Dance

Learning to tell stories through lindy hop

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If you’ve read some of my posts about Swing, Sister, Swing or my recent projects you’ll already know that I’m at a point in my dance career where I want to expand my skill set and present more work for theatre and non-lindy hop audiences. In particular, I’m really interested in immersive experiences and how lindy hop could be the primary movement language. It’s fundamentally inclusive, joyous and connective – what stories could I or others tell?!

In October I attended the Future of Storytelling Summit and it was clarifying. I wanted to try and develop and design a lindy hop experience that was ‘theme’ based rather than ‘class based’. Now what would that look like? And how on earth do I even start? In conversation with a friend and mentor, Alberto Denis I decided to apply to Canada Council for the Arts for a Professional Development grant and shockingly – I got it! This is the third time I’ve applied to Canada Council for a personal artistic project and I’ve been recommended but not awarded funding. A demonstration that persistence is key.

Thanks to their support, I’m spending time with Alberto this week in New York and planning to workshop and share something in May 2019 in London. The focus of our work together is around the themes, methodology and stories I could tell through narrative dance and feels like such a treasured and rare opportunity.

If you’re curious and want to keep tabs on what I’m experiencing and working on – watch my Instagram stories for an informal video journal (@nothingbuthitz). Thank you Canada Council for investing in me and my practice. I can’t wait to see what comes from this!!!

How to be a good ‘contest’ audience member

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Competition season has kicked off with the newest kid to the block, the Savoy Cup. I wanted to cover a couple of ideas around what it means (to me) to be a good competitor and audience member.

People enter competitions for all sorts of reasons. It might be a personal goal to focus on improving their dancing, it might be that they love to perform and we don’t have enough opportunities to do that in lindy hop, or it might be that it scares them and they want to push through that fear.

Whatever the reason they are competing, be supportive.

As an audience member – for the love of all that is holy – CLAP! CHEER! GIVE THEM ENERGY! Whether or not you know them. Whether or not it’s perfect. It’s part of the audience/performer contract. If people are nervous, having the crowd behind them can be so uplifting.
Be aware that sometimes we are so moved by a performance, or so distracted by watching that it’s hard to clap along, but do your best.
Smile at the performers, if feels so much nicer to perform for people who are interested and supportive.
Acknowledge them after the performance and congratulate them, or ask how it felt. When you see them in the hallway, at the nearby restaurant or on the dance floor. Competitions bring up all sorts of emotions – a kind word goes a long way.

If you’ve never competed before, try it sometime (it is often fun) and decide what success means for you going in. Often, ‘winning’ is just having the courage to share something you love with a group of people who also love that thing. It can be such a thrill. Best of luck to those competing at events across Europe this summer and to those hitting up ILHC and Camp Hollywood last this summer.

 

Weekend Inspiration: be you

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Full disclosure that I don’t know James Clear (who’s post this is) from a hole in the ground and I cannot attest to the rest of his blog, but I can tell you that I read this post just when I needed it.
Martha Graham has this to say about comparing yourself to others: “There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.”

http://jamesclear.com/quality-comparison 

I often think that quality and competition are related. I’m not competitive with others, I am however highly competitive with myself. What can I accomplish? What am I capable of? What I love about this quote and post is that it talks about allowing things to flow rather than judge or stop. Something that I think could apply to a variety of experiences in our professional lives. Have a read, have a think and I hope you feel like you’re being your best self today. Happy Saturday.

Wanted: Dance partner for ILHC

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I have waffled about whether or not to post this. Partially, because it just isn’t done in the lindy hop community (at least from my perspective) – where a follower is actively and openly seeking a dance partner for a project and partially, because it feels like high school asking if anyone will take me to prom.

Who am I and what’s the brief?
I teach many weekly classes and have taught a variety of weekend partnered and solo workshops in Canada and the UK. I work with some amazing leaders in London. I currently have plans to go to ILHC, but don’t currently have a partner to compete with (because the people I’d normally work with are not able to go). Ideally, I’d like to compete in the Open Strictly and Open Classic and would be open to a Team Showcase if someone was already invested/subscribed in a project.

