Stanford Swing Dancers Summer Workshops and Social Dance

Lots of fun stuff! All of our classes are quarter-long progressive series, so you will get the most out of them by attending every week, and we strongly encourage you to do so. Subsequent classes will assume that you have attended previous classes, so you may be at a disadvantage if you do not regularly attend. That said, we understand that folks travel over the summer, so if you have to miss a week or two here or there, don’t worry too much — you’re still welcome to attend, just with those caveats! We’ve got 4 lesson tracks this summer! 7-8 Explorations (EVGR C) and Fast Dance (Kennedy Commons) 8-9 Foundations (EVGR C) and Solo Jazz (Kennedy Commons) What track(s) are right for me? I’m just getting started -> Foundations Foundations is our signature Lindy Hop introductory series — this summer, we will run it as a quarter-long progressive introduction to Lindy hop and Charleston, expanding on some of the topics covered in our previous iterations to provide a solid basis for your Lindy hop journey! Folks are ALWAYS welcome and encouraged to retake Foundations and continue to work on the fundamental shapes and rhythms covered! The Fast Dance track also does not assume familiarity with either style, so it is also open to beginners, but both styles involve close embrace frame so we recommend this track for people with some partnered dance experience. If you are completely new to partnered dance, but are interested in diving in, please know that you are absolutely welcome, but make sure you’ve familiarized yourself with what to expect by watching the videos linked in the description below. I’ve done Foundations: I want to work on solo movement -> Vernacular Jazz The Vernacular Jazz track (taught principally by Max) will focus on giving you plenty of solo jazz vocabulary for solo improvisation, tips for building comfort in solo improvisation, and a few iconic solo jazz routines! This will assume some familiarity with solo jazz/lindy hop movement. I want to learn new dance styles -> Fast Dance The Fast Dance track will consist of two five-week progressive lesson series featuring guest instructors – we ask that you be willing to commit to attending the whole five-week series (if you have to miss a week but are interested please reach out) out of respect for our guest instructors. The first half, taught by Katie and Lillian, will be dedicated to Collegiate Shag, a popular bouncy dance developed in the Carolinas that spread and became another popular jazz era dance. The second half of the summer, taught by Emma and Chris, will focus on Balboa, which is a smooth swing era dance developed in southern California. Both of these dances are done in close embrace frame – please take a second to watch the videos linked to familiarize yourself with what this is before coming to make sure you are comfortable with the idea of this. If you are not comfortable with close embrace, please come join us in Explorations! I want to learn more partnered Lindy -> Explorations Explorations is a BRAND NEW progressive beginner-mediate series that will build on Foundations to develop more vocabulary and variations while refining some of the concepts introduced. We’ll work through the characteristics of vernacular jazz dance introduced in Foundations, blending new vocabulary with technique.