September marks a new season of dancing and a great time to get back into class after the summer break. It is also an excellent time for those just getting started. Classes are a great first step to bringing new people into the dance community. Most of our new students come from recommendations and we really appreciate your help to keep our community growing and thriving!

Our new class session starts Sunday nights on September 8 in Newton Lower Falls and Monday nights on September 9 at Ruggles Church  in Boston (near Fenway Park). There are classes for all levels, no partners required.

Here’s what’s up for the next 6 week session:

• Beginner Swing/Intro to Lindy Hop Level 1: For those who are brand new to Swing dancing, this is the place for you! Also ideal if you have some experience and would like to brush up on skills and build a repertoire of fun moves. Six count basics will be covered along with a different selection of steps each session providing a foundation of the basic elements of Lindy Hop including rhythm, style and partner connection. There are 7 different sessions at this level building a good base for social dancing. Level 1 classes may be taken in any order. It is recommended to stay at this level long enough to feel very comfortable before moving to Level 2. Discount after 2 sessions! No experience or partner required. This class meets in both Newton and Boston.
• Lindy Hop Level 2: Level 2 focuses on the core fundamentals of Lindy Hop, including a mix of 8 and 6 count basics. Emphasis is on technique, partner connection, musicality and building skills. No previous Lindy Hop experience required, although must competently social dance any style of triple-step Swing. There are 8 different sessions at this level which continually change over time and can be taken in any order. Each session includes a range of classic Charleston to newer variations, all with a touch of flash! Discount after 2 sessions. No partner required. This class meets in both Newton and Boston.
• Wraps, Reversals & Rhythms: Play with partnering, stretch and rhythm changes to find new ways to add variety to your Lindy Hop. Some themes explored will be using wraps, changes of direction and unexpected twists and turns. If you are an experienced Lindy Hop dancer with solid basics and would like to find some new ideas and inspirations, this is a class for you! No partner required. This class meets on Sundays in Newton.

Class information and registration.

Details will be up soon for the Skye Humphries & Naomi Uyama weekend scheduled for November 29-December 1. This will be year number 6 for what has become the annual Skye-Naomi-Gordon weekend. What could be better than a weekend of Lindy Hop workshops with Skye & Naomi, dancing to the Gordon Webster Band, and lots of fun dancers coming together for this wonderful weekend? Always a highlight of the year! We saw all three of them this past weekend and they are looking forward to returning to Boston.

Something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving weekend!

Check preliminary Skye and Naomi workshop information.

September marks a new season of dancing and a great time to get back into class after the summer break. It is also an excellent time for those just getting started. Classes are a great first step to bringing new people into the dance community. Most of our new students come from recommendations and we really appreciate your help to keep our community growing and thriving!

Our new class session starts Sunday nights on September 8 in Newton Lower Falls and Monday nights on September 9 at Ruggles Church in Boston (near Fenway Park). There are classes for all levels, no partners required.

Here’s what’s up for the next 6 week session:

• Beginner Swing/Intro to Lindy Hop Level 1: For those who are brand new to Swing dancing, this is the place for you! Also ideal if you have some experience and would like to brush up on skills and build a repertoire of fun moves. Six count basics will be covered along with a different selection of steps each session providing a foundation of the basic elements of Lindy Hop including rhythm, style and partner connection. There are 7 different sessions at this level building a good base for social dancing. Level 1 classes may be taken in any order. It is recommended to stay at this level long enough to feel very comfortable before moving to Level 2. Discount after 2 sessions! No experience or partner required. This class meets in both Newton and Boston.
• Lindy Hop Level 2: Level 2 focuses on the core fundamentals of Lindy Hop, including a mix of 8 and 6 count basics. Emphasis is on technique, partner connection, musicality and building skills. No previous Lindy Hop experience required, although must competently social dance any style of triple-step Swing. There are 8 different sessions at this level which continually change over time and can be taken in any order. Each session includes a range of classic Charleston to newer variations, all with a touch of flash! Discount after 2 sessions. No partner required. This class meets in both Newton and Boston.
• Wraps, Reversals & Rhythms: Play with partnering, stretch and rhythm changes to find new ways to add variety to your Lindy Hop. Some themes explored will be using wraps, changes of direction and unexpected twists and turns. If you are an experienced Lindy Hop dancer with solid basics and would like to find some new ideas and inspirations, this is a class for you! No partner required. This class meets on Sundays in Newton. 

