Social Dances Have Names

Some of the shortest statements are the most impactful ones. When Taylor Madgett at Dance Dance Evolution firmly stated “Black social dances have names” at the beginning of her class when she was contrasting Black social dances with studio dance, it lodged into my brain. Much like - “The term vernacular refers to dance performed to the rhythms of African American music: dance that makes those rhythms visible.” from Steppin' on the Blues - this statement has become a touchstone for my teaching and teacher instruction, most recently being shared during our Little Man Ice Cream Swingin’ Under the Stars teacher training.

As my co-instructor pointed out during the teacher training, we both get a little irked when we see local swing dance schools continue to teach East Coast Swing and Jitterbug classes. As another school’s instructor shared when asked what a Jitterbug lesson was - “It was east coast. I asked why it was called a Jitterbug lesson and he said because it is very beginner swing dance. And the most important descriptor that stood out to me was that [name redacted] said that it’s very white. Like the most white. That it’s up pulse instead of down in the ground like lindy hop.”

"Nowadays if you say Lindy Hop there are very few people who know the word. You know you say Lindy Hop and they just look at you you know. What is that? And then you say uh jitterbug and their face light up because they have heard Jitterbug for so long till they think that's what it is." - Frankie Manning in Swingin' at the Savoy: The Frankie Manning Story.

“But why then, when I took dance classes in school, was I not told that Lindy Hop came from the Black community?“

This separation (Jitterbug = beginner swing dance) and centering in whiteness does more harm than good within our vernacular dance community. Lindy Hop is easy to learn, difficult to master. However, thanks to particular instructors and swing schools, we have many people that think Lindy Hop is hard, fast, too athletic because we have this “different dance” over here that is an appropriated commodified version of Lindy Hop further distilled (“tamed”) from what Arthur Murray originally did. I was in the thick of it in the 1990s and know why Jitterbug happened. It’s surprising JItterbug’s legacy has lasted this long since neo-swing crumpled and Jitterbug is attached to my parents’ and grandparents’ generation. As Gaby Cook wrote here, “Language like ‘East Coast Swing’ belongs to the practice of white people siphoning black innovation and repackaging it as a ‘safe’ white cultural product.”

From one swing dance school’s website

"The key elements are the implications that the jitterbug was a dance that was out of control, whereas the Lindy Hop was indeed a theatrical performance, one that Martins attests that "of all the ballroom dances these prying eyes have seen, this is unquestionably the finest; but let the white man attempt it at his peril." - The Oxford Handbook of Dance and Theater.

The other reasons that Jitterbug and East Coast Swing lessons are still pervasive with schools that teach Lindy Hop and other vernacular dance styles are likely marketability, white comfort, organizers resistant to the work involved when evolving, holdovers from the late 1990s neo-swing era, and whitewashing of Black history.

If we are to be better guests in Black social dancing’s house and, rather than be cultural appropriators, be cultural surrogates as defined by LaTasha Barnes, then changes need to be made.

• Swing dance schools ought to stop branding Lindy Hop classes as East Coast Swing and Jitterbug. Since Lindy Hop comprises of many different visible-on-the-dance-floor rhythms, teachers should be comfortable teaching and dancing a variety of rhythm patterns including step, step, rock step while folding it into vernacular dance values like call-and-response, improvisation, the aesthetic of cool, etc. Let’s start avoiding the neo-swing era with its further appropriation and commodification of Lindy Hop now.

• When renaming your class “Lindy Hop Taster” or “Level 0 Lindy Hop,” accompany your marketing with appropriate school-sourced video of teachers dancing what your school will be teaching. Include appropriate fun imagery, emphasize the beginner-friendliness of what you’ll be teaching and make some statements on social media and your website about why you’re making the change. Perhaps this will make your classes more accessible and inclusive.

• Continue to educate. Your website and social media presence should be a resource and a marketplace. Many people treat their social media platforms as places to sell things, but it should also be a resource. And then make sure your classes are educational on several fronts - music, history, dancing, consent, etc.

We can do better.

Another school’s website where they center Black social dances with their origins and using the dances’ names.

Coping with Asset Misuse

Fairly recently, someone representing an international swing dance community organization asked “how do you change your mnindset when you’re dealing with these sh*t things?” after they were subjected to a local organization using their assets for commercial purposes. And back in 2020, we were asked “how do you cope with dealing with that so often” regarding an out-of-state swing organization discovering that a fellow local swing organization was using their group’s photos.

