Hello friends and fellow dancers! You may have heard that Cream City Swing is working hard to reopen. Yes, it’s true! We’re excited to get back to the stuff that matters to our community: teaching, learning, dancing, and sharing the joy, history, and rich culture of swing. We’ll be dancing together soon, everybody!!
It might feel like CCSwing is “coming back,” but we are looking at it as a fresh beginning. A lot has changed since March 2020 for all of us - a lot of it good; most of it excruciatingly hard. You’re different. We’re different. So it stands to reason that what’s next will be different, too.
While we try some new stuff on for size, we hope you’ll join forces with us as we work to make this transition back to in-person social dancing as safe, fun, and rich as possible.
Here’s what you can expect from us in the next few months:
EVENTS:
Twice monthly Sunday Lessons + Open Floor. In August and September, we’ll be hosting lindy or jazz lessons followed by open floor time (aka - social dancing and practice and play), so we can all shake the cobwebs off a bit. No partner required. $12 will get you lessons plus open floor from 4:15-7:00pm. $5 will get you admission to just the open floor time, which will start at 5:30-ish. We’ll adjust things as we learn and as needs change.
No CC Swing socials…yet. We hope to pick up our social dances, but until we can, check out this dancer curated calendar at Milwaukee Stomp! *****UPDATE 10/2/22!!! Socials are here!!! October 30th
COVID PROTOCOLS:
**Updated 10/17/22: Masks are encouraged but optional at CCSwing events and will be available at the door. Please wear a mask if you have had recent exposure.
Please refrain from attending any CCSwing event if you are experiencing viral symptoms (fever, congestion, cough, etc.), COVID or otherwise, or have tested positive (symptomatic or not) within 10 days.
All COVID policies are subject to change at any time as the CCSwing Board sees fit as information and recommendations change.
(Updated 10/17/22) CCSwing events will require, well fitted masks worn over the nose and mouth. Vaccination and boosters are recommended, but we will no longer be checking at the door. N95, KN95, and 3 ply surgical masks will be available at the door. No cloth masks without filters are allowed. No masks with exhalation valves, please.
(Updated 8/1/2022): All CCSwing events will require proof of vaccination (fully vaccinated as defined by the CDC) as well as high quality, well fitted masks worn over the nose and mouth. Boosters are recommended, but not required.
(Original policy - 7/24/22 All CC Swing events will require proof of vaccination and booster, as well as a high-quality mask worn tightly over the nose and mouth. These are the current recommendations from medical professionals who have been advising the dance community throughout the pandemic and have proven effective in mitigating spread at dance events. We’ll have masks available for anyone who might need one.)
Why COVID protocols? One of our aims is to make our events as accessible as possible to the widest number of people. We recognize that there will always be a risk of getting sick in a close contact activity like this, but vaccinations and boosters reduce viral load and masks significantly reduce risk of transmission. These requirements are there to make sure that folks with all levels of vulnerability can feel more comfortable on the dance floor. Thank you, in advance, for helping keep our community safe.
MISSION:
Black Lives Matter. Lindy Hop is a Black American art form. So is jazz. These forms that we love were created in the context of American racism - a context that is not merely historical, but prevalent today. Black lives matter. It’s imperative that we say this because our organization and our community are centered around dancing, listening to, and adoring the music and movements that were created by Black people, who very rarely received adequate compensation for their labor. Implicit messages of exclusion have permeated the global Lindy Hop community for too long and we, at CCSwing, will seek to cultivate inclusive spaces and practices that credit Black culture and support our Black community and people. Black Lives Matter. Black Lindy Hop Matters. Learn more, engage and participate at www.movetogetherdance.org and www.collectivevoicesforchange.org/.
Social History of the Dance. There’s a wealth of extraordinary information out there about the centuries-long history of Lindy Hop and Black vernacular dance. That history is essential to understanding this dance we do. The movement comes from movements. We’ve been evolving our curriculum to teach in a way that evokes the community-oriented spirit in which jazz and swing were developed and are excited to share our ideas and continue learning ourselves. (Hit us up for casual conversation, we’ll be delighted to point you to resources for learning, too!)
Service to Our Community. Cream City Swing exists to support the community in dancing and learning and thriving. Folks in our dance community have done an extraordinary job of finding places and ways to come together and to dance safely these past few years, and we’re so excited to see those initiatives! But we also hope to connect more deeply with the range of arts, community, and education organizations in our city (particularly those that serve BIPOC and LGBTQ+ peoples) to allow our practice of the dance to become more recognizably like the way that these moves developed: among diverse peoples banded together in networks of mutual support and care, using movement together (and in moments of individual virtuosity) to express a range of human feelings, and to build on what came before to improvise something inspiring and new.
We can’t wait to see you all, in person, on the dance floor soon!
~Your CCSwing Board