Aerial守則：
1. 向有經驗“教”aerial的學（會做不表示會教。看視頻學尤其危險）
2. 男、女都先試過腰力、臂力；男生不是夠壯就可以，女生不是夠瘦就適合
3. 有固定的舞伴一起練習
4. 練習前先做暖身運動
5. 練習時有人當spotter。Spotter要知道如何spot;有時候一個人不夠，必須兩個人spot
6. 不勉強；任一方覺得累了，就該停下來休息
7. 不在social dancing 時做aerial動作（jam session除外，而且一樣只跟練習過的舞伴做）
8. 男生別因為女生慫恿就做aerial，你不知道她能不能應付？會不會傷了自己？傷了別人（包括舞伴）
9. 女生碰到不是自己經常練習的舞伴要做aerial，如果是比賽先在賽前試過再做，如果是social dancing，要學會怎麼保護自己.

Aerial 非常炫目，表演時的確很討好。但是它雖然是swing dance的註冊商標，但只是swing dancing 的一小部分 ，而且它應該是舞蹈的一部分，而不是與音樂無關的特技表演。大約三、五年前開始，許多第一流的dancer雖然是aerial的高手，也都更專注與舞蹈的音樂性表現，風格轉向更細緻，比賽時aerial的比重越來越少、甚至完全沒有（看Skye與Frida歷年的show case就可以很清楚的看到這些轉變。）反過來講，aerial做得好但是其他基本技巧不好，也就本末倒置了。

許多人（包括很有經驗的dancer)都在做aerial的時候受過傷、甚至重傷。（Kevin的前舞伴Carla本來要在Frankie95的主秀表演，但是前一天排練時發生意外傷到脖子，第二天下午才帶著脖套出院。）多年前北京有dancer被摔到昏迷，緊急送醫。跳舞是很快樂的事，別讓不幸的事發生了才後悔不及。

by Daniel Newsome

I’ve taught a fair amount of classes in my day and time and again one of the most common questions I get is “Why is there 6 count steps, when the music is clearly 8 counts”.  Over and over again, I’ve tried to give a quick answer but I really needed more time to explain it thoroughly.  While It’s a multi-faceted issue that can’t be summed up in a sentence or two, it can be clearly explained.  I’ve created this blog entry as a place to point newer students to so that they may understand why we don’t just dance 8 count steps over and over to swing music (though we could — we do not, and there are good reasons we do not)

Partly as a product of our education systems, and partly because so many of us have science, computer or engineering backgrounds, we have a strong desire to categorize and systematize. We desire to put everything in a box… to create rules around what we do.  It’s tempting to want to say “the music is in 8s, therefore the dance should be in 8s and never deviate”, But this desire is terribly limiting. Music is art, dance is art, and we need to be able to match the art created in the music with the moving art that we create with our bodies.  The people who created and innovated our swing dances understood this, and it’s a good thing they did, because our dance is so much more interesting because of it.

Basically, this is whyIn short, there is really nothing about a rock step that make it “go with” the beats 1 and 2 any more or any less than a triple step would, or a kick step, or anything else for that matter.  Inherent in the question of “why don’t we just always do 8 count all the time, starting on the 1” is an assumption that something about the music dictates that a rock step goes with 1/2, a triple with 3/4, etc.  In fact I can think of only a handful of songs that use that rhythm. So, clearly we need more flexibility in what we do… at the same time we need simple starting points to teach and understand the dance from, and common kinesthetic language so we can dance with people from around the world.  So we have a divide between what we do and how we (initially) teach the dance.

When we execute one or more 6 count moves (or 4, 10, or 12 count moves) all of the sudden the rock steps and triple steps fall over the dance in different places with respect to the music. Do an eight count, then a 6 count, and all of the sudden the next rock step is on a 7/8.  This makes the dance reflect the improvised nature of the music much better than a formulaic approach, and allows us to place improvisations, points of emphasis and moments of whimsy in the place within the music that you want to to be.  It opens up space for us to emphasize different things, and to make the dance look far less planned than it would if we were entirely predictable by beginning everything exactly with the “1”.

Why it sounds like the music is in 8 countsSwing music is written in a signature know as 4/4.  This means that the music is divided into groupings of 4 beats, and that quarter notes are to be counted as a single beat.  It’s fairly straightforward, and that’s why it’s known as Common Time.  Something like a waltz is notated in 3/4 time… this means that there are 3 beats in a measure and a quarter note is again, one beat.

Lyrics and melodies are written, (and solos often reflect the same structure) in a way that sounds like 8 counts.  Probably because it’s hard to say a meaningful sentence in 4 counts, and also because at an early time in jazz/blues history, there was not a difference between the two musical forms. Stories as song are a part of how most of our classics are composed, even though we see hints of things like call and response, comedy (Slim Gaillard) and even incredibly complex compositions (particularly from Duke Ellington, who was a composer before he wrote any swing music).  Since the beginning of jazz song-writing, lyricists and composers have made melodies that take place over 8 counts, with almost every 1, 3, 5 or 7 having a note or a word attached to it, at minimum.  That’s a key difference between swing and blues, where blues has a lot of “slides”, and slurring and blending of notes, also known as “blue-ing” a note, where the music gets it’s name from (source, The Blues People, LeRoi Jones). That’s why things like Charleston and Boogie backs work almost all the time to reflect swing music — because they hit the 1/3/5/7.

At the point in history when Jazz was being invented, the influences of European trained musicians, African-born musicians mixed together with different meters and approaches to rhythm that made swing-jazz polyrhythmic. Meaning that there can be, and often are, several rhythmic ideas going on that a dancer can hook into. Listening to a New Orleans front line (trumpet, clarinet, trombone) all work together and you can see this quite clearly.

As an interesting side-note, on a recent trip to Africa, I learned about African musical notation systems. They use circles, with rhythms marked around the perimeter of the circle. While we use a time line in European notation, they use a time cycle. When you overlay those time cycles, it’s easy to see how their music can convey some very complex polyrhythmic ideas, and it lends itself to a layered effect more readily.

When you become aware of this type of sound, you can start to hear it in Swing music. Certain versions of Caravan, Sing Sing Sing and the Slim Gaillard All-stars intro to Hellzapoppin’ all come to mind as songs with strong influences of African percussion style. 1940s pop songs like In The Mood lack this influence and that’s why they seem sterile and “sing song”, compared to some of the grittier, earlier swing.

Interestingly, African music also has a quality, known as “melo-rhythm”, where one should hear melody in the rhythm, and rhythm in the melody… I believe this to be present in good jazz, and it gives us a good opportunity to experience the music in more ways. Listen to Cottontail, or Flyin’ Home with Ben Webster and you can really hear this quality. Listen to meandering solos of a modern-ish jazz band, and it is not as present.

This polyrhythm is why you can walk in time with the beats, half time the beats, triple step or double-time what’s going on and still be doing something fairly reflective of the music. One can almost think of the song, and the dance as being filled with pieces of random length, just like the hardwood floors we dance on. A consistent approach to the dance that’s filled completely with pieces made of 8 counts simply wouldn’t do justice to the musical form.

So, beyond the influences we have the uniquely American form of Jazz, and if we knew nothing about how the music was written, we would probably hear groups of 8 beats, tied together in groupings of 4.  The time signature is just a product of history. We can approach dancing to a phrase of 4 eight-counts with things like

• 4 eight count movements
• 4 six count movements and an 8 count movement
• 2 eight count moves, a six count move, and a 10 count move

So you see that when all is said and done, we’re still dancing with respect to the larger musical structures, if we mix these up, and as a bonus we get a nonstop succession of movement that looks fluid, has momentum that moves in time with the ideas of the dancers creating the dance, and isn’t anchored or constrained by having to come back to a rock-step on the 1/2.

