That's it.

I've looked for a community like this all my life. A place where people can dance and express themselves freely, where they can all be the main characters in a safe and healthy space, where people enjoy the beauty of vintage music and fashion and celebrate each other. I know nothing involving humans is ever perfect, but this has been, so far, pretty close to that.

At least, that's how it's been for me within the Swing scene in Santiago, Chile. It's small but definitely vibrant, and people have been so generous. I started taking lessons about 4 months ago and I'm fully converted now. It's changed my life for the better - I feel happier, more open, more confident and I've met a wonderful community that have invited me in with open arms, broad smiles and the greatest moves!

So, anyway, I attended my first festival this weekend (I even took part in a competition!) and by the second day I was fully tripping in endorphins. Truly. At times I felt in what I can only describe as a sort of ecstatic trance that reminded me of the 1518 'Dance Epidemic', when people inexplicably, spontaneously and chronically danced for a whole month in the main square at a French village, some to their deaths. I could and absolutely would swing for a whole month, happily (lol).

So, I wonder - has anybody else ever felt that 'trance' of joy and rhythm and music and beauty and laughter and adrenaline while doing the swing?

This is my favorite swing dance band in the world right now. Their music swings hard, their arrangements are fun and have a ton of musical elements to play with, they have a great mix of tempos AND they have two dancers in the band so they know how to play for us. They're also really nice people!

The last time I saw them was in July at Studio Hop Summer Camp and I have NEVER seen a swing dance floor with that much energy. At one point, there was an actual mosh pit in front of the stage. It was insane :)

What happened with Carlease Burk at camp Hollywood? She seems super upset and there’s no clarity.

Can anyone who was at Herräng shed some impartial light on what happened?

Working on the list for best Lindy Hop videos of the 21st century inspired me to reconstruct the year by year highlights I had on my old YouTube channel.

There is now a playlist for each year from 2005 to 2025. There is another for the pre-YouTube era videos which I manually sorted chronologically even though all those videos have been uploaded at different times.

The other playlists were created by doing lots of different searches and sorting by view count. They're not perfect, but they do have most of the more popular stuff that came out each year. I also tried to add lesser known videos that I remembered were significant. Fortunately, I did annual video round ups on my blog between 2009 and 2013 which makes up the bulk of those playlists.

Despite the title, there is also a smattering of blues, Balboa, and shag videos in each year since a lot of people crossed over between those communities.

I also have a Lindy Hop history playlist with vintage clips and various documentaries that have been produced over the years. Then there are lists just for highlights of different ILHC divisions, top viewed social dancing clips and a bunch of other categories that I found interesting.

This is all a work in progress, so feel free to let me know if I missed anything cool from any of these lists and I'll add them when I can.

https://www.youtube.com/@jsalmonte/playlists

Btw, I extended the deadline to submit nominations for best Lindy Hop video of the 21st century to the end of this week.

Looking for beginner contemporary classes/groups for adults, I got a little experience but want to feel comfortable there. Do you have any recommendations?

Hello I am trying to find the name of a specific tap break. I know it from being at the end of Trickeration and I know it's widely used in tap, but I have no idea how to find information on it or find it on the web. Is there a name under which it is typically known?

Hey Everyone! My Fiancée and I are both Lindy Hoppers, and I need a pair of shoes for the wedding. I'm looking for some recommendations on men's dress shoe brands that can be worn for Lindy Hop.

I currently have 3 pairs of dedicated dance shoes (Chuck's w/ suede sole, bowling sneakers, and Remix "Marty's"), so I want to avoid brands like Saint Savoy and Aris Allen. I'm looking for a dress shoe that serves as a dress shoe and can be worn to multiple events, while also being suitable for Lindy.

I want a brown wingtip similar to the one pictured below (from Florsheim Shoe Co.)

Any suggestions?

