Lindy Hop as Thoroughly Vernacular

I’m reading Sam Carroll’s thesis paper and came across the following (emphasis mine):
”Both Jackson and Malone draw on Ralph Ellison’s definition of African American vernacular dance, quoting the following passage from Going to the Territory:

‘I see the vernacular as a dynamic process in which the most refined styles from the past are continually merged with the play-it-by-eye-and-by-ear improvisations from which we invent in our efforts to control our environment and entertain ourselves. And this not only in language and literature, but in architecture and cuisine, in music, costume, and dance, and in tools and technology. In it the styles and techniques of the past are adjusted to the needs of the present, and in its integrative action the high styles of the past are democratized… Wherever we find the vernacular process operating we also find individuals who act as transmitters between it and earlier styles, tastes, and techniques. In the United States all social barriers are vulnerable to cultural styles (Ellison 139 – 41).’”

This is helping me now reconcile my complicated feelings toward labeling Lindy Hop as a vintage dance which Amy Johnson brought to the forefront last year when marketing for Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown in New Orleans. Here is now a smattering of thoughts from me and others as it relates to Lindy Hop as a traditional dance - “traditional meaning, something that is rooted in tradition, but wholly alive. Of the now, but with some of the old ways preserved in order to connect it to the culture from which it came.”:

• Notes from a conversation with Gaby Cook about the ideas behind Sw!ng Out and you can learn more through this NY Times article - Swingout! is a modern anthopological exhibition about how swing dancing is a form of humanity. Wants to be a display of swing dance in modern bodies/modern clothes and doing things that feel true to the dancers' bodies.

• As dancers we are asked to bring ourselves into the dance including our entire lived-in experience. Teachers ought to be asking students to explore their range of personal movement while social dancing inside or outside class while avoiding asking them to re-enact the teachers’ exact movement because Lindy Hop is real now and not just the past.

• From my experience selling and wearing vintage clothing, vintage was always something plucked from a fixed time period. Lindy Hop, as any vernacular dance, is mutable as seen in Moncell Durden’s documentary, Everything Remains Raw, and continuously spans multiple generations. It seems this could play into the revival myth that places white saviorism and dance colonialism in the midst of Black stories that featured Lindy Hop as ongoing community dance practice.

• Vintage also communicates very differently between Black/BIPOC and white communities. The idea of vintage can also play into the idea of time travel to an era when Black communities dealt with Jim Crow laws, segregation, and much much more which Grey Armstrong tackles here.

• From a marketing standpoint, I want to appeal to wide demographics and want potential students to see themselves learning and dancing Lindy Hop. Vintage can be a barrier to entry as people might not want to dress vintage, do a dance that seems to be a reproduction, or do something deemed out-of-fashion.

• If you were to look at comparable dances including blues, salsa, argentine tango, you’ll rarely if ever find them branding their dances as vintage though some have as long if not longer lineage than Lindy Hop. Again, why does Lindy Hop and its dance peers get the vintage treatment? One theory posits that by labeling a dance as being in the past or even “dead,” one can preserve and do with it as they see fit, therefore separating it from its originating culture.

Overall, I see this as a complicated subject and still want to include people where vintage plays a large role in their lifestyle. I do think labeling swing dances and music as vintage keeps them in the past while new swing content continues to be produced by both dancers and bands. To paraphrase what Rachael Pitner once wrote - To limit Lindy Hop being a “vintage” dance likely sterilizes it and hurts the art form.

Feeling Stuck in the 1910s

Stuck in the 1910s is how I currently feel thanks to reading Danielle Robinson’s work. The most impactful article thus far has been The Ugly Duckling: The Refinement of Ragtime Dancing and the Mass Production and Marketing of Modern Social Dance. Take for instance this quote from Troy and Margaret West Kinney from Social Dancing of To-Day:

”Of the original [ragtime] 'trot' nothing remains but the basic step. The elements that drew denunciation upon it have gone from the abiding-places of politeness ... it prefers to be known as the [modern] One-Step. And in the desire for a new appellation it is justified, since no history ever so vividly recalled the fable of the ugly duckling.” followed by Danielle writing:

“While dance writers of the period might attribute such changes to natural aesthetic progression, I will suggest that they, like the particular notion of beauty suggested by the ugly duckling story, were deeply connected with aesthetic values that were distinctly racialized. But this is only half the story; I also argue that innovative mass marketing and production strategies of the 1910s worked together with contemporary conceptualizations of race to facilitate the birth of modern social dance and its supporting dance industry.”