Class information and registration.

Mark your calendar for what has become the annual Skye-Naomi-Gordon weekend, scheduled for November 29-December 1. So wonderful that it just has to be done again! A weekend of Lindy Hop workshops with the always awesome Skye Humphries & Naomi Uyama, plus Saturday night Uptown Swing with the equally awesome Gordon Webster Band featuring Naomi on vocals. Always a highlight of the year. Always inspiring, challenging and fun! Something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving weekend.

Information on the schedule and classes will be coming soon.

Check preliminary Skye and Naomi workshop information.

Time has flown by since Beantown and we are still working on our follow-up and going through a ton of photos. The spirit of Lindy Hop was alive and well at camp this year! What a fantastic week with so many wonderful moments.

Beantown Highlights

Here is a selection of just some of the many highlights:

Friday Night Instructor Demo

Seeing all of the instructors together filling the floor was truly amazing. So much talent all in one place! Seeing it on paper is one thing. Experiencing it in person is another! A great start to the week to come.

Camp Social on the Winthrop Lawn

The cool breezes, the beautiful view, a chance to relax and just enjoy time with other campers.

Beantown Bounce

Awesome from start to finish. Listening to Norma rave for a good 15 minutes afterwards was the icing on the cake. She kept mentioning how her spirit had been renewed. What better compliment could there be? Kudos to Evita and Michael and all the performers and crew who contributed to such a spectacular show!

Bobby’s Presentation with Norma

I may have seen all the dance clips before, but never with Norma’s off the cuff comments full of interesting information and a participant’s point of view. Priceless!

Taryn’s Performance in Beantown’s Got Talent

When we added Maduka and Taryn Chidebelu-Eze to our camp staff, we had no idea we were getting such an amazing talent on campus. Taryn treated us to several wonderful performances during the week. My favorite was during Beantown’s Got Talent. Watching her young son singing along with a huge smile and much pride in his face was truly special.

Class Performances

The class performances at the end of the week are always a camp highlight, although this year’s were extra wonderful. Rose provided an excellent setting and the audience was the best ever giving a rousing standing ovation after each group.

Special Award Presentation

This year we added two special awards, Top Student to Jonathan Chen and Spirit of Lindy Hop to Cynthia Simonds. My favorite part was when Cynthia ran down from the back of the room to hug Jonathan, not knowing that she was soon to be called up for her own award. If that didn’t confirm we made the right choices, I don’t know what would. Thanks to Dave Lasagna for the insight to pass the mic to these two wonderful recipients. If there was anything that brought us all together, it was this moment. This one gets added to the all-time best Beantown moments EVER!

Wednesday Night Last Dance

Closing out our last dance with Gordon Webster is a guaranteed fun night! The last 20-25 minute version of “I Like Pie, I like Cake” included a sing along, a jam, some unique improvising from Gordon, and even some crowd surfing from Josh Mclean. You couldn’t plan this stuff if you wanted to!

Happy Campers

Seeing everyone at camp, catching up with friends, meeting new campers, watching everything enfold, seeing the happy faces, feeling the positive collective spirit, having that sense of community. The pure joy is what brought us to Lindy Hop and why we still do it!

Beantown Thanks

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us at Beantown this year, everyone who supported us and encouraged others to attend, our amazing staff and awesome crew and every single person who chipped in one way or another. We appreciate every one of you and could not do Beantown without you! In addition, we must send a huge thank you to Patrick and the entire Endicott College staff for providing us such an amazing environment and helping us to have the best camp possible.

Beantown Campers, you have once again exceeded expectations! We wish you all the best and hope to see you back in 2014!