Paving The Way

I started a book recently called Dying of Whiteness that encouraged further reflection on how some people make things harder on subsequent generations rather than easier. In the dance world which encompasses teaching, learning, dancing and socializing, this materializes in different forms such as:

• the instructor teaching methods deemed out-dated or not aligned with Lindy Hop (groove walks anyone?)

• organizers not updating their Code of Conducts or having any because they never had this when they started dancing

• people not talking openly online or in-person about our social dances originating from Black communities because they think this would exclude or alienate white audiences instead of attracting the world majority

While it can be tough looking at newer generations of dancers or future ones while looking back at your experiences (learning from VHS tapes, reconciling your background appropriating Black dances, seeing that your peers were competing at ALHC while you were muddling in KC), it should be celebrated that you can make someone’s learning journey easier by bringing your meandering messy learning path but fixing the potholes, building bridges to avoid pitfalls and paving the way.

Swinging on a Continuum

I was struck yesterday by a promotional piece from a local organization that pinpointed 1999 within the “swing revival era.” Come to find out this was missed during the editing process done by more knowledgeable dancers. We’re happy this was edited out but it’s noticeable that relatively newer dancers were pushing a revival narrative, a myth I thought was being addressed by local organizations thanks to calls in by Moving History Together, Collective Voices for Change and Move Together. .

We’d like to ask that Colorado swing dance organizations like CMDance and others that promote revival narratives refrain from doing so. Instead, I’d encourage my fellow organizations to share stories about Mama Lu Parks, LaTasha Barnes learning Lindy Hop from her grandma, what Mura Dehn and Margaret Batiuchok gleaned from their record-collecting of Savoy dancers, etc. Lindy Hop and other Black social dances have existed and continued on into this present day. What changed, and this is important, is that white people ignored these dances or diminished them through whitewashing, reduction and sometimes systemic racist policies to reduce safe gathering spaces and to control bodies only to “rediscover” them.

When we (and I mean “we” since I’ve done this too) talk about “ourselves enveloped in the cultural revival of American swing music and dance” we are becoming the colonizer and not the colleague. Let’s be better guests within Black cultural art forms.

Using Technology to Amplify Vernacular Dances Origins

Noted Black historian and dancer, Moncell Durden, asked in a presentation entitled "Rooting Uprooted" at The International Conference and Festival of Blacks in Dance - “what is being taught through the media?” and later saying “Once you find out where they {Black social dances] originated from you find out the meaning and why it's called what it's called but technology misses that.”

This made us immediately reflect on how we broadcast what we do online and what others do. For example, iLindy has this statement accompanying each of their social media posts on Instagram and Facebook: ”Swing Dancing is an African-American creative art, built on African-American dance values. These roots and values deserve to be reflected in our communities, to respect the spirit of the dance, and make it an inclusive space for people of color.” How they explicitly center swing dancing as an African-American dance form is fantastic to see!

Fifth Element Dance in Aurora writes “Jazz dance originated from Black communities in the late 1800s & 1900s. It combines performance with social & cultural dances that were emerging at the time of its development.” under the Jazz class description.

Katrina Rogers, owner of Move With Ease and a Blues dance instructor, writes “Embark on an immersive exploration of Blues Dance, a captivating and soulful form of black vernacular dance that transcends time and resonates with the heartbeat of cultural expression. Rooted in African American history, Blues Dance embodies the rich tapestry of emotions, stories, and experiences woven into the fabric of the blues music genre.” for her Beginner Blues series in the Facebook and Meetup events.

Others bundle Jitterbug and East Coast Swing as Vintage Swing Era Jazz Dances, offer that East Coast Swing “were originally developed side by side with vintage Jazz music”, or write that Lindy Hop is interchangeable with Jitterbug. Why do we need to couch Black dance in terms associated with whiteness? As Moncell also says and I paraphrase - “Your identity is attached to it and that's a disruption” which, if it holds true to me and my dance history, is likely true for other current organizers where they themselves and their own mentors are and were not steeped in swing dances’ origins or they purposefully avoid explicitly sharing the Black origins online.

We’re at the point when organizers occupying space within the Black social dance community ought to be using the names Black creators gave their social dances, stop using names that purposefully erased Blackness (jitterbug and east coast swing) and seek opportunities to share that these are Black social dances online and offline. And since we’re still in a time where whiteness is the default, it’s important to expressly state Lindy Hop is a Black (vernacular/social) dance. Stating it’s a dance born in Harlem, NY isn’t enough when the overall Black population is down to 44% in that neighborhood and people lack education around the Great Migration and Harlem Renaiisance.

Let’s use the technology available to us to amplify the origins of the vernacular dances we love so much rather than featuring them without origins.