Groups of two beatsSo that’s what’s going on in the lyrical center, but what about the rhythm?  The lower end of the music “swings”, meaning it has a quality called rhythmic displacement.  The amount of time between any even and any odd beat in relation to a set tempo. This is what we can think of as the “hoo-ha”, “whoo wha” or “boom-tick” of the music.

Over these two beats, we can do two beat movements, like rock step, we can kick step, we can triple step or any number of other things (slip slop, lowdown, chug, hop hop, step step, kick hold, etc.  As you string these together in ways that match the music, you are creating your own moves on the fly.

Really, 6 count, 8 count and Charleston are all just “suggested”  groupings of these 2-beat parts.  

As we group these two-beat parts together, we essentially have three choices

• Use standard groupings, like swing outs or passes.
• Improvise a standard pattern, ie do a pass but finish with a stomp-off
• Completely improvise, i.e. shaka-shaka slip slop skate skate skate skate hold mini-dip.

We need all these modes to fully express the phrases, solos, rhythms, drum breaks, tags, phrases, and points of emphasis. A fully 8-count-only-mode wouldn’t give us all the tools we need to make a picture of the music with our bodies.

Points of emphasisSwing and jazz music can be thought of as multi-dimensional.  There are places where the melody has a strong “attack” with respect to the tempo, meaning the notes in the melody give energy, a rushing feel. Conversely there are places where it relaxes, giving even a fast song an easy going jaunt.  There are places where it has a higher volume. Conversely, there are places where there is more relaxed feel, a relaxed volume. We also deal in breaks, which are essentially stops or holds in the music which serve to create interest and to keep the tempo from speeding up.  In order to be able to react to these points in the music (which can happen on any beat, though likely a 1, 3, 5, or 7), we as dancers need to be able to extend our movements so that emphatic moments in the dance can be, well, emphasized.  Most Lindy Hoppers have experienced extending a movement so they can hit a big break in the song. Extending patterns with the 1/2 (twists) or the 5/6 (rhythm circles) are easy because they are based on a “step step”, and they return your weight to the foot it was on before, essentially making it the most neutral of improvisations.

Arthur MurrayA long time ago, before dance schools, social dancing was not canonized.  There wasn’t a set way to teach things. The concept of a dance studio or dance school didn’t really exist for partner dances widely until the late 30s (there were some in the late 20s, but not many), and they didn’t teach a lot of Lindy Hop.  Foxtrot was a far more popular dance, as was Latin dance, and of course the dance crazes like Big Apple. Dancing was passed along from person to person, or in informal settings. At the Savoy, they had taxi dancers that would teach you steps for a dime a song.  There was no such thing as “East Coast” or “West Coast” swing, mostly because neither had been invented yet.

As things like the musician’s strike and the end of World War II propelled people toward rock and roll and solo dancing, there wasn’t as much market for partner dancing.  The people who patronized dance studios were an older, wealthier set. They demanded easy answers and black-and-white sylabii that didn’t dive into the confusion and grey areas that dance truly does when one pursues it as an art form.  Dancing as a 6 count only form (i.e. East Coast) was a simple invention of dance schools in the 1940s that made dancing easy to learn.   Nowadays, East Coast swing as an entity in and of itself separate from Lindy Hop is something that has infiltrated many dance communities all over the world.  Some people teach “East Coast Swing” and “Lindy Hop” as if they were different things and not just an easier-to-understand mental construct.

The only compelling reason for us to teach classes of only a single mode like 6 or 8 count is to make things easy, progressive, digestible for students.  Kind of a “paint-by numbers” scenario.  Just as Groovie Movie said, “having learned the basic steps, you now forget them completely”. Fluid movement between 6 and 8 count vocabulary is step one on the journey to being a competent social dancer.  Step two is being able to invent movements of any even-numbered length on the fly to match the music you are hearing.

Some movements just need less timeAnd, in a way, perhaps it can be thought of very simply.  Typically a move which has one change of places does not need more then 6 counts.  It has a start, a middle and an end, all of which need about 2 counts.  This is one way that a follow can make a fairly educated guess about whether a movement will be 6 or 8 count — if the lead has their hand on the follow’s back on the count 4, then you can give a reasonably high probability that the movement will be 8 counts. Telegraphing leverage into a triple step is another way we can prematurely and/or accurately cap movements and ensure a six count feel.  Some follows are really savvy and rearrange “step step triple-step, step step triple-step” to be “step step triple-step triple-step, step step” when they are unsure, in case they need to truncate their movement early, into a six count. Of course there is always rolling through your rock steps (adding an “and one” rhythm to a rock step), a great way to turn an incorrectly assumed 8 count into a 6 count.

When dancing used to “sometimes” be on 7It is told that at one time, it was common or even preferred to start a swing out on the 7/8 or the music with a rock step.  Sometimes they would start movements on the “1”, but mostly it was 7/8.  7/8 makes a lot of sense.  The point when the two bodies come together has a ton of energy, and is therefore a good match for the point of the music that’s most emphatic (the 1/2).  This was hard for people to understand during the swing revival and it ended up being standardized to start on the 1/2.

When rock steps happen in different places in the music than the “1 and 2”, it adds a great deal of visual interest to the viewer and the dancers involved.

How to use this all to your advantage in the danceAll this is lovely and moderately useful information, but how do we apply it to the dance?

First, I think that we can move away from patterns if we think about using the beginnings we create as places to start improvising from.  We don’t have to always think about trying to make things fit to the 8s. Try letting yourself begin a move then throwing out of your mind the idea that it needs to end at some point.  Try keeping it going through a random grouping of 2-count syncopations like step-steps, triples, hitches, chugs, skates, twists, anything you feel.

Another way that you can apply this is to think about your dance as being never ending. You’re just doing long sequences of two count moves. In other words, if your 6 count ends with some rotation, continue that rotation into the next movement. Try to blur the visual line between your 7/8 triple step and your 1/2. This can be hard for teachers who spend hours breaking things down for students, only to find the cookie-cutter approach affecting their own dancing.

Lastly, you can adopt a mindset such that there is no mistakes in your dance.  No missed movement, only a missed two count, and you can keep moving from there without hesitation into the next thing.  When we dance to patterns, the though that we are breaking a pattern breaks our concentration and our sense that the move is “right”.  Try thinking of a constant flow, free from mistakes. It can really de-stress the dance.

Finally, I’d just like to say that these dances all had to be invented by someone.  They are born from the music and when our bodies react to the music in a way that makes sense that’s more right than anything that we can figure out with our mathematical or scientific selves.  Feeling over limitations, instinct over imitation.

We teach some applicable concepts in our class “Amazing Phrasing”

Also, big shout outs to Paul and Sharon, the people who introduced me to any concept of “musicality” and were the first to show me what it was. Keith Hughs who taught the first class where I learned about phrasing, Carey Rayburn, my trumpet teacher, Elliot Reed and Pascal, my swing guitar teachers, and all the others I learned from along the way.


http://danandlainey.com/8-count-dance-6-count-rhythms/

Great partner dancers may not know it but they are masters of space, time and Newton's laws of motion
by Andy Connelly

A journalist looked out over a crowded dance floor in Harlem and asked a nearby dancer, "What do you call this dance?" The dance did not yet have a name, but it was 1928 and Charles Lindbergh (nickname "Lucky Lindy") had just "hopped" across the Atlantic, and so the "Lindy Hop" was born.