You see, Swingin’ Denver is well known for having a very popular asset used worldwide without compensation or attribution. Fortunately, for years now people will share with us or comment when they suspect our imagery is being used without permission. Locally, we’ve had a few local organizations use our assets for their gain from 2014-2023. It wears on you over such a long period of time. And that doesn’t get into people misusing your time and talent, so how do I practice coping?

1. Focus on the people and organizations that spark joy.

2. Have firm boundaries and a willingness to communicate them. i.e. - “Please remove the images you don’t own from your website,” “While I appreciate the opportunity, it is too much of a time commitment and I'm going to pass,” or “If you’re going to go outside our agreed upon scope of work, you’ll need to pay me more.”

3. Stick to the issues at hand. The three most recent instances where I had to ask local organizers to stop using our assets, people within the organizations gave pushback and were argumentative with ad hominem and red herring attacks. Ignore these and stick to the facts - their wrongful usage of your assets.

4. Release your “heavy load.” You need to take care of your mental wellbeing, so typically I have to “let go” after “resolving” the situation. I’ll make note, both written and mental, to protect myself in the future while understanding that some people and organizations will not change. Sometimes you can release the heavy load by walking away like when an organizer threatened to hire someone else when we refused to do an on-air segment because A) it didn’t compensate us and B) was for an event we weren’t involved in.

5. Offer an in-person meeting at a neutral place. I sometimes offer this opportunity to better understand why this person practiced harming my business in the hopes of resolving issues between us and developing a better path forward.

6. Deeply listen. In “The Power of Attachment,” the first skill listed in practicing secure attachment is Listen Deeply. “When we listen deeply, reflect back to the other person, and ask questions that help us understand them, we allow the other person to inform us of what’s going on with them - not in a superficial way, but in a manner that empowers them to really dive in, feel their feelings, and express them to us until we truly get them.” This is important for #4 and we also note when people don’t listen deeply when we express our concerns and boundaries. Different kinds of abuses have been discounted due to people being dismissive, protecting the status quo, valuing community above the individual and being fearful of discomfort.

7. Be vigilant (within reason). I have found that it’s easier to deal with asset misuse sooner than later, so I periodically check on repeat offenders. Most recently, I’ve been able to call them out within 24-48 hours of them misappropriating one of our assets. It saves me some mental space, but this isn’t for everyone.

8. Accept that change must come from within and may never happen. Last fall, I was asked by an invested third-party to sit down with two offenders who have occupied much of our time over the years. I ultimately declined and this is a valuable excerpt to share - “Asking me to be the ‘key to them owning up to the harm they’ve done’ is a burden I’m going to decline. I reject continuing a community culture that enables bad actors and institutions. My time to educate, support, and labor for [these two] has passed. They have had ample time to grow, reflect, change their behavior, and come forward. Yet their patterns of misbehavior and lack of care persist.” Months later, the two offenders sadly proved my decision to be the correct one.

9. Surround yourself with good people and live well. Throughout all the badness I've had to deal with, I've always surrounded myself with good people that support me and allow me to speak to them while they offer good advice and thoughts. Sometimes the best thing you can also do for yourself is to live well and continue offering good to the community.

How Can DJs Get On Event Organizers' Radars

Kenny was recently asked “how event organizers decide who to DJ for their larger events. And how I can get on their radars?” and here are his brief thoughts as an organizer and someone who’s been hired for national and international DJ gigs.

• Actually, be a disc jockey. It’s okay to start with a playlist, but I want to see someone that is playing to the crowd, adjusting music on the fly, getting people out of their seats with the music you choose. A “create a playlist prior to the event and let it sit” is not a DJ.

• Someone that gets people to dance inspired. Mpst people show up to a dance to socialize and to dance. To get someone to dance inspired is another thing entirely.

• Be active in relevant groups. It used to be discussion boards and now it’s Swing DJs. If I was interested in scoping potential talent, I might check out DJ groups and see who is participating and how.

• Cold emailing organizers and having reputable teacher and/or organizer talent that can vouch for you and offer those references when you first reach out. Less work an organizer needs to do, the better.

• Read other DJs blogs like Dogpossum and reach out to other DJs getting hired to see what knowledge you can glean

• Reach out to online DJ events like Global Online Social hosted by Pauldances and put yourself out there.

• Consider building a resume/CV like my dance one here.

• Have a blog sharing your passion.

• DJ for a local event that out-of-town guests visit for.

Planning for Active Shooter Situations Resources

In light of the shooting at the Monterey Park dance studio January 21, 2023, we would like to share some resources we’ve gathered from our work in the events industry.