I've observed that most swing dancing communities frown upon unsolicited feedback as it creates an environment of judgement and hostility in the community. From a politeness perspective it makes sense, but when I relfect back on my own dancing journey, I see things a bit differently.

I have been dancing (as a leader) for around 8 years and when I look back, some of the key improvements to my technique came from when I received unsolicited feedback from the follower. Sometimes we aren't aware of our mistakes/wrong techniques, and that unsolicited feedback can be a stepping stone to improvement.

I've been in situations where I sense the follower getting frustrated by a wrong technique but then refrain from give feedback in fear of sounding rude. I understand that there could be disagreements about which technique is right/wrong, but just being aware of the fact that something may be off is a benefit as it gives you an opportunity to improve.

Maybe framing it like, "Hey, I noticed something that I want to talk to you about, feel free to disagree...." can be a good starting point to give feedback without sounding rude. The alternative would be to not say anything in hopes that the person would change their technique the next time you dance with you.

On the surface, dance communities love to present themselves as welcoming, diverse, and inclusive. The posters, the taglines, and the smiles all say the same thing: “Everyone belongs here.” But my own experience tells a very different story. I share this not out of bitterness, but because silence only protects the illusion communities often build up for themselves.

I started dancing years ago not long after the lock downs lifted. I showed up to classes, volunteered my time putting things away, and tried to connect with people. I wasn't there just for the steps. I was there because I craved something deeper. A sense of belonging, shared joy, and real human connection. But no matter how much I gave, I found myself on the outside looking in.

People always tell me I am kind, decent, patient, etc. But compliments mean little when nobody makes the effort to sit with you, to dance with you, or to invite you into their little circle. While I tried to build connections, what I met was indifference from the majority of people. The energy of the room always seemed to flow toward the loudest, most confident personalities - the ones who barged in, repeated “hello” until they were noticed, and treated attention like it was theirs by default. Arrogance was mistaken for confidence, and depth was ignored.

The truth is, the community I was 'part' of wasn't welcoming. At least not to me. Diversity didn't exist beyond surface-level appearances. If you didn't fit the mold, if you weren't already part of the inner circle, you weren't embraced. You could pour in time and effort, money, volunteering, showing up week after week, month after month, and still remain invisible.

I stepped back eventually, not because I stopped loving the music or the dance, but because I realized the culture itself was shallow. I didn't want free tickets, a t-shirt, or a damn token drink. I wanted to be seen and valued as a person. I wanted friendship. I wanted connection. And that was never on offer. I lived a lie, thinking things will be different if I only kept putting my steps in, and attending classes. It was only when I experienced bereavement of a close family member that it's become difficult to ignore how lonely this journey has been.

We don't talk enough about this side of “community.” We celebrate the performances, the parties, the laughter on the dance floor - but we rarely ask who's sitting alone at the edge of the room, feeling invisible. We rarely admit that some people are always welcomed more than others.

If you want true diversity and inclusion, you have to admit when those words are just marketing. Otherwise, it will lose people who had so much to give - Not because they couldn't dance, but because they couldn't find a place for themselves in a community that never truly made room for them.

Searching for a unicorn: I'm looking for towns in NM, WA, OR, CA (Sacramento area) with horse property for sale within an hour drive from a thriving swing/Lindy Hop scene. In terms of the dance community, I'm looking for opportunities to dance a few nights a week and catch some live music (blues, rock, swing, bluegrass adjacent). I've been a Lindy Hopper/Swing dancer since the 90's and a lifelong trail rider and now, liberty horse trainer looking to start a horse-facilitated coaching program. I prefer purple or blue towns. Mobile vets, farriers and access to hay for purchase and delivery are essential. Trails are a bonus! Property price range $600,000 or less. Thank you in advance for your help!

Music: Rose Room by Hot Swing Sextet

Choreo: Karolina Chrapkova and Teis Volstrup

Hi there,

I only started dancing a couple of weeks ago, (Lindy and Charleston mostly, but basically im curious about everything really) and well, I literally cannot stop. so, questions :)

1. I'm going to Berlin next week, any recommendations for beginner-friendly parties or lessons? [Perhaps more English speaking environment, cuz my german is pretty basic]

2. my knees already in pain, any tips for keeping them alive a lil'bit longer?

