What awaits you at a social dance night

Ever wondered what happens at a Lindy Hop Social Dance night?

Shake up the old routine

It’s been yet another monotonous night out partying with people you don’t really even like that much, and you feel the urge to shake up the regular routine. Or maybe you're sitting at home, scrolling through your social media feed after a long day of work and an advertisement for dance classes in Bandra pops up. Your interest is piqued, and you browse through a few videos and photo galleries.

You zero in on an event being hosted by a Swing dance group, called a ‘Social Dance night’ and think that’s exactly what you’re looking for. Learning something new in a social setting while organically meeting new people sounds like the perfect way to spend after-work hours. But you’re a little apprehensive; you’ve never danced before, or worse, you’ve danced before and think you’re a bad dancer. Or you’re concerned there’ll be a ton of people, watching and judging your every mistake. Still, you decide to drop the event host a message, maybe see if they can put your worries to rest. After a few messages back and forth, you’re still a little nervous about the whole idea, but more convinced that what you’ll be learning is the most basic stuff you could learn, and at the very least, everyone else at the workshop will be as new and probably as nervous as you to do this for the first time.

So you sign up for the workshop, maybe with a friend or two, check the footwear and attire guidelines, and you’re all set. You put a reminder so as not to forget, though your helpful hosts drop you a message the day before the event. For your outfit, you decide you don’t want to look over-dressed as it’s a weekday, and people are very likely going to be coming directly for work. It seems pretty empty at the venue as you arrive, and you’re worried you’ve either shown up to the wrong place or at the wrong time. Fortunately, the staff at the bar informs you that you’re at the correct place, so you pay the venue cover charge, get your food/drinks coupon and find a spot to sit. As more people trickle in slowly, you notice a slight nervous excitement in some of their conversations, or simply in the way they’re also waiting for the workshop to start. You start to feel a little less anxious about the whole thing, and before you know it, it’s time for the workshop to begin.

There’s a short but fun warmup at the beginning, where everyone has to follow along to a handful of simple Jazz steps, followed by a few exercises that will eventually help you with the basic footwork of the dance form later on. The instructors do a quick demo of what you’re going to learn, before explaining a little about the dance form and music. You’re then made to partner up, and discover that rather than dancing with just one partner throughout the night, you’ll switch partners every couple of minutes, giving you a chance to interact with and try out the steps with a bunch of different people. During the course of the workshop, you get acquainted with the basic footwork and some very basic steps. The instructors are very precise and measured with their explanations of things, and point out common mistakes and how to avoid them during a dance. Though you do your best trying to follow all the instructions, and may not be able to focus on every aspect of the technique mentioned, you notice that others including your various partners pick up on things you might not have. By the end of the workshop you’re feeling a little confident about this thing called social dancing.

In the Swing (dance) of things

The instructors announce that the workshop is complete, and as the social dancing begins that you should feel free to ask anyone to dance, but also not feel pressured to dance by anyone. They also mention that the social dance floor is a safe space, and that either providing unsolicited feedback or asking people to teach you may be frowned upon. As the music begins you notice a bunch of unfamiliar faces join the dance floor, and assume they’re regular dancers. Their dancing seems very intimidating, and it really doesn’t look like they’re even dancing the same dance form as what you learned, let alone the same steps. Fast songs, slow songs, songs with interesting sounding musical themes; they seem to be able to dance to them all without skipping a beat. You wonder how they dance so well and maybe how you could ever get that good. Rather than leaving immediately after a dance or two, you decide to watch some more dancing, and stick around chit-chatting with the few beginners remaining.

At some point during the night however, you either build up the courage to ask a regular dancer, or are asked to dance by one yourself. You’re extremely nervous at first, and can only really manage the absolute basic footwork. After a while though, you’ve tried most if not all the other steps you’ve learned in the workshop, and you’re not feeling too bad about yourself. You talk to them for a little while once the dance is over, and discover that they’ve been dancing for just a month or two, and that it’s not as difficult as it looks, at least to get to a reasonably competent level. You decide to get another dance before leaving, and then head out with a couple of friends you’ve made from the beginner workshop. As you leave you mention to them that you’re thinking of joining a beginner Lindy Hop batch.