Someone I know that was formerly in a Public Safety role at a U.S. shopping center provided me this presentation they prepared to train staff in active shooter preparedness.

It's meant to be self-guided and I do have permission to distribute this. Sharing settings are "View" and it appears you can download this and then upload to your own Drive to customize it to your needs. The original owner did have a logo in the left corner.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask, but I anticipate not being able to answer due to the fact that I'm still learning. Hope you find this helpful.

Special Events Emergency Plan for an outdoor event I produced in 2020 so you can see what Denver has required of event organizers before.

Training for an Active Shooter Situation notes.

DHS - Active Shooter How to Respond.

NRF Active Shooter Guidelines.

The Danger of the Revival and Discovery Myths

A local organization recently did a nice post highlighting Lindy Hop’s African-American origins while also sharing a fantastic image of Ann Johnson (featured in our blog image) and Frankie Manning. However, they utilized the words “revival” in their original post and “rediscovery” in their repost - “…until European and American dancers rediscovered it starting from the beginning of the 1980s.” The terms are both fraught because they very nearly center whiteness.

From my original response on their first post using “revival” -
Great post! I might be hard pressed to use the term "revival" though. Like you said, Lindy Hop never disappeared so revival doesn't really seem fitting. It kept going thanks to people like Mama Lu Parks or transformed like you mentioned into other regional styles like Kansas City Two-Step, Chicago Steppin' and other social dances. Furthermore, Black artists and elders within this space have spoken out about avoiding "revival" too, so there's something there to reflect about. It certainly experienced a resurgence and transformation thanks to commodification, neo-swing, and other factors. It's just all very complicated.

And my second response when they reposted using “rediscovered” -
Still a solid post! Just like I pressed back on the word "revival," I'll also critique the term "rediscovery" since colonialism and appropriation are often attached to "discovery" especially when associated with Black art forms like Lindy Hop.

Here's an applicable quote from Adam Brouwers-Harries in the Teaching Swing Dance group - "The problem with the term "revival" is that it presents a whitewashing of the current popularity of swing dancing - i.e. it paints a picture of an activity "saved" from extinction by white people, rather than a living art form still practiced within black communities." Similarly, I would argue that using "discovery" is akin to "revival" here since it plays into this white savior myth that still is propagated through vernacular dance communities.

It’s always a fascinating experience exploring language and how we educate within the dance scene. The other night I was onboarding two teachers to represent Swingin’ Denver later in December and we were covering representation, appropriation, what is vernacular dance is and more. They seemed receptive to representing these cultural values. Other organizations and groups, even here in Colorado, will ignore offers to learn more or to gain opportunities through education. It’s about time and it’s been time for swing dance schools to step up their game when it comes to being good guests in the Black space that is vernacular dance.

Asking Each Other To Dance

Last night I had to remind myself to ask a private lesson student to dance. Clearly, the implication, the implied “yes,” is present since, as a student, you’re there to learn to dance and likely dance with the instructor. However, it’s quite important for instructors to model asking a person to dance to give opportunity for consent or “no.” That ought to be true in group classes, private lessons, and socials.

As consent came to be a larger topic within the global swing dance community, hip instructors made sure they discussed how to ask (preferably with your words), that declining a dance is okay, suggesting how to decline, and letting people know that saying just “no” is a perfectly fine response inside of classes and sometimes during socials. When dealing with safe space issues, we would find that offenders typically started out by crossing boundaries like not accepting “no” and forcing one to dance through verbal and physical means. This sometimes led to further harm and emphasized why we ought to have conversations revolving around consent sooner. And it’s quite good for the people in power like the organizers and instructors to model this from the beginning.

It might take time recalibrating current habits, but with a bit of self-awareness and effort, it’s worth it. Students watch you and take note. It’s good to be a responsible leader within the community.

DJ Music is Practice Music?

“Remember that DJ music is for practice; live music is game time.” I found myself reflecting on Falty’s words yesterday during the Vail Jazz Festival as I was listening to all the band members’ various solos. Whereas DJ’ed music features music frozen in time, live music is breathing right in front of you, bringing you a unique once-in-a-lifetime experience that you, the dancer, are reacting to in real-time. It truly is game time!

Discovering this video earlier this year may have unduly influenced me to solely focus on live music programming at The Savoy Denver. And we feature so much live music throughout the year with our various event partners, so be sure to bookmark our calendar and subscribe to our newsletter so you can stay apprised of all our live music happenings.