Learn to Lindy Hop

Allowing Students Space To Find The Dance

One thing I've learned over the years, and this could be why I gravitate toward or value particular teachers, is to provide space for students to find the dance. From Peter Strom - "Many people come absolutely bereft saying 'please tell me what to do.'" And this is a fine place to be. After all, students are coming to learn, start a new hobby, join a community.

It's the teachers' job to teach culture, movement vocabulary, music appreciation and more, and then step aside. This could take the form of playing whole songs for the students to dance to, providing time for students to workshop ideas, or teach patterns that encourage call-and-response from students.

And then provide encourage, shout praise, give a thumbs up, make eye contact and nod "I see you," bring students up to demo what they've accomplished and/or created, or even dance demo what you saw from students as a way of encouraging greater exploration and then quickly turn the music back on.

As I state in the teacher trainings I lead - Lindy Hop is dynamic, full of choices, and ambiguous at times. You just have to believe your students are capable and project that belief to them, so they can believe it to and become independent dancers dancing as themselves.

Learn to Lindy Hop for Free!

It’s difficult to replace the in-person learning experience, but sometimes you need to learn from home for whatever reason. One of the best sources to learn Lindy Hop is to watch any one of our Learn to Lindy Hop in a Day recap videos on our YouTube channel like this one featuring Kenny Nelson and Allison Frey at Lone Tree Brewing Company back in 2019.

And, if you ever want more of this kinds of recap videos from our Learn to Lindy Hop in a Day workshops, click HERE for a list of those on our YouTube channel. If you do live within driving distance of Denver, we suggest taking our classes which you can find out more about HERE.