This may be an apocryphal tale but it has some truth in it, because this form of swing dancing certainly emerged from the ballrooms of Harlem at this time. The Lindy Hop was a coming together of tap, the Charleston and the Breakaway, and was danced to the swinging jazz rhythms of the time. The recent resurgence of swing music has put this dance firmly back on the dance floor. In fact, dance floors all over the country seem to be filling new Lindy Hoppers who are unknowingly becoming expert physicists.

For thousands of years, dancing was primarily a group activity with men and women dancing separately. When people danced with partners it was mostly in open hold, with just their hands in contact. There were exceptions, such as an Elizabethan court dance called the Volta, and a much earlier alpine turning dance called the ländler. Both involved the man lifting the woman from the ground, which obviously required a close connection – in the case of the Volta, this involved a male thigh under the female buttocks. Then, in 1814, the Waltz exploded onto the dance floors of Vienna. The ballrooms of Europe and America would never be the same. The Waltz was a "close hold" dance, with the man and woman's bodies in almost constant contact.

These close hold partner dances were highly controversial. They were often viewed as a "gateway sin" – something that could lead on to more serious sins, such as gambling and fornication. Despite the negative press, however, partner dancing continued to grow and many new partner dances swept America and Europe. There were the ragtime animal dances of the 1910s, including the Bunny Hug, the Turkey Trot, and the Grizzly Bear. Then, in the 1920s, the energetic and leggy Charleston emerged with competitions, marathons, and a new democracy in dancing. No longer was position on the dance floor dictated by social status, but by merit. Women could choose whom they danced with and how they danced. Close or separate. Having learned a few simple moves anyone could dance, and dance they did. From this ferment the Lindy Hop emerged.

Lindy Hoppers work their magic with the laws of physics in the film HellzapoppinLindy Hoppers developed a range of moves as varied as swing music itself. However, like any dance, these complex movements could only occur if an external force was acting on the dancer. For example, the turn of the Waltz is only possible due to friction between foot and floor and contact between "lead" and "follow" (traditionally, the man and the woman). The characteristic lift of the Volta is only possible as the lead dancer applies a vertical force to overcome the weight of the follow.

This requirement of force led, in part, to the traditional roles in the dance: male's lead and female's follow. The reality is more complex. The average man's greater strength and height are said to give an advantage when leading the more physical aspects of the dance. However, the lead must also be sensitive to the interpretation of the dance by the follow, responding to the subtleties of their timing and style. The average female's greater flexibility is said to allow for a greater range of body positions as a follow. Follows must also provide much of the physicality in the dance and must have the courage to throw themselves into potentially dangerous positions. For these reasons, I believe, dancing is the science of lead and follow not male and female.

For instance, when Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced cheek-to-cheek in a close turn their two bodies achieved a beautiful line impossible for any individual. Dancing like this is a conversation inphysics, where the bodies of both dancers are required to master the forces involved.

In close hold, bodies are joined at the hip and hand. The follow exerts an equal and opposite force through arms and body in response to the lead. These equal and opposite forces, in accordance with Newton's Third Law of Motion, allow the follow to dance in synchrony with the lead: as a mirror image. This symmetry can only be broken if the pairs of forces become unbalanced, causing one or both of the dancers to accelerate away from the other. For example, the lead may provide a subtle signal indicating to the follow to reduce the resistance, accept the transfer of momentum, and move away into a backwards step.

This, and all forces, cause a transfer of momentum (which is the product of mass and velocity). So, when the lead applies a net force, momentum is transferred to the follow. The more of the lead's mass (body) moves as the force is applied, the greater the transfer of momentum and so the more the follow's mass will move. Also, the longer it takes to transfer that momentum the smoother the ride. This is the difference between the slow gentle acceleration and deceleration of a careful driver, and the painful jarring of rapid acceleration or an emergency stop. The constant contact and gentle tension between the bodies of dancers means that momentum can be transferred at any time and over any time period.

This is beauty of partner dancing. When dancing alone you are constrained by your abilities and by the physical reality of friction and gravity. These forces are reliable, adaptable and predictable, but unchanging. When dancing with a partner these forces are countered by two different minds and bodies, each with its own interpretations, motivation, timing, strength and style.

Lindy Hop dancers spend a lot of time in open hold with contact only through the hands. This allows both lead and follow to play with the forces, to add variations, to create a feeling of elasticity – of freedom. The follow may sit back on to the lead's arm and kick out into a jazz step using the tension and elasticity to give the movement energy. This tension is not created by brute strength but core body muscles, body weight and the elasticity of joints and muscles.

The lead may equally bring the follow into a rapid but smooth version of the Twist. To do this the lead twists their body, transferring momentum to the follow's body; the elasticity of joints and muscles cushions the momentum transfer, giving a beautifully smooth ride. Brute force of tense triceps and biceps would lead to insufficient momentum being transferred too quickly and the motion being jerky and unpleasant. This open hold also allows the follow and lead to improvise, to create art from their bodies or just make each other laugh.

Dancers often seem to get addicted to dancing, even feeling a visceral need to dance. There are many possible reasons for this. It could be due to neurotransmitters such as endorphins, serotonin and dopamine that are released as a result of the physical exertion of dancing. These chemicals do tend to improve people's moods, but then they are released during most forms of exercise. Another possibility is that dancing with a partner increases the levels of oxytocin in the blood. The science of oxytocin is still unclear but most studies seem to suggest that within a safe environment oxytocin increases trust and our sense ofbelonging to a group. Maybe this is what keeps us coming back for more.

This increased level of trust may also allow moves on the dance floor that would otherwise feel unsafe: moves such as air steps. These are the most spectacular part of the Lindy Hop. Bodies, usually the follows', fly through the air with seemingly little fear of falling. This can only occur when the applied force upwards exceeds the downward pull of gravity. This gives an initial upwards acceleration. But as soon as the lead leaves the ground this would become a deceleration and she would slow, stop, and start to fall – unless her partner boosts her upwards momentum allowing her to reach new heights impossible to gain alone.

A skilled dancer can manipulate their partner's momentum with the application of only a small force and so change their momentum in any way they wish. Thus, with minimal effort a small jump can become a "honeymooner" with the follow finding themselves in the lead's arms like a newlywed; being spun around and then gently placed back on the floor.

A more sedate form of momentum transfer is Lindy Hop's version of a pirouette. It seems a simple move: the lead provides a torque, a rotational force, and the follow accepts the rotational momentum and spins. Luckily for the follow they have much more control over the move than that. If a follow sticks a leg out they can slow themselves down; by moving a mass away from the central pivot of the spin they increase their rotational mass (or inertia) and so slow down. The opposite is also true and so an ice skater can spin more quickly by moving their arms in. Alternatively, if a follow starts a spin with a leg out the lead must apply more force to start the turn but, when that leg is brought in that extra momentum is released and so velocity increases.

These spinning dancers seem to enter a world of their own where balance, speed and style are the only things that exist. But no world is so simple. We must add time and space to this world and the symmetry of these dimensions. It is not only the couple in close hold who are dancing in symmetry. Many moves have an element of symmetry and many others can be created using symmetry. Moves can be performed forwards as well as backwards in space, both clockwise and anti-clockwise. They can be translated by a degree or distance; each translation generating another set of possible moves depending on footwork and balance.

