Swing Dance Rant

So most of you who read this blog know that my biggest passion in life is dancing. And most of you know that if you every need to reach me, it's a safe bet you'll find me on one of the various dance floors throughout the DC region. So it should be no surprise that I was at Glen Echo this past Saturday night. But what is a surprise is how horrible the dance was.

Now, I've been meaning to opine on this subject for awhile, but keep getting distracted by...you know, dancing. But this weekend was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's humps.

I had talked with a few folks about going, so I took my friend Bethany and we set out for a night of dancing. When we walked up to the Spanish Ballroom, I started to get a sense it was going to be rough by the wailing sounds of rock music coming from the venue. I also started to have second thoughts when I saw it was the Washington Swing Dance Committee hosting the event. But we paid our money and went in anyway. I guess it was an hour later we were leaving what was probably the worst dance I've seen in DC.

Here's my problem. DC has a great swing dance scene. Monday at CCB is always fun and Tuesday at the Jam Cellar is regarded as one of the best dance nights around the world. The Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo is probably the nicest ballrooms in existence and we have more than our fair share of great bands in and around the DC metro area. And in terms of numbers, DC is home to more of the best dancers than any other city in the world. So in my opinion, there is no reason we should run into a bad dance. But week after week, month after month, the Washington Swing Dance Committee (we'll just say WSDC from now on) hosts these horrible dances.

This past Saturday they hosted the rock and blues band The Nighthawks. Now if I'm watching a NASCAR race or at a bar enjoying a Bud, I'd have no problem with this band. And from a music stand-point, they aren't bad. But they certainly were not a swing band. They certainly did not play swing music. And they certainly should not have been performing at a swing dance inside the venerable Spanish Ballroom.

Surely the WSDC has heard of jazz. Surely they know what real swing music sounds like. I have to believe they realize we have orchestras like Tom Cunningham's and Eric Felton's right here in our backyards. And surely the know bands like the Boilermaker Jazz Band and Harlem Renaissance Orchestra aren't far. So why, please tell me why, they keep bringing in these roadhouse rock bands for swing dances?

Their web site says they're "dedicated to preserving and promoting all forms of swing dance, instruction and music." But their approach to their dances is only driving people away. Sure, Billy Joe Jim Bob may like the Nighthawks. Sure, Billy Joe Jim Bob might find an occasional young girl to look at with creepy eyes while he's dancing. But the average swing dancer...those who really do care about the history and roots of the dance...are not showing up. And those that do are never coming back.

We're at a cross-roads here where the Lindy and other forms of swing are growing in interest around the world. DC will host the first ever International Lindy Hop Championships this summer and almost every major city hosts Lindy and Balboa exchanges for hordes of young and older dancers. The last thing we need is a swing committee that either hires their friends and the wrong bands or is out of touch with real Lindy world. For every young dancer that arrived at Glen Echo this past Saturday, I'm sorry. That is not swing. That is not what Frankie Manning and Al Minns had in mind when they did their thing in the ballrooms of Harlem 70 years ago. Visit CCB on a Monday night or The Jam Cellar on a Tuesday and you'll see the true version of this dance and people who really do care about preserving and promoting what we love.

Labels: Lindy Hop, Random, Swing Dance

posted by DVS @ 11:35 AM