Workshops
Jazz BANG offers you two streams of workshops (lindy hop and balboa) over two days, taught by the best teachers we could find.
Check out the Registration Page for pass information.
General Workshops
There will be 2 streams of general admission workshops at Jazz BANG (lindy hop and balboa). These streams are run in parallel, at two different locations.
The afternoon sessions include a guided practice session where you can work on class material with your classmates and teachers.
Each day ends with an elective workshop, either a history session or a teachers' workshop.
Workshop Program
Saturday workshops
| Time | Lindy Hop Workshops |
|---|---|
| Ashfield Polish Club Ballroom, 73 Norton St, Ashfield (MAP). | |
| 10.30-11.30 | Workshop 1 |
| 11.45-1.00 | Workshop 2 |
| 1.00-1.45 | Lunch |
| 1.45-2.45 | Workshop 3 |
| Ashfield Baptist Church Hall, cnr Holden St & Norton St, Ashfield (enter from Holden St, MAP) | |
| 3.00-3.30 | Guided Practice |
| 3.30-5.00 | Workshop 4 (lindy hop jazz history/demo) |
| Time | Balboa Workshops |
|---|---|
| Ruby's Dance Hall, 14 Cadogan St, Marrickville (MAP). | |
| 10.30-11.30 | Workshop 1 |
| 11.45-1.00 | Workshop 2 |
| 1.00-1.45 | Lunch |
| 1.45-2.45 | Workshop 3 |
| 2.45-3.30 | Guided Practice |
| 3.30-5.00 | Workshop 4 (balboa teachers' workshop) |
Sunday workshops
| Time | Lindy Hop Workshops |
|---|---|
| Ashfield Polish Club Ballroom, 73 Norton St, Ashfield (MAP). | |
| 10.30-11.30 | Workshop 1 |
| 11.45-1.00 | Workshop 2 |
| 1.00-1.45 | Lunch |
| 1.45-2.45 | Workshop 3 |
| 2.45-3.30 | Guided Practice |
| 3.30-5.00 | Workshop 4 (lindy hop jazz teachers' workshop) |
| Time | Balboa Workshops |
|---|---|
| Ruby's Dance Hall, 14 Cadogan St, Marrickville (MAP). | |
| 10.30-11.30 | Workshop 1 |
| 11.45-1.00 | Workshop 2 |
| 1.00-1.45 | Lunch |
| 1.45-2.45 | Workshop 3 |
| 2.45-3.30 | Guided Practice |
| 3.30-5.00 | Workshop 4 (balboa jazz history/demo) |
Electives
The final workshop of each day is an elective.
You may choose to stay in your stream all day every day, or you may choose to travel to the other venue to take the elective there.
History Sessions
Balboa: Sunday 6 May 3.30-5.00pm Ruby's Dance Hall, 14 Cadogan St, Marrickville (MAP).
Lindy Hop: Saturday 5 May, 3.30-5.00pm VENUE TBC.
- Are open to all workshop registrants who hold a pass valid for that day;
- May include live music, film screenings, and discussions.
In these sessions we take a moment to explore the history of our favourite dances.
Teachers' Workshops
Balboa: Saturday 5 May, 3.30-5.00pm Ruby's Dance Hall, 14 Cadogan St, Marrickville (MAP).
Lindy hop: Sunday 6 May 3.30-5.00pm Ashfield Polish Club Ballroom, 73 Norton St, Ashfield (MAP).
Teachers' workshops:
- Are open to all workshop registrants who hold a pass valid for that day;
- May ask you to demonstrate and dance in front of your peers.
In these sessions we will explore our guest teachers' approaches to teaching dance.
All of the Jazz BANG teachers have worked closely with old timers, and with historic footage and sources to learn as much as they can about jazz and swing era dances. All our teachers travel widely to teach, and teach in local communities. They have extensive experience with both general teaching models.