Moves can also be reversed in time. If you watch a video of a dance backwards a whole new set of moves appear, moves you can recreate on the dance floor. However, there are exceptions to this time symmetry, where the second law of thermodynamics becomes involved. For example, in a foot slide the foot is placed on the floor away from the body and drawn in. This creates friction and so generates heat. If you reverse this process, sliding your foot outwards, it does not cool the floor and so this move is not truly time reversible.

This world of time and space is a dancer's to manipulate, up to a point. Yes, to dance is to create – to create your own world within rhythm – but even here the laws of physics must still apply.

When Frankie Manning helped bring the Lindy Hop back to popular attention in the 1980s he was a postal worker and an incredible dancer. He was also as much of a scientist as any laboratory worker. He took advantage of the science of time, space and biology and we can all do this, wherever we are. On the dance floor as in the laboratory, laughter, frustration, and tears run together for all of us who can hear the music.

Thank you to Alistair and many other Lindy Hop friends for their scientific input and the dances!


http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/dec/05/science-magic-lindy-hop

by Richard Powers

For hundreds of years dance manuals and other writings have lauded the health benefits of dancing, usually as physical exercise.  More recently we've seen research on further health benefits of dancing, such as stress reduction and increased serotonin level, with its sense of well-being.

Then most recently we've heard of another benefit:  Frequent dancing apparently makes us smarter.  A major study added to the growing evidence that stimulating one's mind can ward off Alzheimer's disease and other dementia, much as physical exercise can keep the body fit. 

You've probably heard about the New England Journal of Medicine report on the effects of recreational activities on mental acuity in aging.   Here it is in a nutshell. 

The 21-year study of senior citizens, 75 and older, was led by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, funded by the National Institute on Aging, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.  Their method for objectively measuring mental acuity in aging was to monitor rates of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. 

The study wanted to see if any physical or cognitive recreational activities influenced mental acuity.  They discovered that some activities had a significant beneficial effect.  Other activities had none. 

They studied cognitive activities such as reading books, writing for pleasure, doing crossword puzzles, playing cards and playing musical instruments.  And they studied physical activities like playing tennis or golf, swimming, bicycling, dancing, walking for exercise and doing housework. 

One of the surprises of the study was that almost none of the physical activities appeared to offer any protection against dementia.  There can be cardiovascular benefits of course, but the focus of this study was the mind.  There was one important exception:  the only physical activity to offer protection against dementia was frequent dancing. 

            Reading - 35% reduced risk of dementia

            Bicycling and swimming - 0%

People who played the hardest gained the most:  For example, seniors who did crossword puzzles four days a week had a 47% lower risk of dementia than those who did the puzzles once a week. 

            Playing golf - 0%

            Dancing frequently - 76%. 
That was the greatest risk reduction of any activity studied, cognitive or physical. 


Quoting Dr. Joseph Coyle, a Harvard Medical School psychiatrist who wrote an accompanying commentary: 
"The cerebral cortex and hippocampus, which are critical to these activities, are remarkably plastic, and they rewire themselves based upon their use." 

And from from the study itself, Dr. Katzman proposed these persons are more resistant to the effects of dementia as a result of having greater cognitive reserve and increased complexity of neuronal synapses.  Like education, participation in some leisure activities lowers the risk of dementia by improving cognitive reserve. 

Our brain constantly rewires its neural pathways, as needed.  If it doesn't need to, then it won't. 

            Aging and memory

When brain cells die and synapses weaken with aging, our nouns go first, like names of people, because there's only one neural pathway connecting to that stored information.  If the single neural connection to that name fades, we lose access to it.  So as we age, we learn to parallel process, to come up with synonyms to go around these roadblocks.  (Or maybe we don't learn to do this, and just become a dimmer bulb.) 

The key here is Dr. Katzman's emphasis on the complexity of our neuronal synapses.  More is better.  Do whatever you can to create new neural paths.  The opposite of this is taking the same old well-worn path over and over again, with habitual patterns of thinking and living our lives. 


When I was studying the creative process as a grad student at Stanford, I came across the perfect analogy to this: 

            The more stepping stones there are across the creek, 
            the easier it is to cross in your own style. 

The focus of that aphorism was creative thinking, to find as many alternative paths as possible to a creative solution.  But as we age, parallel processing becomes more critical.  Now it's no longer a matter of style, it's a matter of survival — getting across the creek at all.  Randomly dying brain cells are like stepping stones being removed one by one.  Those who had only one well-worn path of stones are completely blocked when some are removed.  But those who spent their lives trying different mental routes each time, creating a myriad of possible paths, still have several paths left. 

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine study shows that we need to keep as many of those paths active as we can, while also generating new paths, to maintain the complexity of our neuronal synapses. 


            Why dancing?

We immediately ask two questions:

·  Why is dancing better than other activities for improving mental capabilities?

·  Does this mean all kinds of dancing, or is one kind of dancing better than another? 

That's where this particular study falls short.  It doesn't answer these questions as a stand-alone study.  Fortunately, it isn't a stand-alone study.  It's one of many studies, over decades, which have shown that we increase our mental capacity by exercising our cognitive processes.  Intelligence: Use it or lose it.  And it's the other studies which fill in the gaps in this one.  Looking at all of these studies together lets us understand the bigger picture. 

Some of this is discussed here (the page you probably just came from) which looks at intelligence in greater depth.  The essence of intelligence is making decisions.  And the concluding advice, when it comes to improving your mental acuity, is to involve yourself in activities which require split-second rapid-fire decision making, as opposed to rote memory (retracing the same well-worn paths), or just working on your physical style. 

One way to do that is to learn something new.  Not just dancing, but anything new.  Don't worry about the probability that you'll never use it in the future.  Take a class to challenge your mind.  It will stimulate the connectivity of your brain by generating the need for new pathways.  Difficult and even frustrating classes are better for you, as they will create a greater need for new neural pathways. 

Then take a dance class, which can be even better.  Dancing integrates several brain functions at once, increasing connectivity.  Dancing simultaneously involves kinesthetic, rational, musical and emotional processes. 

            What kind of dancing?

Let's go back to the study: 
            Bicycling, swimming or playing golf - 0% reduced risk of dementia

But doesn't golf require rapid-fire decision-making?  No, not if you're a long-time player.  You made most of the decisions when you first started playing, years ago.  Now the game is mostly refining your technique.  It can be good physical exercise, but the study showed it led to no improvement in mental acuity. 

Therefore take the kinds of dance classes where you must make as many split-second decisions as possible.  That's key to maintaining true intelligence. 

Does any kind of dancing lead to increased mental acuity?  No, not all forms of dancing will produce this benefit.  Not dancing which, like golf or swimming, mostly works on style or retracing the same memorized paths.  The key is the decision-making.  Remember, Jean Piaget suggested that intelligence is what we use when we don't already know what to do. 

We wish that 25 years ago the Albert Einstein College of Medicine thought of doing side-by-side comparisons of different kinds of dancing, to find out which was better.  But we can figure it out by looking at who they studied: senior citizens 75 and older, beginning in 1980.  Those who danced in that particular population were former Roaring Twenties dancers (back in 1980) and then former Swing Era dancers (today), so the kind of dancing most of them continued to do in retirement was what they began when they were young: freestyle social dancing -- basic foxtrot, swing, waltz and maybe some Latin. 

