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Want to learn how to swing dance?  Solely Swing offers two ways to learn:  Club Lessons & Workshops

Club Lessons


The first set of lessons this semester has finished.  The next set of lessons started October 11. We are offering 4 different classes, with two taught at the same time.  Feel free to sign up for one or two sets!  All classes are taught on Sunday afternoons in War Memorial Gym Dance Room in the basement.

Class Descriptions:

4:00 – 5:15 pm

  • Swing 1115: - In the spirit of VT, we chose to name this class “1115″ instead of “Swing 101.”  In reality, this class is all about the basics, and even more importantly, to get you dancing as soon as possible!  In this class, we will start from the fundamental movements of swing and jazz dancing and move on to various techniques in leading and following in addition to learning lots of fun moves.  You will be introduced to East Coast Swing, Charleston, and Lindy Hop. No prerequisite (or partner) required! [Instructors: Brian & Jessica]
  • Lindy Hop: – This is the main event – it’s the “English” of partner jazz dancing, the “Salsa” of partner latin dancing, and what everyone on the floor wants to learn.  We will start by introducing the swingout and move on to sweet stylings and flashy moves.  By the end of the 5 weeks, you’ll know several cool ways to swingout and will be on your way to the front of the dance floor.  As this class is rhythm intensive with lots of partner interaction, we ask that you have taken Swing 1115 as a prerequisite or have a good familiarity with swing rhythms and partner dancing (such as east coast, charleston, salsa, etc.  and know what a “triple step” is).   As always, we encourage you to bring a partner for outside of class practice, but no partner is required. [Instructors: John & Christina]

5:30 – 6:45 pm

  • Charleston 2: If you like to jump around and move fast, then this dance is for you!  This quick and flashy dance is the root of all swing and one of the funnest and most energetic couple or solo dances to do on the social floor.  This class will be building on the previous Charleston 1 class, so we ask that you have taken Charleston 1 as a prerequisite  or have previous familiarity with Charleston and /or partner dancing.  As always, we encourage you to bring a partner for outside of class practice, but no partner is required.  [Instructors: Brendan and Christa]
  • Blues: Arguably the hottest partner dance in the world (Argentine Tango perhaps a close 2nd), blues dancing is all about intimacy with the music and with your partner.  With blues, less is more.  Get ready to groove and glide with this slow, free-form dance.  Given the extreme partner interaction in blues dancing, we ask that you have taken Swing 1115 as a prerequisite and that you are comfortable getting very close with your partner (who will be a stranger in the class – we rotate often).  As always, we encourage you to bring a partner for outside of class practice, but no partner is required. [Instructors: Steven and Angela]

Frequently Asked Questions About Solely Swing Lessons:

  • When: We usually offer 2 series of lessons per semester. Each series lasts 5 weeks. You can check the calendar for more information about when a new session starts.
  • Where: Lessons are held in War Memorial Gym in the Dance Room.
  • Partner – Our lessons do not require a partner, although it is nice to have a regular partner to dance with. There are lots of singles that show up and there is usually a good ratio of guys to girls.
  • Pre-Requisites – Many of our lessons require no dance experience, but some more advanced courses require pre-requisites, as specified by each lesson.
  • Shoes – Sometimes our lessons are held on professional dance floors which are sensitive to shoes that leave marks (a.k.a. shoes with dark color soles).  We ask that you wear clean white-soled shoes, dance shoes, or socks.  Most importantly, you want to be able to slide around a little, so avoid shoes with heavy tread on it (and avoid flip-flops – they break!).
  • Clothing – We recommend cool clothing! It may be 20°F outside, but inside War Memorial it will feel like 100°F. Wear shorts or cool clothing under your warm layers.
  • Rotating – In lessons, partners are not required because every few minutes we rotate partners. This allows you to dance with multiple people, giving you a variety of input from different dancers to enhance your leading or following skills.

Further Info: Check the calendar for more information. You can also contact us using our contact form if you have further questions.

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Workshops

Workshops are a group of lessons typically taught in one or two days.  They are designed to provide a more in depth study of a particular dance, style, or concept, and are taught by expert instructors.

NEXT WORKSHOPS:

TBA

The last set of workshops was on October 3, 2009 and was taught by Chris Crawford and Kristin Fisher. Classes were Collegiate Shag I, Collegiate Shag II, Swingout Clinic, and Lindy Stylings.