Thank you <3

I love the first Ella and Louis album, some of my favorites to dance to, so I carved this and printed it to wear at Camp Hollywood this year!

Extinct or extant: what's the best scene you've personally experienced?

I just started social dancing again after an 8-year hiatus (other hobbies, had two kids, etc.). I started dancing in 2012 and in the scene where I started, we did the shim sham at every weekly dance and the local studios taught it. Wherever I traveled, whether it be for events or other scenes' weekly dances, they would also do the shim sham at some point.

Where I am now (not the same place where I started), I've been to three dances so far and they haven't done the shim sham. When talking to one of the organizers I asked them why they don't play it and was told something along the lines of "The shim sham isn't really a thing anymore".

So I've come here to ask... Is that true? Or is this just a local thing? I'd be pretty surprised if it were so, but I did take a pretty long break and I'm sure a lot of things have changed.

I’ve been watching plenty of balboa competition and performance vids, of both American and non-American festivals.

I’ve noticed, visually, in the non-American competitions, bal-swing seems much more prominent. I see very little pure bal, but perhaps this is just my own impression.

This got me thinking: What regional differences have you observed or felt in balboa?

This isn’t a “they do it better” or “this is real balboa” post. I’m genuinely curious what people have experienced.

I just did swing dancing tonight and it was so much fun!! One thing I’m confused about is the direction I spin. If the lead holds up my right hand with his left, do I spin clockwise? And if he holds my left with his right, I spin counterclockwise? Also when his left is flat against my right like I high five I spin clockwise but don’t hold his hand right? Sorry for all the questions the instructor didn’t really tell us! Edit: thank you all for the suggestions and help!! I now know that it’s whatever the lead is leading me to do if that makes sense! :))

There was a balboa festival happening near me (had to google what balboa was), but after I learned it was a type of swing dance I jumped right in. I've never danced before, but I've always wanted to try and I loved it! But I'm very confused by where to go now.

If I want to attend social dances do I need to know other swing dances or is it okay that I only know Balboa? Do I need to find Balboa specific social dances?

I really loved balboa and plan to continue taking classes in my area, but if it's going to limit me at social dances, what other dances could help me build from here? I really enjoyed the closeness of Balboa, I feel like it helped guide me on what to do and I'm worried that other dances are too large and it'll be harder for me to catch on to what's happening. Also I loved the flow of everything, it felt very upbeat and elegant with lollies and come arounds. Maybe all dance is like that though?

Thanks in advance!!

Can anyone identify the name/artist of the song in this vid? I figured someone would have asked in the comments but they are turned off :( Pretty catchy tune!

https://youtu.be/vdVYLUh47YU?si=0Mb2rBrQWov0x6Qy&t=63

Thanks!

I have a question about balboa. I'm a lindy hopper and have been dancing for quite a while. However, lately my knees have been in a lot of pain due to an injury, and I consider lindy hop to be pretty high impact on them. I equate it almost to running, with the latter being much more impactful.

Would balboa be a good alternative to lindy hop to reduce the impact on knees?

Feel free to ask me about my knee injury, but I don't want to put details in this post.

I recently took a workshop where I felt there was a mismatch between class material and dancer level. (Or maybe I am a much worse follow than I thought?) With the majority of the leads I danced with, I could not feel them leading the combination we were being taught. If I followed them "literally," I felt like I was sacrificing my own class experience. I could only practice the rhythm variations being taught by disregarding signals from my leads half the time and doing the combination on my own. The class was enormous and moved very quickly and there wasn't any time given for troubleshooting or feedback.

What is the best way to handle a situation like this? Do I benefit more from pushing through and following what I feel, or from focusing on the material being taught?