Lindy Hoppers of the world, let’s real talk New Year resolutions!
I love Lindy Hoppers. My kind of people, my community. I love being part of the international swing dance family. Lindy Hoppers are, in general, the best and nicest people in the world. But sometimes we can be a bit too focused on the swing outs, and miss the bigger picture, am I right?
Here are a few things I wish would be amongst all Lindy Hoppers’ New Year resolutions, including myself…
1. To look after my body as a dancer
- Dancers are athletes.
- I will stretch and strengthen my body.
- I will stay hydrated.
- I will eat nourishing real foods to fuel my body.
- I will get enough sleep for real healing.
- I will take pain and injuries seriously. I will rest injuries properly and let them heal before returning to dance.
- I will value myself highly enough to invest in my body’s needs. Maybe that’s good quality dance shoes that fit me properly or or custom orthotics that look after my feet. Maybe that’s massage, physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, a nutritionist or other professional advice. Maybe it’s a gym membership, a set of weights, or finding a local yoga class. Maybe it’s a bit more time planning my meals each week, to get the healthy food my body needs.
- This new year I will listen to my body.
2. To be social and behave like, you know, a human
- I will ask more questions than just, “Do you want to dance?”
- I will learn the name of everyone I have a dance with.
- I will have real conversations and meet real people.
- If I’m a leader I will get to know other leaders, followers get to know other followers.
- I will ask as often as I am asked.
- I will buy a few drinks at the bar and support the venues.
- I won’t join the dance floor if it’s already over-crowded, I’ll wait for the next song.
- I will have good personal hygiene, even if that means taking clean-up breaks throughout the evening. I won’t expect anyone to dance with me if I am sweaty, wet or smelly.
- I will learn how to say no to a dance – politely, truthfully and with kindness.
- I will learn not take it personally if someone says no when I ask.
- I will never feel entitled to dance with anyone – no one owes me a dance, ever.
- I will strive to be the sort of person that everyone wants to dance with – respectful, careful, kind, humble and gracious.
3. To practice. To actually, genuinely practice.
- I will stop expecting to get better without practicing.
- If I want to get better, I will practice my dance thoughtfully and deliberately.
- I acknowledge that taking classes is important, but it’s not practice. Social dancing is important, but it’s not practice. Weekend workshops and events are great, but still not practice. None of that counts.
- Practice is deliberately making the time to train my dancing in a systematic way.
- Repetition, drilling, improvising, choreographing, filming myself, self-analysis, collaboration and getting feedback from others – this is the good stuff.
- Focus is important – I will keep practice sessions as short as my focus span, even if that’s only 10 minutes.
- Quality over quantity! 5 focused minutes every day (while you wait for the kettle to boil in the morning?) is better than a 3-hour session once a month.
- I will invest my time and thought and energy into real practice with focus and intent. And I will get better.
4. To listen and learn to listen.
- I will listen to jazz music just for me.
- I will learn about the history of jazz so I understand the world that created this music and my dance.
- I will read a book, watch a documentary, educate myself.
- I will notice when there is a real band playing at a dance, not just a recording. I will show my appreciation by applauding the band after each song, not just ignoring them as I hunt for my next partner.
- If there’s a killer solo, I will notice and show my appreciation, even if I’m dancing at the time.
- I will sometimes take a break from dancing and just enjoy the band.
- I will vote with my feet – if I don’t like a song, DJ or band, I just won’t dance. But if I love it, I will dance non-stop until my feet bleed, then go shake the DJ’s hand or buy the band’s CD.
- If I love the sound of a musician in the band, I will learn their name and find out what other bands they play with.
- I won’t Shazam at dances – I will go ask the DJ instead, show my appreciation and have a real conversation.
- I won’t begrudge paying a cover charge to see a live band. They collectively represent thousands of hours of practice and training, passion and dedication, all to play for me. They are worth it, the experience of live music is worth it.
- I will value live music and support musicians and DJs trying to make a living playing the music I love to dance to.
5. To respect artists in our community & their intellectual property
- I won’t teach other teacher’s material.
- I won’t copy choreography.
- I won’t use photographs without asking permission from both the photographer and the dancers in the image.
- I won’t crop out photographers’ watermarks.
- I will only use images or videos of dancers to promote my school or event if I have their permission.
- I will include a photographer’s credit next to photos I use where possible.
- I will list all the artists on my event’s website, not just the teachers.
- I will value DJs and musicians, as much as I value the teachers.
- If I run a workshop or event, I will pay my artists what they are worth. If I can’t afford to pay them properly, I will accept that my event plans are too big for my budget and downsize until I can afford to pay everyone properly.
- I won’t undervalue performers. Performances are valuable – I will pay for them!
- I will treat my artists professionally and with respect.
- As an artist, I will hold myself to high standards of professionalism. I will not undervalue myself, or Lindy Hop.
- As a professional Lindy Hopper, I won’t undercut my peers by discounting my rates.
6. I will not undervalue Lindy Hop
- Lindy Hop is a legitimate dance, with a rich history and a strong international community of devoted fans and participants. This dance is highly technical and diverse, and takes years (even decades) of training and dedication to master.
- Lessons in Lindy Hop should not cost less than other dance styles.
- Teachers of Lindy Hop should not earn less than other dance teachers.
- Lindy Hop is a spectacular, accessible and crowd-pleasing dance that deserves to be on stage, film and television as much as any other dance style. Swing dance shows and performances have value, and should not cost less than other dance shows.
- This coming year, I won’t undervalue Lindy Hop!