Swing Patrol Class North Melbourne

08/07/2015

Location:
Czech House
497 Queensberry St North Melbourne (Wednesdays)

It was 'Julia day' again today. She was filling in at North Melbourne tonight too.She welcomed me with a big smile and a "hello, I see you every day of this week!"

That was very true and I had no problem at all with it as I've been enjoying her classes a lot.

I also liked the fact that it was Nial this time she was teaching with. I'd met Nial many times and danced with him at all sorts of social events.

It was always good fun and I only found out by chance that he was a teacher when I watched him dancing 'Shag' and said to someone, "wow, he’s good at that!" That’s when I was told, "he’s the 'Shag' teacher!"

This was my first class with him and I was looking forward to it.

The level 2 class was really good, we learnt variations for swing outs, that worked well and looked good.

 
I again liked the fact that Julia looked around and always seemed to pop up at the right moment if somebody needed some help or had a question. That way it really made the moves sink in.

The second class for that night was the 'Shag level 1'. Perfect. I hadn't done much 'shagging' but knowing the basic step made me just the right level to fit in as the 'Shag' classes had been going on for a little while.

I had so much fun with this one. Nial is not only a good dancer but also a good teacher and I could tell that everyone around had just as much fun :-). We left the class with quite a few fun little 'Shag' moves we all tried during social dancing afterwards.

Swing Patrol Class Melbourne CBD

07/07/2015

Location: The Exford Hotel (Tuesdays)
199 Russell St, Melbourne

And it was her again: Julia. The lovely teacher from the blues class last Sunday. She had said to me she was teaching on Tuesdays and I was looking forward to it a lot. 

The other teacher for the night was Chris, who had filled in for Jarrod, who was not well.

It was good fun to try them out at the end of the class. What I really liked about this class was the amount of music played and there was enough time to really practice and understand the moves we'd been shown.


Chris and Julia were great together. They were both so enthusiastic about dancing that there was no way that was not going to reflect on to everyone else in the room.

We had good lessons on '6 beat Lindy' and 'West Coast Swing' which was first time I’d been taught this style and I really enjoyed it. 

We learnt some cool little variations too which everyone could build in individually or together. It was great fun to try these out at the end of the class.

Swing Patrol Class Blues Night

05/07/2015

Location: The Exford Hotel (Sundays)
199 Russell St, Melbourne

I made 'Blues Night' my Sunday evening plan. Adrian, one of my friends from dancing had invited me along for a belated birthday dance. That was just perfect as I wanted to try a blues class anyway after I had a go at the Christchurch Swing Festival and really enjoyed myself. 



The first thing I noticed about the class was the really good atmosphere when I came in. It was a nice little group all ready to dance the 'blues'. They all seemed quite familiar with each other and joked around a lot. 

The teachers for tonight were Joel and Julia. Joel I'd seen around and been to some of his classes but I'd never met Julia and she was mentioned to me before as we do have two things in common: our name and nationality :).

I liked her straight away. She has this really good energy and happiness about her. It was a lovely class and I felt very welcome as a newbie. We learnt a few nice basic blues moves that could be combined and played around with at the end of the class. 

More dancers had shown up for the social dancing by the time we finished. I was asked to dance by one of the dancers in the class and really enjoyed dancing with him. He was a very good lead and it just worked well. I tried not to think too much about the fact that I wasn't sure what to do. I tried to just feel the music and go with it and that's what I ended up doing all night. 

I really felt like a glass of wine with the music at some point. That's exactly what I did in Christchurch and it took me even deeper into that lovely relaxed feeling. I saw some bottles of wine around the tables so I wasn't the only one it seemed.

There was a difference between the Christchurch night and the Sunday night in Melbourne though. In Christchurch I knew I could just call my lovely friend Jeremy to pick me up any time.

All I had to do was just jump in the car and out again, whereas back here, in reality I'd just lost my job and had this agreement with myself to spend as little money as possible by not taking any trams any more or buying drinks.

My lovely bike friend Barry was downstairs in the pub waiting for me but I knew that wine wouldn't make it easier to cycle home uphill in one gear for half an hour after the music had stopped :). 

Therefore I kept enjoying the dancing with really good blues dancers without wine and I still had an amazing time.

The only strange thing that happened was that one dancer who'd ask me to dance, half into the song just went: "Do you want to lead?". I responded: "I've never lead." He then just switched the position, closed his eyes and said: "You can start now." I kind of pushed him back and forward a bit not really sure what I was doing and wasn't too unhappy when the song finished. 

That was my first blues lesson experience and I'm sold. I want more :-)!

