When I think of swing dancing, images of roaring trumpets, flapper girls and being flung over someone’s head leap to mind.
So when my mate Tracy suggested that we go to a class, you might say I was pretty keen.
Based in Earl Haig Hall in London’s Crouch End, we’re being taught by Kathleen and Stephen from Swing Patrol. They’re limbering up when I saunter in, Cadillac-clad and ready to boogie.
The room we’re dancing in is low-lit, with fairy lights wound around the wooden panels overhead. It has a lovely feel to it. As one of the other dancers said, the only thing amiss is a sliver of moonlight seeping in through the ceiling.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So how was the class?
Energetic, in a word!
We start off by having a two-minute chat with a person in the class that we don’t know. Somehow I end up talking to someone who used to live five minutes down the road from the teeny tiny village I grew up in. It’s bananas, I tells ye.
Then it’s time to get our rickety hips moving with some warm-ups.
Because tonight, we Charleston.
Stephen and Kathleen also teach Lindy Hop 6-count, Lindy Hop 8-Count and 1920s Charleston, but it’s a spot of Charleston from the 1930s for us over the next hour.
We split off into two groups, one of leaders and the other followers. In first-time fashion, I choose to follow.
It’s a basic step to start, which involves light kicking and hopping. Keeping the timing and balance is tricky. You’re mostly on one foot, switching to the other pretty swiftly.
Leaders and followers pair up next. And it is a lot easier when you’re partnered and dancing side by side, with your hand on the other’s shoulder and an occasional stroke of the elbows.
It’s all about counter-balancing: even though you’re hopping about, if you sort of lean into each other, you’ll stay upright.
Dancing progressively round the circle gives you a chance to dance with more and less experienced people and to find your rhythm after a few turns. The music helps you to keep your time and settle into the sequence.
Then, like a surprise present on a child’s 5th birthday, we get a slide thrown in.
The best part is being encouraged to make a kooky face and a swooping arm motion, as if you’ve narrowly missed being splashed by a puddle driven through by an angry cab driver.
Even though you’ve got someone to rest on for support, the hovering move that comes next is a bit challenging. Relying on your outer leg while bouncing on beat and tilting takes quite some concentration.
The final move involves a stomp and some chicken pecking (or pouting, in some cases).
And there you have it: a 1930s Charleston dance routine.
I need to see that chicken peck
Yes, yes you do. Here's my interpretation (without music. Ha.)
The dancing's none too shabby for a first go, but all I can hear Strictly’s Craig Revel-Horwood in my head whispering:
“No swivel. Dahling.”
Tracy and I did a class through Swing Patrol and it cost £10 for an hour
Interested in having a go?
I catch up with Stephen between lessons to find out a bit more about swing dancing.
Why should people try swing dancing?
It’s a very social dance – once you’ve got that basic step, it can take you through all night. It’s also a great way of meeting people because you can have a chat while you’re dancing. Lindy always seems to be a bit more relaxed. People just seem to have a smile on their face.
Swing dancing is energetic, almost like a good cardio workout. And it’s a brilliant way of enjoying a nice hobby. You don’t realise how much work you’re doing until the end of the night, especially with the Charleston.
What challenges might they face, particularly when they’re starting out?
That they think the footwork is too tricky. They look and think: ‘I can’t do that’ which is why we break it down. Even if you don’t get the footwork, as long as you get the general movement and you enjoy it, that’s more important to us than having clinical, placement footsteps.
The other thing is feeling the rhythm – people struggle with different things. Some people nail the footwork but struggle with the timing, some people love the timing but can’t quite get where it starts with the music.
Once you’ve got the basic move, that’s you. Then you can add other steps.
How much do lessons cost?
Some classes offer discounts or passes on multiple lessons, so you can save up a little bit more.
And the shoes?
Wear whatever’s comfortable. Some people have Keds but others really like the vintage style so they start buying the vintage stuff. But it’s not essential: if you don’t want to, you don’t have to.
I’m wearing some really cheap £3 shoes from Primark and they’ve survived, surprisingly! Those are enough.
There are swing dance classes going on throughout the UK. Just search 'swing dancing' plus your nearest town or city