Learning to dance is fundamentally about learning how to move your body to music and interacting with another human being in partner dancing. Many dancers find it helpful to take classes to build their understanding of the dance as well as their vocabulary.
CURRICULUM TRACKS
Our class syllabus is organized into a Beginners track, a Social Dancers track, a Technical track, an Elective track, and a Balboa track.
BEGINNERS TRACK
The Beginners Track answers the question: “What is Swing Dance?”
PRE-REQUISITES: No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
FORMAT: There are four months of distinct curriculum mixing 8ct/6ct, 8ct/charleston, 6ct/8ct, and 6ct/charleston. The first rhythm refers to the main focus of instruction, while the second might only be taught in “shapes” rather than a deep dive.
- Beginning Swing ♠︎: 8-count & 6-count
- Beginning Swing ♦︎: 8-count & Charleston
- Beginning Swing ♣︎: 6-count & 8-count
- Beginning Swing ♥︎: 6-count & Charleston
SOCIAL DANCERS TRACK
The Social Dancers Track is a place where dancers with the basic idea of swing dancing come and learn a wide breadth of vocabulary, social dance skills, and perspectives on what constitutes an active, challenged, ever-curious community of dancers who respect each others’ journeys and their own.
These lessons are meant to be taken over and over by (a) providing a bare minimum of required material each month which is customized by instructors through “add-on material”, and (b) offering four months of completely custom content according to each teaching pair’s idea of what is essential to a social dancer.
PRE-REQUISITES: Beginners’ Track or equivalent experience.
FORMAT: Two “vocabulary” months with a minimum of required material will be followed by one “open” month of completely custom material, giving students 8 vocabulary months and 4 open months each year.
Social Dancers - Month A: Kick It With Us
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Social Dancers - Month B: Sweet Moves
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Social Dancers - Month C: Turn of the Swing-tury
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Social Dancers - Month D: Flashy Kicks
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Social Dancers - Month E: It's All Swing to Me
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Social Dancers - Month F: All About Swingouts
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
TECHNICAL TRACK
The Technical Track is designed for students who want to dwell into the nitty gritty details of the dance: partnership, connection, stretch, flow, momentum, micro and macro musicality, the utility of the footwork and its intricacies, the importance of movement. Students must be open to learning “advanced” concepts.
PRE-REQUISITES: Beginners Track or equivalent experience.
FORMAT: Class topics are all teachers’ choice.
Technical - Better Together
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Technical - Consistency
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Technical - Dynamic Connection / Stretch and Compression
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Technical - Flow and Momentum
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Technical - Get Nerdy With Duration
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Technical - How to Choreo
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Technical - Keeping it Grounded
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Technical - New directions for your Lindy Hop
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Technical - Step-by-Step Communication
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Technical - Stretch and Compression
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Technical - Super Secret Ninja Follow
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Technical - Turns 'n Flow
PRE-REQUISITES: All 4 months of Beginners Track or equivalent experience. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
ELECTIVE TRACK
The elective category includes class topics that do not quite fit into the other levels such as solo Jazz, Balboa, Collegiate Shag, tap, classic routines (shim-sham, Tranky Doo, the Big Apple), blues… The pre-requisites for a class series vary by topic.
Elective focuses on developing other aspects of a dancer’s knowledge, to make one a more round dancer. Personal body movement through solo Jazz and tap, learning other swing area dances, learning choreography.
Elective - Al & Leon Shim Sham (solo jazz)
PRE-REQUISITES: Having completed 4 months of Level 1. No partner required; just bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes!
Elective - Body Movin'
PRE-REQUISITES: Minimum completion of 3 months of Level 1. No partner required, just bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes!
Elective - California Flight School (PARTNER REQUIRED)
Note for those who took the Flight Academy classes last summer: this course will cover different aerials.
