
The first Thursday Lindy Hop class for 2022 will be on the 24th of FEB.
Teachers: Sarah, James, David, Magali
6:30pm: Level 1 - Lindy Hop Fundamentals
7:45pm: Level 2 - Lindy Hop Explorers
Venue: Danish Club, 36 Austin St, Newstead
(arrive early to find a park and check-in)
Level 1 & 2 - $17 Adults ($15 concession card holders)
*Level 2 students may attend the Level 1 class on the same night at no additional cost, provided there is room.
Please book on our website so we can monitor and avoid overcrowding or wildly imbalanced lead and follow ratios. It also alleviates a traffic jam at check-in time!
POCKET SOCIAL
A taster class and 3 hours of swing music for Lindy Hop, Balboa, Shag, and solo jazz. Beginners welcome!
Featuring live music from
The Lachlan McKenzie Quintet
Whilst drawing inspiration from a wide range of Jazz styles, the Lachlan McKenzie Quintet will be in full swing band mode for this special occasion! Expect toe tapping grooves and sounds reminiscent of Count Basie, Benny Goodman and the like! Featuring: Lachlan McKenzie - Trumpet Lachlan Hamilton - Tenor Wilbur Whitta - Piano Jacob Graham - Double Bass George Greenhill - Drums
DETAILS: Doors open at 7:20. There will be an absolute beginner class at 7:30 which is included with entry. Then dance the night away to incredible swing music tailored specifically for dancing. Get it while it's hot!
WHERE: St Augustine's Church Hall, 66 Racecourse Rd, Hamilton
WHEN: Friday 18th March - Taster Class 7:30 - Social dancing 8:30-11:30pm
COST: $20 - Booking online in our webstore is essential
Saturday 3-Hour Lindy Hop Crash Course Workshop
(9 APR 2022)
Have you ever wanted to learn to Swing Dance?
We'll have you dancing the basics of 6-count and 8-count Lindy Hop in just one morning!
From Harlem, New York, the Lindy is the world’s most popular dance of the Swing era. A massive cooking pot of jazz movement, Lindy has flashy swing-outs and Charleston kicks and is usually danced to mid-tempo swing dance tunes.
These classes are aimed at:
- 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.
No partner is required, as we encourage rotating partners. However, if you bring a partner and wish to stay together to reduce COVID risk we certainly will accommodate that.
There will be short refreshment breaks so you might like to bring a drink bottle and a notebook, but make sure they are labelled with your name.
WHAT TO WEAR: Dancing is exercise! So wear clothes you can move freely and sweat in. You can save your vintage clobber for when you hit the town. 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.
LOCATION: The Danish Club, 36 Austin St, Newstead
WHEN: Saturday, 9 April 2022 from 10am-1pm
COST: $50 - Booking online in our webstore is available now!
International Women's Day
We'd like to acknowledge some of the amazing women in our swing dance community who have stepped up to teach classes for Corner Pocket and support the scene in the last couple of pretty difficult years. They are all mighty!
Emma Hadfield - Emma started dancing in 2005, only dancing sporadically until 2009 when she became completely addicted! Since then she has gone on to be a member of all of Brisbane’s performance troupes, including teaching and choreographing for Balboa performance troupes, teaching Lindy Hop, Balboa, Charleston, and Solo Vernacular Jazz in Brisbane, and travelled around Australia, New Zealand, the USA, and most recently Europe for dance events. At the start of 2020 Emma became one of the two owner-directors of Corner Pocket Swing.
Alice Greenwood - Alice is one of the two original founders of Corner Pocket Swing in 2015. So much of what this school is today is because she carefully shaped and crafted it with her passion and drive at every level. She first learned to swing dance down in Melbourne many moons ago, and let's just say... she knows which foot to rock-step with!
Susie Pembroke Wilson:- has always had a love of dance and performance. She has grown up practising ballet and jazz and studied theatre and dance at the University of Technology. Susie still loves to dabble in many dance styles as it gives her a greater appreciation for movement and musicality, and encourages thoughtful choices in her dancing.
Susie started her Lindy Hop journey in Brisbane in 2008. Since then she has travelled extensively to dance and learn more about this African American artform from the best Lindy Hop instructors the world over. From 2012 she taught lindy hop regularly in Brisbane. She has had the privilege of teaching at national dance camp Swing Camp Oz, and even won a couple of competitions. In 2017 Susie moved to London. There she taught regular lindy hop and solo jazz classes and got to work with incredible dances from the UK and Europe. Career highlights include working with London troupe the Brat Pack, teaching the social dance troupe the Skyliners, judging at London Swing Festival, performing at Royal Festival Hall, and even dancing in a big budget film.
Susie has recently moved back to Brisbane and is thrilled to return to Corner Pocket Swing, a school that she taught for since its very beginning. Susie believes that classes can be fun while still instilling strong foundations, and that there is no greater joy than really connecting with someone on the dance floor. In every class Susie strives to challenge and inspire her students whilst preserving the joyful spirit of lindy hop.