Swing Patrol Classes In Bunswick, Melbourne + A Special Night

Brunswick Classes (Mondays)

The Brunswick classes are really good fun and have been my favourites so far. There is something quite special about them. Brunswick has its own swing dancing community and you can tell how much people enjoy being part of that.

Classes of all levels take place at the ‘Bridie O’Reilly’s Brunswick’ which helps as it's a cool place with a good vibe. We’re talking about a big pub with a separate area that's just perfect for dancing. The right size of dance floor, a DJ desk and a big screen showing pictures of swing dancers in action gives you the feeling that you’re in the right place.
                                                           
The classes themselves are of a high standard. I was impressed by the level 1 class I took the first time I went. I'd actually aimed for a level 2 but was early so joined the level 1 class and I'm glad I did. Kieran and Georgia are just amazing. Not only are they great dancers, but it’s their way of teaching and passing on knowledge about music and the enjoyment of the dance that makes them unique. 

From the very first class it's about the music and rhythm and what you can do with it. This is linked with the basic step and body movement. I took a lot away from those classes and it seemed the perfect level for me even though I've been dancing for almost a year now.

                       

15/06/2015

A Special Night In Brunswick

I’m glad I rushed off from work to make it for that one bus that would take me to Brunswick just in time for the class. If I hadn’t done so, I would've missed out on a very special night in the ‘Bridie O'Reilly's Brunswick’.

 Georgia’s and Kieran’s last time teaching there! I wasn’t only lucky to be part of that, I’m also glad I didn’t miss my last opportunity to interview them for my blog:-)! 

It was lovely to see how much their students seem to miss them already. There were a lot of hugs and little chats going on after the lesson but I was still able to get them aside for a quick interview. Please read what they had to say below: 

It was ‘Brunswick Party Monday’ and more and more dancers showed up after the class to get on the dance floor for some social dancing. It got very busy and it was nice to recognise people I met at the festival, in classes or workshops. A lot of teachers were around too, which might have to do with the special occasion.

No doubt about that actually as Kieran and Georgia didn’t get away without a lot of applause, a lovely speech held by one their long time students, some pressies, hugs and of course some leaving dances inside the circle.

The Brunswick performance group 'Jazzabells' were another highlight of the evening and after that dancing till late. What a great night! Thanks lovely Brunswick people :-)!!!

trying not to attract anyones attention having
 this taken.Haha! Didn't work! (background)

Spreadin’ Rhythm Around: A Day With Echoes Of Harlem

24/05/2015

My purchase of a ticket for a day with the “Echoes Of Harlem” was the next step towards getting back into dancing and ready for the Christchurch Swing Festival. One of the teachers from my last Swing Patrol class (Loz) mentioned the workshop during class and I made it my Sunday plan.

I didn’t really get what an ‘Echo’ was but the idea of being able to join at any level, ask questions and work together with nice ‘Echoes’ on anything you’d like to improve sounded like a great deal to me and worth 50 bucks!

I got to Thurnbury early to make sure I’d find ‘Y Dance’ ok. Outside I bumped into a friendly couple that looked like they were visiting from the 40s. They asked me if I was here for the dancing and the workshop so when I said yes, they said: "come on up then." 

The 'Y Dance' is a lovely dance studio with a good vibe. It’s very bright and quite big, which you don’t expect when you’re coming up the narrow set of stairs. A lot of mirrors and different dance floors, as well as comfy sofas make it the perfect place for dancers to have a good, as well as productive time.

As Melbourne was showing its wintery side, I had to quickly change into my dancing outfit and then ready I was! Before I could even think about the fact that I didn’t know anybody and how to join in, a smart looking guy asked me for a warm up dance and then asked for another afterwards. Eventually the group warm up started and one after the other, the ‘Echoes’ entered the circle with a jazz move for everyone to copy, as they were being introduced.

The day was flying by. It was filled with mini classes, which took place in one corner of the room. Anyone could join in to learn some new moves or variations as well as some basic advice on technique.

Swing music was playing all day, which was used for classes as well as for people just having a dance to practice some moves. All ‘Echoes’ were roaming the room, answering questions and giving out quick three minute 1-2-1 feedback sessions that could be booked at the beginning of the day.

At some point after one of the mini classes I wasn’t so sure what to practice or who to approach and also my feet were ‘telling me’ they needed a bit of rest, so I sat down on a blue couch and just watched the others for a bit. I have to admit that I was very impressed by the level of dancers around, especially the ‘Echoes’ obviously. 

The more I watched, the more I felt like staying on the sofa to be honest, but before I could switch to being ‘super shy’ Loz sat down next to me. We had a little chat and she asked me how I liked it so far so I took the opportunity to find out what an ‘Echo’ actually is :-).             

