Lindy hop social

_MAL3996, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

I went to a Lindyhop social last night. I've been to plenty of salsa socials, but this was different. Salsa and Lindy hop are both fun dances, but they have subtly different characters. Whereas salsa is sultry, Lindy hop is carefree.

Lindy hop is different from the sort of swing I have danced the past decade. I learned East-cost swing when I was in college, and I've been dancing it ever since. I'd consider both East-coast swing and Lindy hop to be forms of swing, but Lindy hop is more complex.

Lindy hop is essentially a superset of East-coast swing. It includes all the 6-beat moves of East-coast swing, but adds a whole repertoire of 8-beat moves to the dance. It's a bit difficult for me to remember to insert the extra 2 steps that make it a Lindy hop, because I'm so accustomed to the 6-beat swing. Experienced practitioners of Lindy hop flow seamlessly from 6-beat to 8-beat moves… without missing a beat.

I learned to appreciate Salsa music because of how much fun I had dancing to it. With swing, it was just the opposite: I learned to love dancing swing because of how much I enjoy jazz & big band music. Last night, there was a live band playing a Chicago,the Tommy Löbel Swing Band. They were quite good, and played a good mix of tunes. I'm sure I'll return for next week's Lindy hop social.

Be sure to check out the photos I took!