For me learning and dancing swing in Kansas City in the late 90s, Jitterbug arose from the ballroom dance community where Black social dance was packaged, appropriated and commercialized for white audiences alongside neo-swing music. For example, I taught the Shim Sham, though traditionally done on the “8” like many vernacular jazz steps, on the “1” to supposedly facilitate learning since “learning to start on the ‘8’ was too hard.” Improvisation was rarely encouraged with dancers rarely having time to breath with an indeterminate amount of six count patterns interspersed with untold pretzels and similar shapes which demanded a follower’s attention less a partner’s shoulders got stretched beyond their limits. Leading and following properly was enforced with me, predominantly occupying the leader role, being told “if something didn’t go right, then it’s your fault.”

“Taylor-like emphasis on control, however, enabled modern dance teachers to exert greater influence over social dancing practices through a strategic highlighting of 'correct' technique and a de-emphasis on independent choice making by dancers.”

“It also meant that modern dance re-asserted a male-centrism on the social dance floor -even though, or perhaps because, teaching dance during the early twentieth century had the potential to 'empower . . . women to claim a new professional identity' and dancing in public spaces 'afforded women a certain autonomy.'“

Besides eliminating kinesthetic elements that spoke to Lindy Hop’s Black roots, you’ll also see swing dance schools avoid mentioning its Black roots in writing. Contrast that with Katrina Rogers’ upcoming Blues Dance Series leading with Black Vernacular Expression in the title or 5th Element Center for Dance in Aurora writing this under Jazz - “Jazz dance originated from Black communities in the late 1800s & 1900s. It combines performance with social & cultural dances that were emerging at the time of its development.” In Grey Armstrong’s most recent iLindy blog post, a Black dancer shared - “I would love to see the history and culture acknowledged on a regular basis. It was created for Black folk by Black folk and was (as were most things) stolen and sold back to us.” What is preventing others from talking about and marketing the Black roots of vernacular dances?

”For this reason, ragtime was perceived as black, owing to the 'one drop' rule for black racial identity that operated during this period. The refinement process then, involved the removal of ragtime's blackness in part because 'black' was not yet marketable in American culture, as it would become in limited ways in the 1920s. This problematic marketability, I would argue, can be linked to ragtime's implied miscegenation and thus, its threat to dominant ideologies of race purity and the idealization of American national identity as 'white'.”

For Swingin’ Denver, we used to allude to the Black roots of the dance without being explicit such as what’s in an old Groupon deal, “In fact, the jitterbug is notable for a different reason: though it has a different name, it’s exactly the same dance as the original version of swing, the Lindy Hop, which emerged in Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom in the mid-1920s.” or we’d center ownership with white America - “Here's your chance to learn America's dance, the lindy hop.” It’s difficult to recall my reasons ten years past, but I recall imitating others and still feeling shame and embarassment from my Kansas City days. Fortunately, Lindy Focus introduced me to Breai Mason-Campbell where I was challenged to do better and grapple with my past and the feelings around those days.

In fact, all of us can likely do better. The past, whether our own or others, need not define our present and future actions.

Social Dances Have Names

Some of the shortest statements are the most impactful ones. When Taylor Madgett at Dance Dance Evolution firmly stated “Black social dances have names” at the beginning of her class when she was contrasting Black social dances when studio dance, it lodged into my brain. Much like - “The term vernacular refers to dance performed to the rhythms of African American music: dance that makes those rhythms visible.” from Steppin' on the Blues - this statement has become a touchstone for my teaching and teacher instruction, most recently being shared during our Little Man Ice Cream Swingin’ Under the Stars teacher training.