I've been watching senior citizens dance all of my life, from my parents (who met at a Tommy Dorsey dance), to retirement communities, to the Roseland Ballroom in New York.  I almost never see memorized sequences or patterns on the dance floor.  I mostly see easygoing, fairly simple social dancing — freestyle lead and follow.   But freestyle social dancing isn't that simple!  It requires a lot of split-second decision-making, in both the lead and follow roles. 

      I need to digress here: 
I want to point out that I'm not demonizing memorized sequence dancing or style-focused pattern-based ballroom dancing.  I sometimes enjoy sequence dances for several good reasons .  Plus there are stress-reduction benefits of any kind of dancing, cardiovascular benefits of physical exercise, and even further benefits of feeling connected to a community of dancers.  So all dancing is good. 

But when it comes to preserving mental acuity, then some forms are better than others.  When we talk of intelligence (use it or lose it) then the more decision-making we can bring into our dancing, the better. 

            Who benefits more, women or men?

In social dancing, the follow role automatically gains a benefit, by making hundreds of split-second decisions as to what to do next.  As I mentioned on this page, women don't "follow", they interpret the signals their partners are giving them, and this requires intelligence and decision-making, which is active, not passive.  This benefit is greatly enhanced by dancing with different partners, not always with the same fellow.  With different dance partners, you have to adjust much more and be aware of more variables.  This is great for staying smarter longer. 

But men, you can also match her degree of decision-making if you choose to do so.  (1) Really notice your partner and what works best for her.  Notice what is comfortable for her, where she is already going, which moves are successful with her and what aren't, and constantly adapt your dancing to these observations.  That's rapid-fire split-second decision making.   (2) Don't lead the same old patterns the same way each time.  Challenge yourself to try new things.  Make more decisions more often.  Intelligence: use it or lose it. 

And gentlemen, the huge side-benefit is that your partners will have much more fun dancing with you when you are attentive to their dancing and constantly adjusting for their comfort and continuity of motion. 

            Dance often

Finally, remember that this study made another suggestion: do it often.  Recall that seniors who did crossword puzzles four days a week had a measurably lower risk of dementia than those who did the puzzles once a week.  If you can't take classes or go out dancing four times a week, then dance as much as you can.  More is better. 

And do it now, the sooner the better.  It's essential to start building your cognitive reserve now.  Some day you'll need as many of those stepping stones across the creek as possible.  Don't wait — start building them now.

http://socialdance.stanford.edu/syllabi/smarter.htm

Q & A with Skye Humphries Pt.1

October 24, 2009 at 3:50 pm (Dance, History, Jazz, Lindy Hop, Skye Humphries) 
Tags: Lindy Hop

The following is a questionnaire that Skye Humphries filled out for an article entitled “The Party’s Just Begun” that appeared in August 31, 2008.  It only used a few sentences out of the 12 page response that Skye sent back.   It’s a print magazine, so it’s not available online.   Skye sent this to me last summer just to read. I thought it was too interesting not to share so I asked him permission to post it here.  Since it’s pretty long, I’m chopping it up into four parts. You can findpart 2 here, part 3 here, and part 4 here.


How were you introduced to dancing in general? Were you a trained dancer before going into swing?  If swing was your first exposure to dance, what drew you to it/ made you want to become a dancer.

I always had an interest in movement- though not necessarily dancing.

I used to want to be a clown.  I loved the old movies of Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Keaton, and Harold Lloyd.  My brothers and I would recreate slapstick scenes, walks, and a million other little motions we watched in those old movies.  I loved the way those guys moved, I loved the way their specific movements felt when I watched them and later when I tried them myself.

Chaplin can make you laugh, and then cry, and then cheer all without saying a word.  He is devastating.  I loved the way he can bring out the essence of some small action.  His work is dancing- pure dancing- practical and elegant and beautiful.

My mother danced Lindy Hop.  She always thought I would like it.  She used to show me old dance clips from films like “Hellzapoppin‘” and “Day at the Races.”

I was blown away by the films and was interested in the dance, but I was young and never really thought that guys danced.  It certainly wasn’t something that was considered cool.

Finally she convinced me to try it.  Bill Borgida was giving a class for teens (I was 11 or 12) and I went with some friends from my school whose parents also danced.

We went to a school called ACS (the Alternative Community School) [where] we were encouraged to pursue our own interests and develop our own ways of learning.  We started teaching a class at our school almost immediately and brought our friends into the dance.  Our school gave us space and time to practice, and allowed us to shape our curriculum to reflect our interest in the dance.

History, sociology, politics, media- our teachers were very encouraging and allowed us to find the connection between dancing and the rest of our studies.

There was an amazing community of dancers in Ithaca who created a great atmosphere and ran great dances.  We started going out and dancing socially all the time.  ISDN (Ithaca Swing Dance Network) also put on great workshops with the top international dancers and teachers, and they were always supportive of us kids.

My friends and I went out together dancing, and then Bill started a little performance group and we started doing gigs around town.

Soon we started running and directing our own group, and started performing, competing, and eventually teaching on our own.

Personally, I felt very uncomfortable in classes at first.  I was a slow learner and had trouble understanding what the dance was about; Lindy Hop is so open-ended and personal that it can be quite difficult to learn in a traditional class setting.  I had a hard time learning the counts and remembering all the steps.

But I remember the frustration of classes just melting away when I started to go out dancing.  I grasped very quickly the freedom of the dance once I was on a dance floor.  I saw how I could turn my weakness at recreating or remembering the movements of the teacher in class into strengths on the dance floor.  Where I couldn’t do some part of a step, I learned to find my own way through things.  I learned quickly how to make things my own.

For me it was my mother, my friends, my school, and the strong community of dancers in Ithaca that got me to dance; and once I started it was the incredible freedom of the dance that kept me dancing.  It was the way I was able to find my own way of dancing that encouraged me so much.  Lindy Hop encourages individuality and self-expression through embracing community rather than rejecting it.

Of course I found the dance intoxicating as well.  Lindy Hop brings people together to music and that is a classic combination.  Humans have been doing that forever.  There has never been anything more potent than that.


 

Q & A with Skye Humphries pt. 2 October 29, 2009 at 12:03 am (Dance, History, Jazz, Lindy Hop, Skye Humphries) 
Tags: Lindy Hop

The following is part two of  a questionnaire that Skye Humphries filled out for an article entitled “The Party’s Just Begun” that appeared in August 31, 2008.  It only used a few sentences out of the 12 page response that Skye sent back.   It’s a print magazine, so it’s not available online.   Skye sent this to me last summer just to read. I thought it was too interesting not to share, so I asked him permission to post it here.  Since it’s pretty long, I’m chopping it up into four parts.  You can findpart 1 here, part 3 here, and part 4 here.

What are some of the “core moves” of the Lindy Hop?

The basic of the Lindy Hop is the Swing Out: a circular step done in eight beats in which the partners come together and then move apart.  I have never seen anything so perfectly put together, there is no more versatile or meaningful basic in any dance I’ve seen.

Charleston is another important step- the famous dance step from the twenties is crucial to Lindy.

There are other classic steps and classic combinations of steps, but for me those are the most important.

Lindy Hop is a cumulative dance, it bears little imprints of all the things that have come before it.  And today it continues to accumulate bits and pieces.  It is an expansive dance that has space to encompass many things.

Are Lindy Hop moves improvised?  Planned?  Both?

