Swing Dance Sydney

Beginner Lindy Hop Classes

Saturday 2.00pm

Beginners lindy hop (swing dancing).

$20 pre-booked online or at the door.

Club Ashfield, Games Room (floor 3), 1-11 Charlotte St, Ashfield.
(Note this is NOT Ashfield RSL or Ashfield West Club).

Drop in for one class, or take a 4 week course block.

Beginner Lindy Hop Courses

Saturday 2.00pm

Beginners lindy hop (swing dancing).

$20 pre-booked online or at the door.

Club Ashfield, Games Room (floor 3), 1-11 Charlotte St, Ashfield.
(Note this is NOT Ashfield RSL or Ashfield West Club).

Start dates (week 1):
- Saturday 15th August
- Saturday 12th September
- Saturday 31st October
- Saturday 28th November

$20 pre-booked online or at the door.

Club Ashfield, Games Room (floor 3), 1-11 Charlotte St, Ashfield.
(Note this is NOT Ashfield RSL or Ashfield West Club).

Getting here

Club Ashfield is next to the Ashfield train station (take the north exit to Station Street).

A range of buses stop on Liverpool Rd (a short walk from the club) and on Brown St.

There is parking in the area, and a 'Park and Ride' parking lot for the station on the Brown Street side of the tracks.

The details:

• Learn the basic social dancing skills and moves of lindy hop.
• We teach beginner lindy hop (swing dance) in 4 week blocks.
  Drop in for one class, or stay for all four weeks!
• Course block start dates (week 1):
  - Saturday 15th August
  - Saturday 12th September
  - Saturday 31st October
  - Saturday 28th November

• Pay as you go, or purchase 4 classes in advance online or in person.
• No partner needed.
• Wear whatever you like.
• No dance experience needed.
• Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
• We WELCOME LGBTQIA+ folk!

Extender classes

Coming soon.

The details:

• More moves, more technical stuff, more music.
• We teach extender classes in 4 week blocks.
  Start in week 1, or drop in when you can.
• You need to take at least three beginner blocks before you can move on to extender classes.

Solo Jazz Classes

Saturday 3.00pm

Open solo jazz dance.

Next solo jazz block to start soon.

$20 pre-booked online or at the door.

Club Ashfield, Games Room (floor 3), 1-11 Charlotte St, Ashfield.
(Note this is NOT Ashfield RSL or Ashfield West Club).

Getting here

Club Ashfield is next to the Ashfield train station (take the north exit to Station Street).

A range of buses stop on Liverpool Rd (a short walk from the club) and on Brown St.

There is parking in the area, and a 'Park and Ride' parking lot for the station on the Brown Street side of the tracks.

The details:

• Learn the basic skills and moves of solo jazz dance.
• We teach historic solo jazz dance on a drop-in basis - start any time!
• Purchase classes in advance online or in person.
• Wear whatever you like.
• No dance experience needed.
• Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
• We WELCOME LGBTQIA+ folk!

What we do in beginner lindy hop classes

In our classes you'll make new friends and learn to social dance - and that's just in the first class!

We want you to be creative, independent dancers. So we teach in a way that gives you confidence, some essential dance skills, and lots of time to practice.

And we want it to be FUN.

Legacy and community

Learn about Black American dance culture in the swing era, and today. How is lindy hop like vogueing? How does call and response work? Who are the Black elders of lindy hop?
And why is improvisation (ie making stuff up) so important?

Skills

Music first!

• Staying on beat and in (swinging) time
• Finding the beginning of a phrase
• Syncopating
• Combining rhythms
• Recognising instruments and musicians

You can dance!

• Everyone can dance: we'll help you figure that out.
• Less talking, more dancing: you don't need a lecture, you need time to give it a try.
• Being ok with mistakes: mistakes aren't bad, they're just one more way of doing things. That's how we learn.
• Learn by watching-and-trying: your body is amazing, and so are you. And you'll learn how to see a step once, then give it a go.
• Confidence! We know you can do this. Our classes help you feel confident enough to try.

It's a partner dance!

• You're not alone! You have a partner, a class full of people, and teachers. And we always have your back.
• We are part of a community: historic steps, rhythms, and routines, learning from elders, and paying respect.
• Call and response, lead and follow: how do they work? We keep it simple and practical.
• Improvisation: making stuff up, but making it look and feel good.
• Cooperation: working together to figure out how things work,
• Respect: looking after yourself, looking after your partner.