These teaching workshops will have two parts:
- A practical component, where the teacher demonstrate a teaching approach, and you experience this as participants, and
- A more discussion- and workshop- based session where you work through practical teaching strategies and your own questions or challenges with the guest teachers and your teaching peers. Please do come prepared with topics you'd like to consider.
Workshop levels
These classes are mixed level, but for participation in the lindy hop stream you will need to have been dancing lindy hop for at least a year, and be comfortable with swing outs, circles, charleston, a variety of turns, jazz steps, and breaks.
For participation in the balboa stream you will need to have been dancing balboa for at least a year, and be comfortable with the basic rhythms and steps of pure balboa and balswing, including throwouts, pop turns, lollies, and double and single time steps, to join the balboa stream.
We also ask that you be social dancing regularly to join these workshops
Why mixed level?
Swing Time Australia and Swing Dance Sydney are committed to teaching and dancing swing dances as social dances, and that means an ability to find joy in dancing with all partners. Marie and Anders draw on the tradition of social lindy hop taught by Frankie Manning, where partners work to find a shared sense of music and connection. Sylvia and Adam approach balboa as a dance of the ballrooms of Los Angeles, where Betty and Hal Takier would join thousands of dancers on the floor.
In these workshops we shift our emphasis away from dancing through a sequence of steps in perfect repetition, and towards social dancing skills.
The challenge for all follows and leads will be: how do you maintain your own sense of rhythm and timing while sharing a dance with a partner?
Teachers
Marie N'diaye
Specialities: lindy hop, slow drag, chorus lines, solo dance, tap, women's jazz history.
Based in Stockholm and teaching regularly at the Chicago studio, Marie is all about jazz dance history and jazz dance FUN. Leader of the HotCha and Herrang chorus line projects, Marie is an avid historic researcher, chasing down obscure women dancers from the jazz era. And then learning as much as she can from them.
Marie is known for her thorough approach to teaching (come ready to work hard), and for encouraging students to experiment with expressive movement and style. She'll work with Anders to present workshops which ask you to experiment, to focus, and to really enjoy what you do with music.
Anders Sihlberg
Specialities: solo dance, tap, lindy hop, boogie woogie, slow drag, performance choreography, teaching young people.
Anders met lindy hop when he was 13. It stuck. Now he's a part of a number of performance projects, including the Basie Brothers. Based in Sweden, but travels all over Europe teaching young people (and older people) about having fun with jazz music.
Anders is especially interested in the Harlem jazz and swing dance stars, and his teaching style is rooted in respect for the past, and sheer joy in dancing now. Expect an exacting approach to technique and history, but an enthusiastic embrace of improvisation and having fun.
Sylvia Sykes
Specialities: balboa, lindy hop, solo jazz, hustle, west coast swing... everything.
Sylvia is one of the key figures in the modern lindy hop and balboa world, one of the few dancers who worked closely with lindy hopper Dean Collins (in the early 80s) as well as balboa dancers like Maxie Dorf.
Based in Santa Barbara, Sylvia still teaches locally, and has a practical, accessible teaching style. That means she makes dancing look simple and feel nice. Though her teaching, performing, and judging background is unparalleled, Sylvia is friendly and approachable; you should ask her to dance.
Check out Ryan Swift's interview with Sylvia for The Track: you'll hear Sylvia talk about working with OGs, her love of live music, and her time as a professional hustle dancer. YES. DISCO.
Adam Speen
Specialities: balboa, more balboa, all the balboa, and some lindy hop.
Likes old dancing, but in new ways. Based in North Carolina (USA), Adam is committed to preserving and enjoying the balboa of the swing era, but combined with modern ideas and values.
Partnership and playfulness are Adam's preoccupation, and he encourages students to say "Yes! And..." to the music, to their partners, to their friends on the social dance floor. His teaching promotes collaboration and creativity, and Adam likes nothing more than a long plane trip to new cities to meet new people. Except social dancing. Social dancing is his passion.