Lindy Hop is both planned and improvised.  There is any number of ways to dance the Lindy Hop, but there is always room for both improvisation and planning in the Lindy Hop.

I would say, and most dancers would probably agree, [that] there is more of an emphasis on improvisation, and certainly traditionally, the dance is more of an improvisational than a planned dance; but there can be planning as well.

A great many moves have been passed down, or taken from old clips and formalized, but many moves are improvised as well, or – like the Swing Out in which the partners come together and then break away – there is space for both.

The Swing Out has a basic shape that brings the partners together and then takes them apart.  When they break away there is room for improvisation.  The Swing Out embodies and reconciles this tension in the dance:  the connection between the partners when they come together and their freedom as individuals when they break away.  Many people point to that “break-away” as the central innovation of Lindy Hop.  Certainly it-and the freedom it allows-is integral to the basic step, and from there, informs the rest of the dance.

Lindy Hop, like the music to which it is danced, is based on a simple structure; a structure that should be limiting, but in fact is quite the opposite.  The simplicity of structure allows for great complexity.  Lindy Hop is so refreshing because it has certain structures (partners, a basic step, a consistent and simple rhythm) that allow for great communication.

Is there such a thing as a “mistake” in the Lindy Hop

It is very difficult to make a “mistake” in Lindy Hop.  However, I would differ from other people in this:  I think the great appeal of Lindy Hop is not it’s lack of right and wrong, but instead is this simplicity of structure.  By having [a] clear structure the dance allows [for] great improvisation and communication.

Improvisation isn’t about doing away without all rules or all structures or all forms.  It is about subverting those rules, reworking the structures from the inside, allowing one’s self to fill the form of the dance and then refashioning it.  Improvisation comes from mastery of structure not its dissolution, and this is one of the real beauties of Lindy Hop.  Its form is an incredible achievement.  Its basic step is a complex negotiation between the couple and the individual.  It leaves so much space.

To me the only mistake is to approach Lindy Hop as formless or structure-less [by] ignoring the rhythm, ignoring ones partner, ignoring the music, [or] ignoring how the dance has been done in the past.


 

Q & A with Skye Humphries pt. 3 November 3, 2009 at 8:27 am (Dance, History, Lindy Hop, Skye Humphries) 
Tags: Lindy Hop

The following is part three of  a questionnaire that Skye Humphries filled out for an article entitled “The Party’s Just Begun” that appeared in August 31, 2008.  It only used a few sentences out of the 12 page response that Skye sent back.   It’s a print magazine, so it’s not available online.   Skye sent this to me last summer just to read. I thought it was too interesting not to share so I asked him permission to post it here.  Since it’s pretty long, I’m chopping it up into four parts.  You can find part 1 here and part 2 here, and part 4 here.

In the last decade, swing dancing in general has seen a surge in popularity – what accounts for that?  Can you explain the time line?

Well certainly Neo-swing in the 90’s gave a certain form of the dance and music a new kind of visibility.  Clubs put on Swing nights, young people flocked to bars and clubs and dance classes.

While the scenes co-existed, (with more or less overlap in different regions) they were never identical.   When Neo-Swing faded, Lindy Hop had gained new enthusiasts but didn’t disappear.   [Lindy Hop] had been around before and continued after.  Many young people were exposed to it though college started Swing clubs and the demographic began to shift towards a younger crowd.

I think the Internet also had a large impact.   Message boards like Yehoodi started to create social networks that served to draw people deeper into the dance and the increasingly international community of dancers.

Recently, I think Youtube has had a very large impact as videos become widely distributed and the video watching habits of people change.  There wasn’t a venue or a style of watching short videos that showcased dance until Youtube came along.

Some of the most famous Lindy Hop clips were made for viewing in nickelodeons back in the day.  Youtube has recreated an environment in which people watch clips like they used to in the earlier days of cinema.  I think it makes them receptive to watching something like Lindy Hop, which is so good for viewing in that context and then pursuing [as] an interest.

Of course partner dancing seems to be gaining in popularity these days, and that certainly seems to be fueling some of the renewed interest in Lindy Hop.

Why is the Lindy Hop an important art form?

Jazz is one of the most (if not the most) important art-forms to come out of American culture in the last 100 years.  Jazz music stands as a crucial cultural achievement of the 20th century.  In America and in the world there is little that can challenge its stature.i

I would argue Lindy Hop is crucial to understanding Jazz.  It is intimately connected to Jazz music–to its development, to its appeal, and to its popularity.  The way that people made sense of Jazz music for at least 30 of its most crucial years is by dancing.  The dancing co-evolved with the music and I would argue the pinnacle of that evolution was reached in the Lindy Hop.

It is a modern American Art-form- an urban folk-dance that allows the individual an incredible degree of self-expression while linking that expression to the expression other people.  The individual finds expression but must grapple with their community-must take into account their partner and the music and the dancers that have come before them and the dancers that are around them.  It fosters an incredible sense of community without sacrificing the unique identity of the individual.

Lindy Hop is an important art form because it is a form that has manage to persist and grow for the last 80 years; because it is as applicable today in Russia and Korea and Australia and Sweden as it was in Harlem in 1930.

Lindy Hop is an important art-form because it is the working class equivalent of the cultural flowering of the 1930’s and the Harlem Renaissance.

Coming out of the African American community in Harlem, Lindy hop has spread around the world and continues to thrive.

It is art-form that is open to everyone and makes sense of the life of an individual in a modern urban context.  As such it is still as meaningful and useful as when it was created.

It is an antidote to modern urban technological isolation and ennui.  It is an art-form for the people and by the people.

Many historical accounts of the Lindy Hop allude to its African roots.  Can we consider the Lindy Hop to be a way to record history?  If so, how?

Lindy Hop carries its history with it.  And it pulls together what came before it as well.

Lindy Hop has no rules.  Its identity is based on continuity rather than a strict set of rules or techniques.  Lindy Hop is in some ways just an innovation on earlier dances like the Turkey Trot and the Texas Tommy.  Lindy Hop changes organically, but to still be Lindy Hop it needs to maintain some connection to the past.

Rather than conserved from above, Lindy Hop changes from the ground up and is constantly looking back to move forward.  Lindy Hop is the perfection of the notion of a usable past; it provides a pragmatic link to history.   Lindy Hop doesn’t just record history, it puts it to work in the service of the present.

Charleston is a perfect example.  [It was] a popular solo and partnered dance before Lindy Hop came on the scene.  [Then] it became an integral part of Lindy Hop- though dramatically altered and tailored to fit the music of the day and the feeling of the dance- it is still Charleston.

Lindy Hop comes from Harlem, and it comes out of the Harlem Renaissance.  It is an important petal in the greater cultural flowering that was occurring at that time.  It was the art and recreation of everyday people- working class African Americans- at an incredibly important juncture in their history and the history of America as a whole.

The fact that the dance has spread all over the world and continues to thrive and grow 80 years on is testament to the power of that cultural achievement.


 

Q & A with Skye Humphries pt. 4 November 5, 2009 at 12:17 am (Dance, History, Jazz, Lindy Hop, Skye Humphries) 
Tags: Lindy Hop, ULHS

The following is the fourth and final part of  a questionnaire that Skye Humphriesfilled out for an article entitled “The Party’s Just Begun” that appeared in August 31, 2008.  It only used a few sentences out of the 12 page response that Skye sent back.   It’s a print magazine, so it’s not available online.   Skye sent this to me last summer just to read. I thought it was too interesting not to share so I asked him permission to post it here.  Since it’s pretty long, I’m chopping it up into four parts.  You can find part 1 here and part 2 here and part 3 here.