PRE-REQUISITES: Partner required, as you'll be working as a team together for the full series. Any combination of guys and gals are fine. Clothing should be comfortable, with no large buckles or other hard objects; bases and flyers should both wear level sole shoes (no heels please). We'll cover more details in the first class. No dance experience needed, but a sense of adventure required:) See you on the tarmac!
Elective - Collegiate Shag (ELEF)
PRE-REQUISITES: None. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Elective - Dean Collins shim-sham (solo jazz)
PRE-REQUISITES: Familiarity with the "basic" shim-sham routine and/or experience with solo jazz movement recommended.
Elective - Fluid Movement
PRE-REQUISITES: 8-count and 6-count basics, swingout, inside/outside turns, understanding of stretch, compression, relaxed connection, pulse.
Elective - Fundamentals of Tap Dancing
PRE-REQUISITES: No previous tap knowledge required. Do not bring tap shoes; comfortable shoes with a hard sole are preferable. Bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes!
Elective - Introduction to Air Steps
PRE-REQUISITES: Partner required, as you'll be working as a team together for the whole series! Any combination of guys and gals are fine. Clothing should be comfortable, with no large buckles or other hard objects; bases and flyers should both wear level sole shoes (no heels please). No dance experience needed, but a sense of adventure required:) See you on the tarmac!
Elective - Introduction to St. Louis Shag
PRE-REQUISITES: Some partnered swing dance experience preferred. No partner required; just bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes!
Elective - Jam Steals
PRE-REQUISITES: This series is for intermediate level dancers and above; you'll need to be able to dance a variety of standard 6 & 8 count patterns in both Lindy and Charleston to get the most out of this class. No partner required, just bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes!
Elective - Jazz Up your Partnered Basics
PRE-REQUISITES: Having completed 3 months of Level 2. No partner required; just bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes.
Elective - Solo Jazz
PRE-REQUISITES: None. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Elective - The Shim Sham (solo jazz)
PRE-REQUISITES: Having completed 3 months of Level 1. No partner required; just bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes!
Elective - The Trickeration (solo jazz)
PRE-REQUISITES: Basic solo jazz (like the shim-sham).
Elective - Tranky Doo (solo jazz)
PRE-REQUISITES: None. No partner required, just bring comfy shoes and your enthusiasm!
Elective - Vintage Movement
PRE-REQUISITES: This series is for intermediate level dancers and above; you'll need to be able to dance a variety of standard 6 & 8 count patterns in both Lindy and Charleston to get the most out of this class. No partner required, just bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes!
BALBOA TRACK
Balboa A1 – Pure Bal Foundations (ELEF)
PRE-REQUISITES: None. No partner required; just bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes!
Balboa A2 – Pure Bal Improvisations (ELEF)
PRE-REQUISITES: Pure Bal Foundations series or familiarity with downhold/uphold rhythms, scoots, paddles, progressives, comearounds, out n ins. No partner required; just bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes!
Balboa B1 - Bal-Swing Fundamentals
PRE-REQUISITES: None. No partner required; just bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes!
Balboa B1 - Bal-Swing Fundamentals (ELEF)
PRE-REQUISITES: None. No partner required; just bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes!
Balboa B2 - Bal-Swing Comes Back Around
PRE-REQUISITES: Bal-Swing Fundamentals, OR must be competent in up-holds, down-holds, ad-lib steps, lollies, tossouts. No partner required; just bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes!
Balboa B2 - Bal-Swing Comes Back Around (ELEF)
PRE-REQUISITES: Bal-Swing Fundamentals, OR must be competent in up-holds, down-holds, ad-lib steps, lollies, tossouts. No partner required; just bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes!
Balboa C1 - Out N In Fundamentals
PRE-REQUISITES: None. No partner required; just bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes!
Balboa C2 - In N Out Secret Menu
PRE-REQUISITES: Balboa C1 or must be comfortable with a pure balboa basic, out n ins, lolly kicks. No partner required; just bring your enthusiasm and comfortable clothes!