Ways this could work (open to suggestion):
1. In London, you either live here or are willing to come visit and crash on my sofa bed for a week or two and we focus on training and putting together a choreography.
2. You live somewhere in Europe that is cheaply and easily accessible and/or a major and easy to get to US city. You put me up for a week or two to come and train with you perhaps the weeks leading up to ILHC.
3. We each cover our own costs at ILHC and split our contest costs.
4. I am willing to invest additional time by coming to Herrang the same week you may be going and/or attending a camp or two in the lead up (depending on cost, but I’m flexible).

You may be the right person if:
1. You are a person who invests in your dancing and is focused on improving your personal dancing.
2. You have a cannon of performance work or at least a couple of performance routines under your belt.
3. You give valued and measured critical feedback and you are open to getting respectful critical feedback.
4. You want to put in 10-15 hours minimum on a performance routine and partnered dancing prep. For me, it’s about polish – but polish can also keep true to the spirit of lindy hop.
5. Your definition of success is creating and producing something original, distinctive, imaginative and truly ‘us’ as opposed to looking like other people.
6. You are self-aware and want to be the best dancer you can be.
7. Optional: You teach in your local scene and are comfortable watching, explaining and breaking down movement.
8. Optional: You are inspired by and have experience in other dance forms.
9. Optional: You have aerials experience and would like to work on this skill set with me.
10. Required: You have a high degree of partner empathy. You respect both dance roles equally and value the conversational quality and individuality of dance. Perhaps you occasionally like to follow, since I do also quite like leading.

If you think you’d be interested in working together and producing a routine that is professional, high quality and daring for us AND love social dancing and would like to train towards a strictly together please send me an email – nancyhitzig[at]gmail[dot]com. I’d love to hear from you.
If you think you may not be ready (either your new or don’t have a lot of dance experience of this kind), but would love to train and see if it’s a good fit – that’s valuable too.
If you are working with someone and want some help making a plan to do some work like this – awesome, email me! Happy to take you through how I approach stuff like this.

And lastly, if you are a person who has a network of dancers where someone may be interested in an opportunity like this, please, I ask you to forward it on, post it, instagram it – whatever.

As a follower without a regular partner, sometimes I feel like my ambitions and vision are impossible with out a regular partner. If it turns out that there aren’t any available or interested leaders, then I can decide if I want to push my leading and compete with another follower who has the same aims and goals. But I definitely wanted to ask you, my friends and peers for your opinions and recommendations first.

I think that brings my ILHC partner job pack to a close. If you share this or respond to it, please accept my sincere thanks. Both roles have their challenges and the desire to make great art always feels scary, but I wanted to be brave and to ask. Hope to see you on the dance floor soon.

Reasons I love Lindy Hop

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  1. It pushes me to be my best self through movement – whether it’s exploring my own musicality, inventiveness and rhythm, it pushes me to be better and more playful.
  2. It’s the best boyfriend I’ve ever had, I always say sometimes I’m more in love with Lindy Hop and sometimes Lindy Hop is more in love with me. My interest and focus has ebb-ed and flowed over the last ten years. I’m in a serious love affair these days – I have never been more inspired with the dance and with all of you on the social dance floor.
  3. It encourages me to dare, to take risks and challenge my preconceived notions of what my potential and ability is and could be.
  4. It changes. Cause we all change. It’s never the same, you never take that same rock step twice. I find this strangely comforting.
  5. And most importantly, it brings us all together. I get to meet my chosen family. My peers, my awe-inspiring colleagues. My beloved students, my like-minded mega babes. It is an energy and magic that rarely exists in other art/hobby forms and I am so grateful.

    The International Lindy Hop Championships feels like a strange homecoming – I get to see so many people I know and love in one place, celebrating together. I’m nervous – that’s the nature of contests – but I’m just so proud to be going and spending time with those I care about as we push ourselves and throw down. Boom! You can watch the live stream here! 

