Swing Dance

So we’re making a show: Swing, Sister, Swing

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As I’ve mentioned in the past, I dance and enjoy both roles, but I really love following. At many moments in my lindy hop career, I have felt small, invaluable and disposable. It’s taken a lot to get to a place where I care less what others think of me and my dancing and more about what I think. The thing that keeps me in the ballroom is my overwhelming love for the music, the people and the human connection I help to curate alongside hundreds (many thousands) of teachers and scene leaders.

It was reflecting on my own feelings of ‘enough-ness’ that drove me to seek opportunities to a story through lindy hop in a theatre setting. I am blessed to work with one of my favourite collaborators, Cat Foley, and together we wanted to tell a story about what it means to be a female follow and express the public and private face you feel on and off the dance floor. We wanted to explore who we are when we put our best foot forward on the floor, and who we are when we face ourselves in our bedroom or bathroom mirror. It’s with these things in mind that Cat and I embark on a new project entitled Swing, Sister, Swing. On 29 July, through a cabaret-inspired show, we’ll explore what it is to be in partnership, what is it to be alone and how you find self-acceptance. It’s the most ambitious project we’ve ever undertaken and self-producing is wildly scary. We are surrounded by some amazing talent and we are proud to be making a show for all people and curated and choreographed by women. If you’re curious and want to learn more or buy a ticket to the show click here. I think it’s going to be a very special night.

Lead on – what I’ve been learning as a lead instructor

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I started learning to lead in the first few months of my lindy hop journey. It was totally selfish. I was one of the youngest members of the Toronto swing dance scene and I wanted to bring friends along and didn’t want them to have to dance with members of the community who held you too close and gave you pointers on the social dance floor (always bad form!).

I gotta tell you, I really enjoy leading, but have always enjoyed following more. I’m competent at both, but I simply prefer following in a performance setting. Social dancing-wise, it depends on my mood. Recently, I have been making an effort to up my leading game. I’ve taken on teaching both lead and follow roles at many Swing Patrol events and teaching my first term for JazzMAD with their innovative 12-week beginners course. Participants learn to lead and follow – AT THE SAME TIME. Classes are 1.5 hours and the learning journey is so so different to a weekly drop in class. It has absolutely kicked my leading ability in the butt. Students learn lindy hop is a 2-count dance made of up kick-tucks, triples and steps – their skill progression is so different then what I’m used too. When it clicks in their minds and their feet in week 6/7, it’s like magic and everyone knows how to do both sides. I don’t think it’s better or worse than a drop in class, it’s just a different method and appeals to a different kind of student.

I have to tell you – my leading has improved ten-fold from teaching this course as well as my overall dancing. It’s been terrifying at times – worrying about how to lead, demonstrate and break down a break on 6 (when I’ve never ‘learned’ it or lead it). And ending a course having taught my students the component pieces of the California Routine that they can happily lead and follow well with their peers. It feels liberating. When Sharon Davis, the school Director and a world champ dancer, asked me teach this curriculum, she told me she designed it with hard-working local organisers and instructors in mind. A course taught by one instructor that allows participants the opportunity to understand and empathize with both roles – from the beginning. So cool…especially when we can get stuck in a vision of the dance with a male leader and female follower – which is helpful particularly for men who have never danced before, but isn’t always the easiest to organise in small scenes.

I often like to think when I teach I get to model the kind of world I want to live in and I’m so pleased to get to grow my teaching practice like this. I leave class feeling empowered and proud of myself. I highly recommend going out of your comfort zone and elevating both your dance roles. I’ve noticed such a different.

If you’re in a place where you want to go back to basics or know someone who’d love a different lindy hop journey – seriously, check it out. If you want equally delicious classes but of a drop-in and role-specific flavour, I’m always found at Old Street on Monday nights with the fab Matt Cochrane.

Update: Partner for ILHC

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Many people read and shared my post about my search for a partner for the International Lindy Hop Championships. I was slightly overwhelmed by the response.

I had dozens of followers email me to say that would never have the courage to ask publicly for a dance partner. I received the most thoughtful emails and Facebook messages from male and female leaders wanting to push their dancing and declaring their willingness to train and put some art out there in August. Some sounded like job applications (which was surprising) and some caused me to tear up from their thoughtfulness and kindness.

And where did I get too…
1. I had several offers from some leads I LOVE dancing with and some good conversations about working together.
2. I thought about pursuing a Pro-Am because it would challenge me to work on my own dancing and get expert input.
3. I thought really long and hard about what I want to offer the lindy hop community and what my strengths are in the short to medium term and beyond.

But it looks like I may not going to go to ILHC this year and even if I did, I’d probably only do the Jack and Jill and Strictly.

The money, the time and the resources I would have put into ILHC this year went into securing my future in a country and city I love.

When you want to live somewhere and don’t have the legal grounds to stay beyond are a certain time in that place you feel constantly ill at ease. Unsettled. In flux. I spent many hours trying for a goal that seemed wild and somewhat unrealistic. I spent more money then I expected, more time then I expected and missed a flight or two in the process (talk about #lindyhoplife).

I earned an Exceptional Talent (Promise, really) visa and it was for lindy hop. It gives me 5 years here in England and counts towards residency, if I want that. It gives me options and choices. It also solidified how much I love this community and the sense of ownership I feel to challenge my personal dance practice, to build my skills as a dancer and teacher and to create a pathway that suits me.

If I make it to ILHC this year, it will be a year of reflection and celebration. If I don’t, you better believe I’ll be there with bells on next year with a posse of my best friends and most inspiring colleagues from London. I just thought an update was in order especially since I felt so very supported. Thank you friends for supporting dreams I didn’t even dream for myself. I am exactly where I need to be, doing exactly what I need to be doing. I hope you are too.

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.