Sarah Voss - "So swing dancing is on Tuesday evening, the first one is next week. ...still keen to start the year on 2 left feet?!!" - Jan 2017. This is the message that changed Sarah's life. Living in Christchurch NZ at the time, she and a friend went on to attend a beginner taster class and never looked back. The people, the music, the atmosphere and of course, the dance became an addiction and a passion. Her first love was (and still remains) Lindy Hop; her relationship with Balboa not flourishing until moving to Brisbane. Finding the Brisbane swing community opened up a new world of events, performances, live music, dancing, friends and then: teaching. Teaching swing dance brings a spark and excitement to Sarah's dancing which she hopes to infuse into her classes and students.
As well as Lindy hop and Balboa, Sarah enjoys 20s and 30s Charleston, solo jazz (an enjoyment discovered out of necessity while social distancing!), blues, and sometimes a sneaky tango. Almost anything is happily danced by Sarah. Her motto is "dancing is good for the soul" - so do your soul some good and get dancing!
Mumma Trang - In late 2012, after turning down numerous invitations to give swing dancing a go, Trang invariably took herself out to an end-of-year swing dance event – in support of a friend who was making their debut troupe performance that same night – and experienced her very first dance class. A measure of fun was had and since that fateful night, Trang has been consistently attending classes, taking workshops with interstate and international instructors, performing in local demo troupes and social dancing at every opportunity.
While Trang began her swing dance life learning to dance the role of the Follow, she also quickly became interested in learning to dance the role of the Lead. However, it wasn’t until she competed at her first national swing dance competition event and attended her first interstate dance exchange, that it became clear that leading was her preferred dance role. Trang is committed to pursuing and developing her skills as a Lead first, and is considered to be one of Brisbane’s most “ambi-dancerous” swing dance personalities.
Trang is all about sharing the joy of swing dancing with others, particularly beginners, and is dedicated to supporting and growing the swing dance community in Brisbane.
Alana Pacholke - At age six Alana put on a pair of tap shoes, and hasn’t stopped dancing since. She has trained in Tap, Modern, Ballet, Contemporary and all other styles she could try for the past eighteen years, and has taught Tap and Modern for about six years. But it was in 2017 that Alana saw swing dancing live for the first time and fell in love. Swing dancing was the perfect combination of great music, connection and just plain fun. Since that time she has been a member of the Back Pockets and The Keen Gents Collective, two of Brisbane’s performance troupes, and loves to dance at any opportunity.
Alana brings a wealth of technical dance and performance experience to her teaching and loves to share the joy of dancing with anyone she can.
Gabi Tracy - Growing up in a family of dancers meant that Gabi was introduced to dancing at an early age, and then... life happened. It wasn’t until 2016 when she was introduced to Lindy Hop that the stars aligned and allowed her to re-ignite her passion for dance.
Since this time Gabi has attended workshops and competitions both locally and across Europe. She has also performed as a member of the Back Pockets, the Keen Gents Collective and the Brat Pack (London), including a special performance at the Royal Albert Hall for Christmas 2019. However, Gabi gains the most joy from social dancing, trying out new rhythms and silly things where she can. As a teacher, she is hoping to encourage others to find their passion for dance, and perhaps some crazy new moves she can borrow.
Natalie - 2012 was a big year; Gangnam Style swept the globe, the iconic leather-bound tomes of Encyclopedia Britannica became digitized, we made it to Mars with the curiosity rover, and at the invitation of a friend, Natalie attended her first Lindy Hop class as ‘something fun to do'. After that, the world was never the same - at least not Natalie's world! Slowly but surely dance took over her life with constant classes, social dancing, and all the fun of the local community. ‘Something fun' evolved into participating in multiple performance troupes, traveling for local and international dance opportunities and weekends spent hunting down live music. A love of Lindy hop grew to include a love of Blues and she joined forces with friends to help Borderline Blues establish their first Blues exchange in 2015 and a second in 2019. Sometimes you can find her teaching Blues on Thursday nights with Brisbane Dance the Blues. In her classes, Natalie loves the opportunity to encourage creativity, connection, and playfulness so that everyone can find their own identity in dance.
Tamika Hall - Having danced most of her childhood Tamika attended her first swing class in 2014 and happily discovered that it filled the dance-shaped hole in her life.
Since then she has participated in local and interstate workshops and exchanges, competed and performed, and especially enjoys social dancing. Among these, her highlights include placing first in Mid Level Madness at The Australian Jitterbug Championships (2015), performing at Woodford Folk Festival and performing in the locally produced show "Go To Town - A Night at the Trocadero".
Her infectious smile lights up the dancefloor and you'll always find her keen for "just one more dance" as the night grows old.
Allura Harriet - To quote Dawn Hampton, "How can you listen to that music and not tap your foot?". Allura's love of swing began when she was a little kid playing bass in the school jazz band. Inspired by the joy and rawness of the music, she'd always wanted to learn lindy hop but it wasn't until 2011 that she found out there was a community of swing dancers right here in Brisbane! Ever since then, she's told strangers that she dances "kind of like Madonna did in that baseball movie...kind of."