Definitions of Success

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I’ve been thinking about the idea of ‘success’ lately in relation to dance. What it means to be successful, to find greatness and what that means for different people. This past weekend I went to Rock that Swing Festival in Munich and competing brought to light some familiar feelings and insights around competing that I thought I’d share. These are definitely coloured by my experience as a figure skater, solo dancer, jack and jill participant, partnered swing dancer, opera singer and burlesque performer. They are by no means groundbreaking, but might be helpful to someone else especially as people start preparing for London Swing Festival in May.

1. Define success before the competition. Why are you doing it? For the love of performing? For the thrill? To challenge your personal dancing? To place? Decide what success is before and then whatever the outcome take a moment to celebrate afterwards. You’ve worked hard.
2. Be kind to yourself. Unless it’s a showcase of some kind, you don’t get to pick the music, sometimes you don’t pick your partner or even the texture of the floor. The moment you walk on the dancefloor you’re winning – so don’t let other s#$% affect your state. Go back to what you defined as success. Sometimes it’s winning, sometimes it’s just sharing what you love with other people. If things go wrong, let them go. It’s just dancing! (I personally struggle with this, but you really do have to do it.)
3. Only wear things you’ve danced in before. This is something that I see far more in burlesque then lindy hop, but it still applies. Practice or social dance in the things you want to compete in. You’d marvel at how many things go flying or rip or tear when you haven’t tested them out. Wear that necklace or dress and make sure it’s not going to be more memorable then your performance.
4. Consistency is key. Practice your routine. Film yourself, watch the video and look for things to celebrate AND things to improve. Let yourself get comfortable with particular movements, tempos etc. It’s the easiest way to alleviate stress.
5. Look up. Maybe smile. Whether it’s burlesque, swing dance, cabaret – whatever – it’s about connection. Look up and connect with the people in the audience. Invite them in, make them a part of your success. They want you to do well and are on your side, let them give you energy. You’re in this together! That’s part of what makes dancing, performing and competing fun. If you lose this part it lacks the joy and life it deserves – that you deserve.

Crisis of consent and gender in a social dance

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Over the last two weeks, it has come to light that a highly respected international lindy hop teacher abused his position in the scene and sexually abused many young women. I am dumbstruck. I am outraged. I am profoundly concerned with how we move forward as a global community. The survivors who have come forward to share their experiences are incredibly strong women and I can only empathize – but I don’t think that’s good enough. I started lindy hopping a month shy of my 19th birthday, in a scene where I was the youngest person by four years for several years. I learned from Steven Mitchell, I have friends who’s dancing was dramatically shaped by his mentorship. We have suffered a sucker punch as a community. There are far smarter people then I am having a thoughtful and vital dialogue around creating a safe space and environment where vulnerable people are protected in our scene. These conversations surround vital codes of conduct, social monitoring and tactics.

I wanted to touch on something I’ve been thinking about over the last few days that’s aligned but slightly tangential. I think we’re having a crisis of consent.  I should say that this all came about after a conversation with my teaching partner where he asked, ‘why are you a better leader, then I am a follower’? Well! When I started dancing, there were many ‘creepy old men’ in the Toronto dance scene. I learned how to lead because it meant that I could save friends from these leaders by cutting in on the next song. It was a survival skill for the social dance floor. I will say that Toronto Lindy Hop have done a strong job of hearing and reacting to community members’ concerns since this time, but why did we all have to wait years for this kind of feedback and conversation? In the 10 years I’ve been dancing, I’ve been groped, grabbed, held on to and pulled on to the dance floor. I have had men say in appropriate things to me while dancing, hold me to close and not ask consent. It is a light hearted environment where I often rely on my humour to get me away from these leaders. And it’s worked well! But I feel like I can do more. I know leaders who here in the London scene get pulled, bullied and guilted into dancing because somehow by spending their personal money and choosing to spend their free time in a ballroom entitles another person to dance with them whether or not they want too. Why can’t we say no? Why do we feel shame around calling someone out on inappropriate conduct on the social dancefloor? Why is does the responsibility fall on the organizer when it should be on each and every one of us to socially monitor each other? Dancing is sexual – we touch – but it is consensual! In that, you must ask. You must ask for a dance verbally or non-verbally (if there is a language barrier) but there is a need for consent. There is also a need for entitled behaviour to go fly a kite. If someone says no to a dance kindly, take it with grace. What if everyone led and followed and everyone valued dancing with each other regardless of gender or traditional dance role? That would be a world where there was lead and follow balance and perhaps higher understanding and empathy towards one another. How do we make this better?