Let’s talk about the places where you can Lindy Hop – If I wanted to start, how could I do that?

Most major cities have a Lindy Hop scene.  The best place to start is the internet- finding the local dance and going out.  Of course lessons are a helpful way to get a handle on the basics, but the most important thing is to go out and start moving to the music.

People have been teaching themselves to Lindy Hop for years and years.  All it takes is a little practice, and with Lindy Hop, practicing and doing are the same thing.

There are some great camps, and most organizations put on a few workshops every year.  These can also be a great way to start to work on one’s dancing.

The dance can be a little intimidating and a little overwhelming at first but the important thing is not to be frustrated.  It is a very friendly scene, and people are usually more than happy to dance with someone new.

International competitions:  Could you tell me why the competitions are important?  What is going to one of those like?  Which competitions are the most important on the circuit?

ULHS, Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown, is the most important competition right now. it happens in Minneapolis in October.  [ed. note:  ULHS has since moved to New Orleans, LA]  Showdown is mostly a big party for dancing with periodic contests during the course of the dance.

Showdown is the most successful because it has made the biggest effort to move away from a model of competition based on Ballroom Dance rules and conventions, and [tries] to develop formats that reflect the unique nature of the Lindy Hop.

The spirit of the event reflects what many people feel are some of the core attributes of Lindy Hop:

• Innovation not conservation
  
  
• An emphasis on personal expression over perfection of patterns.
  
  
• Improvisation
  
  
• Musicality
  
  
• Partnership
  
  

Competition helps push the dance and the dancers to new places.  I’ve always liked the forum it allows for dancers to really watch each other and push themselves to do new stuff.  Because Lindy Hop is a social dance, there is actually very few forums in which we can show each other what we are doing and get new ideas.

Of course Lindy Hop is also a very exciting dance and it is always great to see great dancers dancing their hardest.

Under pressure something new almost always comes out.

We’re a teaching magazine, so I wanted to speak about your work as a teacher of dance for a bit.  First, what goes in to being a good teach[er]

For me the feeling comes first, so I think a good teacher is someone who inspires people to dance, helps people find the joy of dancing, [and] lets the technique be a means to an end; not the end in itself.

From my experiences as a student and a dancer I have always appreciated the individuality of Lindy Hop, so a good teacher for me is someone who helps people find their own ways of moving- helps people find ways of expressing themselves rather than giving them static patterns to adapt to.

When people start dancing for the first time they have a tendency to throw away all the knowledge about movement they have accumulated from walking around.  I think a good teacher helps people use the knowledge they already have to dance- encourages people to find their own ways of dancing based on the shape of their bodies and their natural movement patterns.

Who have you taught and who have you learned from?

My most important teacher was Steven Mitchell, his classes also inspired me as a student, as a social dancer, and later as a teacher myself.

As a dancer, do you have heroes?  If so, who?

• Steven certainly first and foremost.
  
  
• A man named Frankie Manning who is one of the original dancers from the Savoy Ballroom, an amazing dancer, and a real gentleman.
  
  
• Dawn Hampton
  
  
• The group of people I started with, Minnie’s Moochers,
  
  
• and now the Silver Shadows.
  
  
• My dance partner Frida Segerdahl
  
  
• Charlie Chaplin
  
  
• Bob Dylan
  
  

What are you thinking about while you’re dancing?  Are you counting?  Are you thinking about what you’re going to do next, etc. etc.?

What I love about Lindy Hop is that it doesn’t need to try to be anything else.  In Lindy Hop, styling is practical.  Nothing stands for anything else.  The movement fills out the music. Form and content are one and the same.

It’s a very practical, pragmatic dance, and it is that simplicity and directness that I find so meaningful and complex.

At the end of the day it is about two people holding each other to music, and that is very beautiful.

The partners and the music are there in the moment with movements that have been done for 80 years, and they are simply trying to make them true in that moment- do them in some way that allows them to make sense then and there.

I am always trying to reach that place where thinking stops- or I should say [where] thoughts are simply replaced by motion.

“The way I like to write is for it to come out the way I walk or talk. Not that I even walk or talk yet like I’d like to. I don’t carry myself yet the way Woody, Big Joe Williams, and Lightnin’ Hopkins have carried themselves.”

– Robert Zimmerman, A.K.A. Bob Dylan (interview with Nat Hentoff- The New Yorker, October 24, 1964)

To me this quote says it all.  The connection between history, dancing, and self-expression.  I am just trying to dance the way I walk.  The challenge is walking as great dancers before me have- not copying their motions but instead carrying myself as they have.

 

by Sharion Davis

(scrool down for Chinese)

I had a wonderful time at Inspiration Weekend, that is a truly great event I highly recommend to add to your swing calendar. I’m feeling very inspired! Thank you to all my lovely students for the messages and emails since the weekend, and I’m so so happy  to hear that you were inspired by our classes! Since this kind of question has been popping up a fair bit, I thought I’d just put together a post for you all. Here is my list of twenty things you can do to improve your Lindy Hop!  Aaaaaand… go!

1. TAKE CLASSES

Take classes, from as many different teachers as possible. If you’ve got limited access to teachers, try DVDs, iDance.net orRhythmJuice.com

2. SOCIAL DANCE

Social dance as much as possible, and dance with as many different people as you can (beginners to advanced)

3. LISTEN TO SWING MUSIC

Listen to as much swing and jazz music as you can, even if it’s just in the background, it makes a big difference

4. DJ FOR A DANCE

Curating your collection and selecting music for dancers will make you think about swing music differently

5. TRAVEL TO DANCE

Go to swing events and workshops in other cities and countries if you can

6. FILM YOURSELF DANCING

Film yourself dancing and watch it analytically. Film > watch > improve > repeat.

7. TAKE PRIVATE LESSONS

Take private lessons with your teachers and/or get personal feedback from friends.

8. WORK ON YOUR SOLO DANCING

Charleston, jazz steps, blues, even tap. At the minimum make sure you know all the classic solo choreographies (Shim Sham, Trankey Doo, Keep Punchin’ Big Apple, Al & Leon Shim Sham, Dean Collins Shim Sham, etc). Practice improvising.

9. JOIN A SWING TEAM

Join a performance group, if you can, or form one with friends if there isn’t one around

10. CHOREOGRAPH A ROUTINE

Even if you never perform it, the process of choreographing makes you better. Learning other people’s routines will also give you a new perspective.

11. PERFORM

Yes it’s scary, but performing makes you think about your dancing differently

12. COMPETE

Also scary, but competitions give you something to train and aim for, and again, it makes you think about your dancing differently

13. TEACH

Teaching something forces you to really understand it. If you don’t want to teach a class, just teach a step to a friend

14. BE INSPIRED BY THE PAST

Watch vintage film clips from the 1920s-1950s of the original dancers. Watch > break it down > steal > repeat.

15. BE INSPIRED BY DANCE IN GENERAL

Watch some old Gene Kelly films, go see a tango show, watch some hip hop on YouTube, rewatch LXD for the sixth time…

16. READ ABOUT IT

Start with Frankie’s book if you haven’t read it already, and go from there. Try this and this and this and this and this. There are also some great Lindy Hop blogs out there – my favourite is Bobby White’s Swungover.

