About our Classes

Lindy Hop 100

The Lindy Hop 100 series is a progressive, 3 month track to give you a very strong base in social swing dance.  Lindy 101 focuses on the fundamentals of partner connection, rhythm, and musicality. Lindy 102 and 103 start to apply those skills practically into shapes (including swingouts, circles, basic Charleston) and linking ideas together in a social dance context.  It’s a great series for new and experienced dancers

Lindy Hop 200

Lindy 200 is focused on skill building and expanding your creativity on the social floor.   This will be an ongoing series running every week before the 100 track.  Topics will be a grab bag and won’t necessarily link one class to another –  building vocabulary, musicality, rhythm variations, intermediate Charleston, solo movement, stylings, etc. 

About dance styles

Lindy Hop

Lindy Hop is a dynamic, athletic dance born in the Black American community in the 20s and 30s in the ballrooms of Harlem, NY. Lindy Hop, in its original form, evolved as a vernacular dance - meaning naturally developing within its community and culture - while holding onto the shared aesthetic values of grounded connection to the rhythm and music, call and response, improvisation, and individual creativity. It comes out of the Charleston move “the Breakaway” that eventually became the Lindy Swingout. (Credit to this move and the name “Lindy Hop” typically goes to “Shorty George” Snowden.) Lindy Hop continued to evolve as the music changed and eventually became the root of other vernacular dances like St. Louis Bop, Chicago Steppin’, and Hip Hop as a part of the Jazz Continuum. It regained worldwide popularity in the 80s and 90s -- thanks, in large part, to original Savoy dancers Frankie Manning, "the Ambassador of Lindy Hop" and Norma Miller “Queen of Swing,” among many others.

6-Count Swing/6-Count Lindy HOp

We teach this as an intro to swing dance on its own and as a part of our Lindy Hop track. “6-Count swing” has always been a part of Lindy Hop (though the original dancers didn’t rely on counts as much back then), and it refers to the length of time it takes to complete a step or move.

Charleston

Charleston finds its roots in African dance -- it became the dance we know today when Black performers from South Carolina began dancing similar steps to ragtime music in the 1910s. It spread to New York, Broadway, and then swept the nation in the early 20s as a solo dance. The partnered version is what eventually evolved into Lindy Hop -- it's the dance that started it all!
This high energy dance is well suited to fast music and blends well into several other swing dance styles.

Solo Jazz

Jazz steps can be plugged into partnered movement within a social dance or performed solo, but you'll most often see them  in a choreographed swing line dance.  The most popular is the Shim Sham, a tap-based line dance that is a standard in the swing community.  Other well known,  but more complicated choreographies are the Tranky-Doo, Trickeration, and the Big Apple.  All of these are universal and performed all over the world.  

Blues

This is a style of music and dance that predates swing. An incredible amount of dance styles fall under the blues umbrella - from up tempo to smooth and rhythmic - jukin’, ballroomin’, slow drag, strut, Piedmont…. Blues can be performed solo or partnered and is driven by the deep pulse of the music, personal expression, and emotion. Check out Brew Town Blues on Facebook for more events, classes, and workshops.

Balboa

Balboa originates in Southern California, developing throughout the 1920 and 30s. It can vary from subtle, closed position dancing with fun footwork variations to open and exuberant with turns, tosses, and kicks. It’s particularly well suited to fast songs and crowded floors. Check out Good Land Balboa on Facebook for classes and events.