I teach, I am a community leader. I have a responsibility to keep my friends and students safe.

I also have a responsibility as a woman to diminish male patriarchy on the social dance floor. We are equals in this dance. We need each other in either role. It is when we value one partner more than the other that we create the kind of power and hotbed for bad people to do bad things. I feel that we do value leaders more and there is an element of misogyny in that because leaders are often men. It’s movement after all – something that isn’t necessarily gendered. I’d love to see more performance and teaching partnerships of men dancing with men where both are agile and strong and one isn’t camp-ing up the ‘follower’ role. It feels like a bit like a panto.

I also think the conversation happening now is the most important in my and our personal dance history. How do we equalize the value of leaders and followers, how do we hold ourselves (every community member) accountable and ensure the safety of vulnerable people and what do we as a community stand for? The lindy hop community is growing and that brings more people and not all people are good – but how do we make sure we know that we have done our best to be a place where everyone can celebrate, dance and collaborate? I am having that conversation with myself and my peers and I ask you for help, guidance and your perspective.

Vision and thanks

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I often observe that many of my friends are destined for greatness. The definition of that greatness is unique to that person. For some, it’s raising a beautiful family. For others, it’s reimagining beloved theatrical works, slaying public relation demons, or juggling machetes for international audiences. These individuals are a constant source of inspiration. The strength, tenacity and focus they bring to each of their pursuits is incredibly beguiling.

I write tonight to congratulate some incredible people and to thank some others for their kindness. One of my friend’s dreamed up a large scale burlesque show in Toronto as a fundraiser and appetizer for the Toronto International Burlesque Festival. Along with her devoted team and partners, she executed a show that sounds like from all accounts a pretty remarkable affair. Although I am far away, I could certainly feel the triumph from across the pond! So a brief, but heartfelt bravi tutti for their mastery, artistry and dedication this week. I know they gave Toronto a show to remember!

I’d also like to talk about those that have taken care of me in the last few weeks. I’m excited about the next phase of my adventure in San Francisco, but I am certainly scared. I will be back in London in anywhere from six weeks to three months. I have asked for help and several people have stepped up to the plate and for that I am eternally grateful. Everything is up in the air so let’s focus on the things I know for certain: 1. I have the best friends in the world…worldwide. 2. I am ready for what comes next. 3. I have the right shade of lipstick for the occasion.

And now for my song of the moment and a beautifully danced backdrop. I’m pretty sure this was filmed in Toronto judging by the TTC train.

Life lessons with Duke Ellington

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This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the London Lindy Exchange. Standing in a ballroom of 400+ dancers I often think “I can’t believe this is how we spend our free time. How lucky are we?” Those moments where everyone hears the break coming and you watch the dance floor communally hit a particular beat or jump at the same time. It’s like for that split second we were all hearing the music in the same way. That feeling is magic. It is energy that is created by the band, enhanced by the dancers and lifts the spirits. Those are the moments where I feel the most connected and tapped in to the community. It also helps when the band is Gordon Webster and Friends. Gord’s joy playing for dancers is only matched by his ability to rally great musicians and produce music that inspires. What a gift!

My friend Sam posted this video of Duke Ellington explaining how to snap your fingers and it seemed like the right tone and pace for today, “You don’t push it, you just let it fall.” Words we could apply for many aspects of our lives and even in our dorky but beloved subculture, “one can become as cool as one wishes to be.” Enjoy!