Allura loves bringing fun and musicality to every dance and is always looking for ways to improve connection and experiment with rhythm. She is an inaugural member of the Corner Pocket Swing performance troupe, and has attended interstate and international events, including the renowned Herräng Dance Camp in Sweden.
As a teacher, Allura hopes to foster lifelong dancers who are inspired by the music, who encourage each other, and who aren't afraid to have a goof and be themselves on the dancefloor.
Magali Rochat - Good humans and gentle beings, I would like to tell you the classic tale of Goldilocks and the three bears with a twist... and a swing-out.
The protagonist of our story is Magali, a young girl on an important mission to find the perfect hobby.
Cartwheeling into a gymnastics hall, she attempted the sport of ultimate strength and flexibility whilst donning a sparkly leotard. She learned to balance on a beam and land a summersault off a bar. But alas, gymnastics was just not right.
Unwilling to surrender, she firmly put on a nose clip and dove into the underwater world of synchronised swimming. Something felt better, the music aspect perhaps. Unfortunately, this aquatic past time was still not quite right.
She had one last hope. Swing dancing. After witnessing her first lindy performance, she was immediately enraptured. The music was intoxicating, the movement was exhilarating, the fateful day had finally come! Swing dancing was just right. Five years later, and you will now find Magali triple stepping down the hallway or shorty george-ying her way to the fridge for snacks during study breaks. During this time she has been a member of troupe for two years and attended the internationally renowned Herrang Dance camp. I am delighted to say, dear readers, that she was able to swing out into happily ever after.
Therese Lefebure - Who is Therese? She is a dancer and a performer. She has been dancing for as long as she can remember, and was lucky enough to be surrounded by her own cultural music and dances growing up. After many years of dancing, in 2014, she met Marcel, who introduced her to the world of Blues, and Swing shortly after. She is a proud guest in these Black American cultural dances and is on a continuous journey of research and appreciation.
Throughout her dance career, Therese has had many opportunities to travel across Australia performing and teaching, she has also had the chance to travel overseas and learn from internationally renowned dancers.
Simone - Simone’s love of swing dancing started with a non-committal New Year’s resolution in 2017. From the moment she attended her first social (after three Lindy Hop classes), she was hooked! Coming from a musical background, Simone was enchanted by the opportunity to experience and interact with music in a different way—through movement and human connection.
On the social dance floor, Simone is known to be playful and irrepressibly joyous. She is passionate about connecting more people with this shortcut to happiness, and regularly teaches Balboa in Brisbane. As a teacher, Simone’s goal is to encourage and equip people to explore the conversational elements of the dance—where both leaders and followers can influence and take inspiration from each other and the music.
Michelle Adams - For Michelle dancing is not a hobby but more of an obsession. Growing up in a dance family, she became hooked on Lindy Hop about 10 years ago. Since then she has tried her hand at performance troupe, competitions and travelling interstate for dance but what keeps her going is a love of social dancing. Building the connection, creativity and spontaneity of social dancing is what Michelle wants to pass on to her students in the hopes of also hooking them into the wonderful world of swing dance.
Rachel Hoey - With two ballroom dancing parents who somehow never taught their very clumsy daughter to dance- Rachel had to take matters into her own hands.
Lacing up her Doc Martens, she stomped into her first Lindy Hop class in late 2018 right here at Corner Pocket Swing.
The music! The people! The vibrancy! How could you not fall in love with it all?
Years later, and still having never tried ballroom (sorry mum), Rachel continues to be entirely smitten by swing, with a particular affinity for Balboa.
As a teacher, she hopes to encourage and inspire students to explore creativity, voice, and connection - three things she briefly mastered during her year 6 school disco and has been searching for ever since.
If you didn't respond to our survey last month, it's not too late!
The ever shifting sands of time have us doing a bit of navel gazing and thinking about how to do right by everyone in the Corner Pocket corner.
We are thinking about the What, When, and How, as we continue down the road. We are focused on keeping CPS as safe, accessible, inclusive, and fun as we can.
We also need input from you, our community, to help us shape CPS in 2022. We’ve made this survey to gather the information we need to ensure the longevity and awesomeness of Corner Pocket Swing. Please fill out the survey, and share it far and wide so we can get... ALL THE INFO!
Help us create the best swing school possible.
INSPIRE MORE
Swing dancing can be a hobby that helps us get through the tough times, and times have been tough the past few years. For some people, cost may have presented an obstacle for attending the lessons and socials that could benefit their mental health. We never want that to be a reason to not attend dancing, so if you are ever in that position, or know someone else who is, please let us know so we can work something out.
We have had an incredibly generous offer to donate a couple of class passes in honour of someone very dear to them. Swing dancing means a lot to this person, and they would like to pass the gift of dancing on to others, and to inspire more kindness and happiness into this world. We would love to hear nominations from our students of anyone who you think would benefit from these passes.
Email us.
PRIVATE LESSONS
Rob and Emma have some availability for teaching private Lindy Hop or Balboa lessons at their home in Ferny Hills. If this is of interest to you then please email us to arrange a time that suits.
