August 16, 2014

SWING'S THE THING

I am so glad that ‘Swing’ has a big following these days…I remember when I was a young girl, my Mum and Dad used to go to lots of Dance’s at the Royal British legion near to where we lived…I used to tag along with them if they couldn’t get a babysitter and if I was tired they would make me up a bed of coats along an array of chairs where I would try to sleep, as they were having such fun dancing the night away!

It wasn’t disco dancing that they were doing, but more of the Ballroom and Latin dancing that you see on ‘Strictly Ballroom’ just like swing, needing two people to do the dance and therefore having fun in a group enviroment…I love the idea of this kind of dancing…it just seems more social, learning the dances from beginning to end and feeling the music, jiving away…

When i was about 8 years old, I joined a Ballroom dance club, I was very shy back then…my Mum had taken me to ballet and tap lessons, but they really weren’t for me, especially the ballet! that leotard PHEW! my puppy fat did not do that justice at all! he he Blush!

Anyway I won medals for my Ballroom and Latin dancing and i still remember some of the dances today!…I can’t do such high kicks like I used too, but I still love jigging around the front room embarrassing the kids 😉

But what pleases me is that in the last few years swing has been enjoying a revival…especially with new artists like Parov Stelar bringing the music up to date and TV shows like Boardwalk Empire giving prohibition-era fashion a fresh lease of life….it is now drawing in the young (and not so young…ME!) crowds of London with its decadent allure…

Although I love dance music, a good ‘ole boogie around the dance floor is as good as a workout at the gym and really good for embarrassing yourself if you are a little tipsy 😉 But I just can’t help falling head over heels in love for this Swing Revival…it brings dressing up on a Saturday night back…putting on your gladrags..a bow tie, a suit…a pretty dress, a red lipstick, I feel that is what is missing from today’s society.

 OH YES SWING IS THE NEW THING
Go and join a class today and take your whole family,
Have fun and tell us all about it 😉
Have you been taken over by the new dance craze?

and if so…where did you learn?