How do I tell what level I belong in? Dealing with ego and adopting a new mindset.

by Damon Stone

A lot people ask me what level they belong in when it comes to taking classes. I do enjoy people respecting my opinion enough to ask me, but the answer I want to give is never what they want to hear, is not at all satisfying, and the only people who are willing to believe it are the people who don't matter...but more on that part later.

The answer I don't give is, it doesn't matter what level you take. There are two main reasons for this:

1. You are not good enough to get everything in class, no matter WHAT level it is.
2. Dancing with someone worse makes us better.

Lets look at number one, "every level has something to teach you." This may sound like some sort of populist, granola, "we're all equal" kind of BS answer, but the truth is when a teacher tells you this it isn't a platitude meant to soften the blow to your ego about not getting placed where you thought you would, it is because of the simple fact you aren't good enough to get all the stuff correctly in the beginner class. Soak that in, but while you do think about this, neither is the teacher telling you that, and neither am I. I've been doing these dances partnered and solo longer than 80% of the scene has been alive. Now I say this not to brag (how long you've been doing something is a poor indication of how good someone is at a thing) but to help you realize that after all of this time, My posture, connection, pulse, and lag all still need work. The day that everything is utterly perfect with a beginning dancer as well as a master dancer is the day I die from shock. A beginning class focuses on these four basic elements of the blues aesthetic and helps you practice them in the context of simple vocabulary and at best a small handful of blues idiom dances.

Beginning classes are specifically structured to give you time to work on the most fundamental, the hardest, and most important thing in blues idiom dance, the overarching aesthetic. Intermediate classes give you more variety in which to explore the aesthetic, introducing new dances, and some of the more difficult elements of the blues aesthetic like polyphonic movement and call and response, but it is still primarily focused (though frequently hidden) on the blues aesthetic elements of posture, relaxed connection, a maintained physical expression of the baseline rhythm of the music, and lag. Essentially Intermediate is beginners continued. Advanced classes get gritty breaking down the elements and getting you to focus on how the exceptions you think you've discovered are not exceptions, they simply require you to do the things correctly, which you thought you had been doing for years but are starting to suspect you are not even in the ballpark of correct (you aren't). Advanced classes are for those masochists who want to get beyond the "good enough" stage. That is to say, they understand that once you have achieved intermediate level you are good enough to generally dance to any given blues song and pretty much any given tempo with just about any partner and have fun. The dance will be recognizable as blues and you'll both walk away smiling and uninjured. Advanced dancers realize there is more to the dance than having fun, they want to find those transcendent moments where social dancing becomes a form of artistic expression. Seriously, don't take Advanced classes, the time it takes to absorb and apply what you get in a single class and the level of improvement it gives you is all out of whack. If you don't think repeatedly throwing yourself at a brick wall sounds like fun on the off chance you'll be the exception and somehow magically or through a twist of quantum physics pass through the wall, then Advanced classes aren't really for you. I'd say 75% of people in every advanced class I've taught or participated in were there for reasons of their ego, and as such missed most of what was being taught in the class. IF you walk out of class frustrated and tired more often than not, but can't wait to do it again, well congrats, you might be an advanced dancer. IF you find the material fun and not too difficult, you are probably deluding yourself and should give serious consideration to going back to beginner classes. No joke. This either means you are one of the most rare of dancers who absorbs information wholly and can put all the parts together in their head or you spent the entire class entirely focused on the wrong thing and missed all the important bits (oh, did you think that Advanced tricks class was about getting and performing the moves? Nope.).So what are Master classes for? The best Master classes are for people who understand they are weird dance nerds and geeks whose need to know and get it right far outstrips any ability to realize the stuff they are working on will go almost completely unrealized by their dance partners, people in the audience, and most judges. And they are okay with that. It is this consuming passion and need to GET IT ALL even if no one will ever know but them that has them practicing blues dancing at quarter time to improve their balance, with no arms or tied to their partner to remove the need for arms entirely and therefore focus purely on body lead/follow. These are people who are willing in an hour long class to sit and listen to fifteen minutes of theory and then spend five minutes practicing it before being told they are doing it all wrong, and want to spend the next 40 minutes trying to get it right.

And this is where we come to number two, the better your partner is the better they can compensate for you. If you are a beginner and you dance with an intermediate dancer they will recognize your mistakes and mitigate them. When you dance with an advanced dancer they will compensate for them so you might not even know you made a mistake. When you dance with a master they turn your mistake into something brilliant making you think you are a much better dancer than you are. The truth is, if you cannot do it with someone who just stepped off the street, you aren't doing it right. I'll probably get some push back on this, but I believe this wholly and completely. IF you need a dancer as good or better than you to do a thing it is because on some fundamental level you are just not doing it well enough. Blues idiom dance is based on "natural" body movement and reactions, that is to say, it uses the way we move our bodies when we are healthy and moving with unguided purpose, and this means we all, those who take classes and those who do not, should be able to dance blues with someone who is relaxed and paying attention to the music. Now of course the better your partner the easier it is, but a beginner (not a novice) should be familiar with the basics of lead follow, and that is all they should need to be familiar with. IF you didn't make the level you want in an audition, or you are in a class with people you don't think are good enough to do the material and techniques you are working on, you are blaming the wrong person. You are the problem you need to fix. Sure they may be doing things to mess you up and make it harder, but someone significantly better than you would have no problems with it, so instead of worrying about them, concentrate on doing your own things better. So how does all of this have bearing in telling what level you should be in, how do you check your ego, and what is this mindset business? So glad you asked.

What is your purpose for taking classes? If you want to figure out what you are supposed to be doing and have more fun on the dance floor, take beginning classes. If you want your partner to have more fun on the dance floor take intermediate classes. If you want to be the best dancer you can be and your concept of a fun time is melting your brain and beating up your body then take advanced classes. If you must push yourself beyond the reasonable into the absurd where the teacher shows you a step two or three times and has you teach it to yourself because you understand the process and journey IS what is being taught and not the move, and you LOVE THIS then take Master classes. And this why ego holds us back. We put ourselves in classes based on who is in that level and where we think we compare, am I better or worse than those people? How important is it for me to have people know I'm in a higher level than them? If there is always something to learn, something to improve upon, and dancing with people worse than us actually better sharpens our skill and technique, why take classes that are not beginner other than ego? Because sometimes having a teacher who will check our ego for us is the kindest thing possible. Because the esoteric and exotic classes tend to be upper level. Because we have developed a rapport with one or two teachers and we want to take all of their classes regardless of the level. These are ego-less reasons to take things beyond beginning, and I hope you'll consider this shift of mindset.  Getting better is about learning more about yourself without the walls, without the masks, and sharing it with other people.


(source: https://www.facebook.com/notes/damon-stone/how-do-i-tell-what-level-i-belong-in-dealing-with-ego-and-adopting-a-new-mindset/10153016100634338)

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 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。