17. LOOK AFTER YOUR BODY

Firstly, take your injuries seriously. Secondly, Lindy Hop alone will not give you the dancer’s body you need to dance at your peak. You need to stretch and do some resistance training in addition to dancing. My personal recommendation is Yoga or Pilates as they will improve your strength and flexibility, but also your balance and body awareness, which will make you a better dancer.

18. LEARN THE OTHER DANCES

Learn the other dances in our jazz dance family – Balboa, Collegiate Shag, St Louis Shag, Charleston, Blues. They will all improve your Lindy

19. ACCEPT THAT YOU WILL NEVER BE SATISFIED

Great dancers are proud of their achievements and comfortable in their bodies, but never ever satisfied. We are always our own greatest critic. So enjoy the journey, find happiness in where you are now, keep striving, but don’t expect to ever be satisfied.

20. JUST KEEP DANCING. NEVER STOP.

If in doubt, just keep dancing. If you’re in a rut, your progress has plateaued, or you’re not feeling motivated about your Lindy, just go out social dancing. The joy and inspiration always come back, as long as you never stop.  

我在Inspiration Weekend玩的很开心。这真的是一个很棒的活动，我绝对建议大家把参加这个活动放在你的计划里。我真的得到很多启发！谢谢学生们发给我的短信和电邮，真高兴听到大家说从我们的课程中也得到启发！一直以来，我收到许多相同的问题，既然这是许多人共同想知道的，我就在这里整理出20个可以帮助你提升你的林蒂舞技巧的事! 准备好了？ 开始！

1. 上课

上课，尽你的可能向越多老师、越多不同的老师学习越好。如果你能接触到的老师不多，看DVD, 上 iDance.net 或 RhythmJuice.coom 看视频。  

2. 参加社交舞会

尽可能多参加社交舞会，尽可能与越多的舞者跳舞（从初级舞者到高阶舞者）

3. 聆听摇摆乐

听很多摇摆乐、爵士乐。即使只是在背景播放，都会有帮助。

4. 替舞会 DJ 音乐

建立你自己的音乐收藏并替舞会选择音乐。替舞会选择音乐很让你对摇摆乐有不同的看法。

5. 旅游到别的地方跳舞

旅游、到别的城市、别的国家去参加摇摆舞活动、舞蹈营。

6. 拍摄自己跳舞的样子

拍摄下自己跳舞的样子，分析自己的动作。 拍摄> 分析 > 进步 > 重复

7. 上私课

向老师要求上私课，或者请朋友给你建议。

8. 在独舞上下功夫

查尔斯顿、爵士、蓝调，甚至踢踏舞。最低限度要学会所有经典的独舞舞目（Shim Sham, Trankey Doo, Keep Punchin’ Big Aple, Al & Leon Shim Sham, Dean Collins Shim Sham, 等等）练习加进即兴变化。

9. 加入表演队

找个表演团队加入。没有团队可以加入，自己组织一个。

10. 编排一个舞码

即使你没有表演的机会，编排一个舞码的过程会帮助你进步。学习别人编排的舞码也会让你对跳舞有不同的看法。

11. 表演

好吓人，是不是？表演会让你对你的舞蹈动作有不同的想法。

12. 比赛

也很吓人，是吧？ 参加比赛让你有个目标去练习，参加比赛也同样会让你对你的舞蹈动作有不同的想法。

13. 教舞

教舞会迫使你去彻底了解要教的内容。如果你不想正式教课，教一些朋友一些基本的舞步也可以。

14. 从历史吸取养分

看20 到50年代原创舞者的舞蹈影片。看影片 > 分解、分析 > 吸取灵感 > 重复.

15. 从其他的舞吸取养分

看金凯利的老片子，看一场探戈表演，看一段Hip Hop视频，看 LXD 五百遍…

16. 丛书里吸取养分

如果你还买看过Frankie Manning的自传，可以从这本书开始。还有 这本 、这本  、这本  、这本 和 这本.。网上也有许多很好的有关林蒂舞的博客 There are also some great Lindy Hop blogs out there – my favourite is Bobby White’s – 我个人最喜欢的是Bobby White 的Swungover。  

17. 好好照顾自己的身体

首先，受伤时要严肃看待这事。第二，光是跳摇摆舞你得不到给你顶尖表现所需要的锻炼。除了跳舞之外，你还需要伸展训练和重量训练。我个人推荐瑜伽和皮拉提，因为这两项运动除了会使你更有力、有弹性，对平衡与身体直觉的提升也很有帮助，这些都会是你成为更好的舞者。

18. 学其他的舞蹈

学习爵士舞家族里的其他舞种 – Balboa, Collegiate Shag, St Louis Shag, Charleston, Blues。他们都会对提升林蒂舞有帮助。

19. 接受你永远不会觉得满足的事实

顶尖的舞者会对自己的成就感到很骄傲、对自己身体的控制感到得心应手，但是永远也不会自满。他们永远给自己最严苛的批评。所以，享受学习、进步的过程，在现在的阶段找到快乐，持续努力提升自己的水平，但是别期待终有一天会觉得满足。

20. 继续跳舞。永远别停。

不知何去何从时，继续跳舞就对了。如果感觉遇到瓶颈、进步的状况不如所期，或者感觉失去对林蒂舞追求的动力，去跳舞！只要你持续跳舞，跳舞的欢快与灵感一定会回来。  

Wikipedia -

In the late 1920s, when Leonard Reed and Willie Bryant were with the Whitman Sisters troupe on the T.O.B.A. circuit, they danced what they called "Goofus" to the tune Turkey in the Straw.[1][2][3] The routine consisted of standard steps: eight bars each of the double shuffle, crossover, Tack Annie, and falling-off-the-log.[1][3][4]

In early 1930s, the Shim Sham was performed in Harlem at places like Connie's Inn,[3][4] Dickie Wells's Shim Sham Club,[1][3] the 101 Ranch,[5] the LaFayette Theatre,[1] and the Harlem Opera House.[1]

At the end of many performances, all of the musicians, singers, and dancers would get together on stage and do one last routine: the Shim Sham Shimmy. Tap dancers would perform technical variations, while singers and musicians would shuffle along as they were able.[3] For example, flash dance act Three Little Words would close their show at Connie's Inn with the Shim Sham, and invite everyone to join in, "and the whole club would join us, including the waiters. For awhile people were doing the Shim Sham up and down Seventh Avenue all night long," according to Joe Jones.[4]

According to tap dancer Howard “Stretch” Johnson the word "Shim" was a contraction of the term "she-him", a reference to the fact that the female chorus line dancers at the 101 Ranch were played by men.[5]

In the modern Lindy Hop community, the Shim Sham is commonly performed as a line dance during dance events.[6] Despite the existence of many variations, the dance has spread around the world, as was featured in the 'Global Shim Sham for Frankie' – a tribute performance for dance legend Frankie Manning's 95th birthday.[7] As such, it has emerged as an emblem of the international nature of the swing dancing community.[

Wikipedia -

The Tranky Doo is a Jazz Dance choreography. It was choreographed by Pepsi Bethel and first appeared at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem during the 1940s[citation needed] .

At that time, it was danced to Tuxedo Junction, however many modern day performances of the dance use other swing jazz songs. It is most common these days to perform the dance with the song "Dipsy Doodle" by Ella Fitzgerald because the dance appears in the Spirit Moves documentary film with a playback of the song. However the film originally had no sound, and the song "Dipsy Doodle" was artificially superimposed on that section of the film.

It was common to Lindy Hoppers, like the Shim Sham.