The ‘Echos of Harlem’ are a swinging Lindy Hop and jazz age dance performance group from Melbourne. They used to be linked to the Swing Patrol and although they’re independent now, there’s still a very strong connection as quite a few of the members are Swing Patrol teachers.

This is why they’re welcome to advertise in class and the ‘SPREADIN’ RHYTHM AROUND’ workshop was the first one of its kind. Previous workshops were more structured and this was a fresh idea the ‘Echoes’ had come up with to finance their new performance, which will be introduced to the public at end of the year.

Before Loz left me to help out a couple of people with their new Charleston move, she made me promise to ask somebody to dance. Hmm … I did give that promise, however, my confidence was still building up again and by the time the two girls nailed the Charleston, Loz was right back. She smiled at me and asked for a dance :-). 

I was happy about that and got a really nice private lesson on how to improve my swing outs. The way she was teaching really worked for me and made a lot of sense. I still need to get used to watching myself in the mirror while practicing but that’s how you get really good I suppose :-).

After our time together, she introduced me to another very nice ‘Echo’ for some more personal feedback. I couldn’t help it but had to keep smiling.

All I’ve got left to say is that from my personal experience with this workshop and getting to know the ‘Echos’ a bit, I can only recommend that you meet them in any way you can! They are lovely people, easy to approach and love to share the joy of the dance. I can’t wait to see them in action, hopefully at some point soon.

Echoes of Harlem

'Fun Pit' Interviews

Interview


Tanya
Dancing for/since:   10 years
Teacher for/since:  7 years




A favorite tune Favourite tune?
It was hard for Tanya to decide on a specific tune. She loves any music by Gordon Webster or Louis Armstrong.

To make sure you’ll get some music to listen to, I’ve just picked one and hope Tanya would like these too :-).

Gordon Webster - I Like Pie

One dancing experience you'll never forget:
I enjoyed listening to the dancing experience Tanya was telling me about as I can really relate to that one :) ... When Tanya was still fairly new to dancing she went to an Italian swing festival called ‘The Swing Crash’. All weekend long she’d been watching this amazing American teacher called Tot and wanted to ask him for a dance.

On the last night she finally just went for it and walked up to him. At the very same moment another teacher appeared next to him for the same reason but stepped back and let her have the dance. It turned out to be one of the best dances she’s ever had. It was that good that she doesn’t even remember it. I’d say anyone who’s had a dance like that knows what she is talking about …

What makes your class a good class to come to?
“It's got a nice social vibe, friendly people and is very beginner friendly”


Interview


Joel
Dancing for/since:   10 years
Teacher for/since:  6 years




A favorite tune Favourite tune?
When I asked Joel for one of his favourite tunes, he immediately asked for 2 and how could I not do him that favour? ...
1. Dizzy Gillespie - School days
2. Jesse Stone - Coleslaw

One dancing experience you'll never forget:

Joel's special dancing moment took place in New York, when he travelled around half the world to be part of the 'Frankie 100 festival'. After a 35 hour journey he finally made it to the crappy apartment he was staying at and didn't feel like staying there long at all, so he decided to go for a bit of a wander.

Walking down the road there was no way he could not notice jazz music coming out of a bar. It was Gordon Webster himself playing and the moment Joel will never forget was the moment when he all of a sudden discovered his Aussie mates in the bar on the other side of the world enjoying the very same song. “It's just such a great community!” Nothing to add there really, right :-)?

What makes your class a good class to come to?
“It’s the place. It's got a fun vibe. ‘Forever Dance’ a nice studio. It's a good place for new dancers. Everyone is very welcoming.”

On top of that I got a couple of interesting fun facts about Fun Pit. It's actually the longest running venue in Melbourne. It’s been taking place fortnightly for nearly 10 years and the name Fun Pit is a little mix out of the names from Swing Patrol founders Claudia Funder and Scott Cupit, who started these wonderful swing dancing communities in Melbourne, Sydney, London and Berlin in 1998.

'Fun Pit' (Swing Patrol Class And Social Dancing)

30/05/2015

Location: 'Forever Dance' (Fridays - Fortnightly)

1/432 Church St, Richmond

'Fun Pit' is a great social dancing event that I can highly recommend, especially when you’re new in town.

I’m talking from experience here ;-) because the very first time I made it to a dance floor in Melbourne was on a Fun Pit Friday in Richmond. I had missed finding a class or social dance on my actual birthday, which was only a few days after I’d arrived in Aussie so my first time social dancing was supposed to make up for that … and it certainly did! 