As my co-instructor pointed out during the teacher training, we both get a little irked when we see local swing dance schools continue to teach East Coast Swing and Jitterbug classes. As another school’s instructor shared when asked what a Jitterbug lesson was - “It was east coast. I asked why it was called a Jitterbug lesson and he said because it is very beginner swing dance. And the most important descriptor that stood out to me was that [name redacted] said that it’s very white. Like the most white. That it’s up pulse instead of down in the ground like lindy hop.”

"Nowadays if you say Lindy Hop there are very few people who know the word. You know you say Lindy Hop and they just look at you you know. What is that? And then you say uh jitterbug and their face light up because they have heard Jitterbug for so long till they think that's what it is." - Frankie Manning in Swingin' at the Savoy: The Frankie Manning Story.

“But why then, when I took dance classes in school, was I not told that Lindy Hop came from the Black community?“

This separation (Jitterbug = beginner swing dance) and centering in whiteness does more harm than good within our vernacular dance community. Lindy Hop is easy to learn, difficult to master. However, thanks to particular instructors and swing schools, we have many people that think Lindy Hop is hard, fast, too athletic because we have this “different dance” over here that is an appropriated commodified version of Lindy Hop further distilled (“tamed”) from what Arthur Murray originally did. I was in the thick of it in the 1990s and know why Jitterbug happened. It’s surprising JItterbug’s legacy has lasted this long since neo-swing crumpled and Jitterbug is attached to my parents’ and grandparents’ generation. As Gaby Cook wrote here, “Language like ‘East Coast Swing’ belongs to the practice of white people siphoning black innovation and repackaging it as a ‘safe’ white cultural product.”

From one swing dance school’s website

"The key elements are the implications that the jitterbug was a dance that was out of control, whereas the Lindy Hop was indeed a theatrical performance, one that Martins attests that "of all the ballroom dances these prying eyes have seen, this is unquestionably the finest; but let the white man attempt it at his peril." - The Oxford Handbook of Dance and Theater.

The other reasons that Jitterbug and East Coast Swing lessons are still pervasive with schools that teach Lindy Hop and other vernacular dance styles are likely marketability, white comfort, organizers resistant to the work involved when evolving, holdovers from the late 1990s neo-swing era, and whitewashing of Black history.

If we are to be better guests in Black social dancing’s house and, rather than be cultural appropriators, be cultural surrogates as defined by LaTasha Barnes, then changes need to be made.

• Swing dance schools ought to stop branding Lindy Hop classes as East Coast Swing and Jitterbug. Since Lindy Hop comprises of many different visible-on-the-dance-floor rhythms, teachers should be comfortable teaching and dancing a variety of rhythm patterns including step, step, rock step while folding it into vernacular dance values like call-and-response, improvisation, the aesthetic of cool, etc. Let’s start avoiding the neo-swing era with its further appropriation and commodification of Lindy Hop now.

• When renaming your class “Lindy Hop Taster” or “Level 0 Lindy Hop,” accompany your marketing with appropriate school-sourced video of teachers dancing what your school will be teaching. Include appropriate fun imagery, emphasize the beginner-friendliness of what you’ll be teaching and make some statements on social media and your website about why you’re making the change. Perhaps this will make your classes more accessible and inclusive.

• Continue to educate. Your website and social media presence should be a resource and a marketplace. Many people treat their social media platforms as places to sell things, but it should also be a resource. And then make sure your classes are educational on several fronts - music, history, dancing, consent, etc.

We can do better.

Another school’s website where they center Black social dances with their origins and using the dances’ names.

How Can DJs Get On Event Organizers' Radars

Kenny was recently asked “how event organizers decide who to DJ for their larger events. And how I can get on their radars?” and here are his brief thoughts as an organizer and someone who’s been hired for national and international DJ gigs.

• Actually, be a disc jockey. It’s okay to start with a playlist, but I want to see someone that is playing to the crowd, adjusting music on the fly, getting people out of their seats with the music you choose. A “create a playlist prior to the event and let it sit” is not a DJ.

