Notes of a Lindy Hopper: For once, I respectfully disagree. What are your opinions on this? →

swingitout:

Tonight I was told by a lead I respected that I should focus on improving my west coast. He told me that my west coast would get better before my lindy and that my lindy wouldn’t improve until my west coast. Another person even chimed in and said lindy was the last thing you should learn. Normally…

follow this link to read swingitout’s post about whether learning West Coast will improve your Lindy.

Long-winded Response:

Interesting. I’ve heard this argument before, but insert “blues and/or bal” where West Coast is. I also dislike West Coast, blues dancing, and balboa. My opinion?

I’ve been dancing for about 5 years now, and dancing Lindy for about 3 of those. Before Lindy, I dabbled in East Coast swing, Texas Two Step, foxtrot, Jive, and even Viennese Waltz {none of those competitively or anything, just socially.} Did those dances make me a better Lindy Hopper? Absolutely. Could I have done Lindy without any prior dance experience? Most likely. {Well, maybe not me, I do happen to be quite uncoordinated when not on the dance floor.} But things I learned doing those dances are definitely evident in my Lindy. My sister has been doing ballet all her life, and she clearly swings like a ballerina, if that makes any sense. 

I guess my point is yes, learning West Coast can improve your Lindy. But only as much as learning Tango, or Waltz, or Tap dancing will improve your Lindy. The spirit of Lindy is one of fun, of the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem poking fun at the fancy ballroom dances of Upper East Side Manhattan, like West Coast. So why not incorporate some of those dances into your Lindy? Unlike those dances, Lindy has rules that were made to be broken.

Personally, being able to dance an entire song in one style or another doesn’t appeal to me. I just want to DANCE, you know? That’s a trap we Modern Lindy Hoppers can fall into: We get so focused on the “one, two, triple step” that we lose sight of the soul of the dance. {Pretty soon I’ll write a post about a woman who inspired me in this regard.} There’s a lot of technique involved in Lindy, but it is still at its heart a improv dance. That’s why I love it.

So I will conclude this long-winded post by saying: Learn West Coast if you want to. Don’t learn it if you’re like me and think it looks like Swing for squares and chumps. {No disrespect if you love it. Its a lovely dance, and props for knowing it!} Make your Lindy Hop your own!

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∞ 2 years ago (6 notes)

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  1. ohyeahswingdance reblogged this from modernlindyhopper and added:
    Lindyhopr and I had a similar discussion a little while back. I’ve not tried WCS before and I don’t think it’s done me...
  2. shad3s0fgr4y answered: Alright who said that!?
  3. myarmsareridiculous answered: I honestly have no knowledge of west coast at all, but I love lindy. I think you should go with what feels right for you and go your own way.
  4. buttonandblue answered: I entirely agree. Learning other forms of dance will add a little something to your lindy, but if you don’t like it, why bother?