Meet those historic steps!

• Swing out, circle, charleston, pass-by, Mini dip, send out, under-arm turn, texas tommy, around the world, points, promenade... and that's just the partner stuff!
• Charleston, triple step, boogie forward, boogie back, itches, rusty dusty, fish tail, ride the pony, trucking, apple jacks, spank the baby... all the good jazz action!

Make friends!

• Floor craft for safety, and good partnering skills for respect.
• Dancing with lots of people to become flexible, creative partner dancers.
• Playing games and laughing a lot.

What we do in extender lindy hop classes

Extender classes build on the basic steps and skills introduced in the beginner blocks.
You'll use your watch-and-try, and learn-by-experimenting skills to explore the wider world of lindy hop!

Legacy and community

We learn more about the Black Elders of lindy hop. How does a philosophy of dance that puts rhythm first make us better dancers? How did Frankie Manning make this simple step look so good? Rhythm: it's more than just footwork!

Goals

• Have a good time social dancing with anyone, no matter their experience or skills.
• Refine our communication and partnering skills.
• Work a bit harder, push ourselves a bit further. Streeeetch.

New Skills

Level up our musicianship.

• What's a phrase? Blues or 32 bar chorus? Why do three swing outs and a circle feel so good?
• Standard time? Does this swing or is it straight?
• How can we tell if this is Count Basie or Duke Ellington? Why does this matter to dancers?
• Why do we start on 8?
• How do we put rhythm in our body and not just our feet?

You're really good at this!

• From individual moves to combinations: learning combinations of moves by watching-and-trying.
• You can lead the big apple warm up: thinking on the spot, stepping up, passing a turn, and developing a vocabulary.
• More challenging games... are they games, or are they learning tools? You decide.

More moves

• Solo jazz steps, break steps, and stuff you've seen in a video. Let's figure them out.
• We are part of a community: historic steps, rhythms, and routines, learning from elders, and paying respect.
• How to make all these work on the social dance floor.

Connecting with our partner.

• Moves or movement: what's the difference?
• Momentum? Polyrhythms? Stretch? Compression? Yes, all of those buzzwords and more.
• Leading and following: how does the call and response model work at a deeper level?
• How do I know if it's a 6 count move or an 8 count move? Do we really need to worry about the space time continuum at all?

What we do in solo jazz classes

Our solo jazz classes are a lot like our partner dancing classes - you'll make new friends and learn to dance to jazz music. That means improvising, enjoying music on the dance floor with friends, and generally having a good time.

We don't drill routines or choreography in this class. We learn specific historic steps, and then expriment with music and our classmates to see how they work.

Our goal is to have you feeling good about dancing on your own, ready to dance at parties and live band gigs.

Legacy and community

Learn about Black American dance culture in the swing era, and today. How is jazz like vogueing? How does call and response work? Who are the Black elders of jazz dance?
And why is improvisation (ie making stuff up) so important?

Skills

Music first!

• Staying on beat and in (swinging) time
• Finding the beginning of a phrase
• Syncopating and combining rhythms
• Recognising instruments and musicians

You can dance!

• Everyone can dance: we'll help you figure that out.
• Less talking, more dancing: you don't need a lecture, you need time to give it a try.
• Being ok with mistakes: mistakes aren't bad, they're just one more way of doing things. That's how we learn.
• Learn by watching-and-trying: your body is amazing, and so are you. And you'll learn how to see a step once, then give it a go.
• Confidence! We know you can do this. Our classes help you feel confident enough to try.

You are creative!

• You'll learn a few simple historic steps and rhythms and begin experimenting with them in your very first lesson.
• We use a range of teaching and learning methods to meet each student's needs. You'll learn to learn-by-watching-and-trying (ie step-stealing), and you'll get to listen and dance to a lot of good music.
• You'll start joining those steps together to make your own choreography - with a group or on your own!

Meet those historic steps!

• Boogie forward, boogie back, boogie drop. These historic steps have names and stories, and we're serious about recognising their place in Black culture. Which means stories about balancing on rolling logs and Suzie Q. Whoever she was.

Make friends!

• We structure our classes so you have a chance to meet and get to know the other people in the room.
• We play games and work together to explore each step or rhythm; no one gets left behind!