• Someone that gets people to dance inspired. Mpst people show up to a dance to socialize and to dance. To get someone to dance inspired is another thing entirely.

• Be active in relevant groups. It used to be discussion boards and now it’s Swing DJs. If I was interested in scoping potential talent, I might check out DJ groups and see who is participating and how.

• Cold emailing organizers and having reputable teacher and/or organizer talent that can vouch for you and offer those references when you first reach out. Less work an organizer needs to do, the better.

• Read other DJs blogs like Dogpossum and reach out to other DJs getting hired to see what knowledge you can glean

• Reach out to online DJ events like Global Online Social hosted by Pauldances and put yourself out there.

• Consider building a resume/CV like my dance one here.

• Have a blog sharing your passion.

• DJ for a local event that out-of-town guests visit for.

Keyword Trends - Lindy Hop vs Swing Dance vs Jitterbug

My first prominent swing dance instructor once told me to teach Shim Sham in the group class starting on the “1” because it’s easier. That explanation made ready sense to me as a newer dance teacher. Most, if not all, dances taught at this ballroom studio with the only all-ages swing dance in metro Kansas City started on the “1.” It never occurred to me that, as a dance educator, I could make finding the “8” easier for students. It did mean the Shim Sham was a hot mess when Frankie Manning came to town and led everyone in it (note: As I anticipated this train wreck, I hit “play” on the song and just watched).

I feel the same entrenched reasoning might exist for vernacular dance instructors still billing classes as “jitterbug” or “east coast swing.” These are marketing terms popular back in the late 1990s and early 2000’s when neo-swing was on the rise and white dance instructors, like mine in KC, saw those words as a way to get new students to gravitate toward their classes and swing nights.

Even here we used “Jitterbug” as a way to label drop-in classes at the Arvada Tavern 6-7 years ago. Our thought process was akin to “if the Mercury Cafe, seen as the OG’s of the scene, is using it to sell classes, why not us?” Well…

Google Trends shows that people want to learn how to swing dance, specifically Lindy Hop. Even Instagram hashtag usage shows us what captivates people. Plus, as the below image shows, most people search “Jitterbug” for the cellular phone which debuted in 2006. Besides, maybe people just inherently know that a jitterbug just isn’t that cool unless you’re in specific regions like LA or Las Vegas where being a jitterbug is a badge of honor. Otherwise, “Jitterbug is primarily the white ghosting of a black dance,” a white thing and not as smooth as lindy (Frankie Manning in Margaret Batiuchok’s dissertation), uncouth, and an alcoholic drink giving you the jitters.

So, if you purport to teach swing dance within the vernacular scene (Vernacular refers to dance performed to the rhythms of African American music: dance that makes those rhythms visible - “Steppin’ on the Blues” by Jacqui Malone), then I’d highly encourage teachers to:

• Specifically name what you’re teaching whether that’s Lindy Hop, Balboa, Collegiate Shag, Vernacular Jazz, Charleston, etc

• Stop billing classes as Jitterbug or East Coast Swing. To borrow from Margaret Batiuchok’s dissertation once again - Jitterbug means different things to different people. Lindy means one thing. And East Coast Swing belongs to the ballroom dance community and was stripped of pretty much all vernacular values

• Make it easier for people to find Lindy Hop and other vernacular dances. By appropriating Lindy Hop and other Black dances, and renaming them to suit your needs, you’re making it harder for people to find Lindy Hop and discover the tenets of vernacular dance.

The main reason why I think people stumble over Lindy Hop’s varying pattern lengths and varying rhythms (triple steps, stomp offs, slows, quicks, etc) is because of dance instructors billing patterns using slows and quicks as east coast swing or jitterbug. This leads to a dissonance where dancers think these rhythms and some patterns live on islands separate from swingouts or triple steps, for example.

If you’re dancing with vernacular dance hallmarks and striving to impart these characteristics such as improvisation and spontaneity, propulsive rhythm, call-and-response patterns, self-expression, elegance, and control to your students while dancing to solid swing-era music, you ought to calling what you’re teaching Lindy Hop. Just do it.