Back in England I had tried to prepare by practicing asking strangers to dance. Most of the time it hadn’t worked out too well as I already knew most of the people around me but I did try it at the Swing Patrol Christmas Ball in London (and almost cancelled my flight afterwards because of it)! 

However, at the Swing Festival in Edinburgh, it worked out a lot better and on the last night I even found myself with really good stranger dancers on the dance floor :-). It’s still not an easy exercise for me and being all alone doesn’t quite help.

The reason I mention this is because I left the Fun Pit that night feeling extremely happy and had to laugh at myself at how unnecessary it had been to worry about such a silly thing at all. 

This is no joke but I didn’t even have time to break the barrier and approach somebody because not a single song was played without somebody walking up to me to ask for a dance. It wasn’t even only one dance! Every single time I was offered a second one, as apparently it was fun :-). I heard that was tradition in some countries. I have to say I like Australia :-). 

He didn't want to dance!

Everyone was super friendly and danced at a really good level. I was also impressed at how many people turned up. That was definitely one of the moments I realised how much bigger Melbourne is in comparison to Brighton. Back home that amount of dancers would show up for a special event but not for a bit of social dancing after a couple of classes!

Talking of classes, at my second time at the Fun Pit, I tried a level 1 class with Tanya and Joel, who are really cool teachers I must say. I liked the way they broke down the basic steps for beginners plus the nice little move we learnt where everyone had to ‘shake’ at the end. Again I managed not to leave without the interviews.

Fitzroy Interviews

Interview


Loz
Dancing for/since:   12 years
Teacher for/since: 10 years




A favorite tune Favourite tune?
“Too many to choose from” … obviously :-), so she just gave me her current one: shuffling'n rollin' by Buddy Johnson

One dancing experience you'll never forget:
When I asked her that, she said something very beautiful:
“I love that we have a global community. Without that I would have never met the people I met or travelled to the places I did. Only the dancing made that happen.”

What makes your class a good class to come to?
“Because we always have fun and learn something too.”

Comments (by me):
I just can't believe this!!! We had a little bit of a chat (while I was looking in my bag for my notepad and pen) and when I mentioned that I was dancing in Brighton, Loz asked me straight away if I knew Graeme and Amanda and of course I do! Amanda even mentioned a teacher in Melbourne I should say hi to and the description fitted just perfectly, thinking about it now. I’d never expected to actually meet her though. Come on! Here in Melbourne! Out of all those teachers and Loz was alsojust filling in tonight... It was meant to be! So we took a picture for Graeme and Amanda and for you guys of course ;-).


Interview


Josh
Dancing for/since:   2002
Teacher for/since:  2005




A favorite tune Favourite tune?
“No specific one. Anything over 200 beats per min. You just know when it’s a good song.”

One dancing experience you'll never forget:

He was thinking for quite a while and then came up with this really cool story about a Lindy Blues event he organised a few years back. “It was the atmosphere that made this one really special". Different music with different speed was played in each room. People got really into it and inspired each other and this was not just for a moment. It lasted for hours and hours and only got better.

What makes your class a good class to come to?
I will always give people an idea on what to focus with their dancing, which keeps them busy for weeks or months. I teach in a way for dancers not to lose interest in dancing.

Swing Patrol Class in Fitzroy, Melbourne

21/05/2015

Location: St Brigid's Parish Hall (Thursdays)
378 Nicholson St, Fitzroy North, VIC 3068

I took my 3rd Swing Patrol class in Fitzroy. Classes in the St Brigid's Parish Hall are always on a Thursday and cover level 1, 2 and 3.

As St Brigid's Parish Hall is a big hall, two classes take place at the same time in different rooms. Level 3 starts at 8:30 when the other classes finish, so there’s an hour social dancing available to warm up if you’re already at that level. The dance floor is amazing. You could say there’s just enough room to practice :-)! 



We arrived a little early ... 

I say we as my kiwi friend Lucas joined me for a level 1 class. He used to dance too and lives just around the corner, so he didn’t have much of an excuse not to!

Our teachers for tonight were Josh and Loz and I liked them straight away. I felt their very welcoming, positive energy immediately and what I really liked was that they picked up on the fact that follows and leads don't really meet so made all leads and follows go up to each other to shake hands and introduce themselves.
After that we learnt a nice little Charleston move …

It had a pause, a turn and a good dynamic to it. They broke it down nicely and made sure nobody got stuck. 

At the end we had eight minutes left and Loz went into a little bit of history about Charleston and how 20s Charleston had started fast and on your toes but had developed into a more relaxed style with the change of the music over the 30s and 40s. 

She did some nice demonstrations and everyone tried to relax a little more as they worked on their style and what they had learnt in the level 1 class. Liked it :-)!