When my housemate, Ruth, first asked if I’d heard about Swing, I thought she meant dating as a couple. In her mind, it was a potential hobby to help me soothe my break-up blues. We only cleared up the confusion once Ruth said she took a few classes with hundreds of people before she got married. Still, I could do …
Why Dancing is Great for our Mental Well-being
October is Mental Health Awareness Month in South Africa, and World Mental Health Day was celebrated on the 10th of October. In 2004, the World Health Organization redefined mental health as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is …
Women Who Lead. A Brief History of Love in Cape Town Swing
Dear Reader, While I was preparing this piece about the women who lead the Swing community, I was reminded of two things. The first thing I’ll mention at the end, but the second thing was an insight of a much older person during my early years of studying: “When you have any doubts, when you feel lost, and you turn …
A Homage to South African Women in Jazz.
In this second instalment of the Women’s Month blog series, we take a look at some of the women who shaped the jazz scene here in South Africa. In a country overflowing with talented women, narrowing down the spotlight to fit into one blog post alone was no easy task. But the women featured here- Miriam Makeba and the Skylarks, …
How Swing Dancing Helped Me Overcome My Fear of Intimacy.
Humans crave intimacy. There are many feelings and sensations that come with holding hands, touching a person’s leg to show you’re listening, and hugging someone so tight you can’t breathe. It can be magic, but it can also be tainted by pain. In 2021 I recalled an act that I had not dealt with, which had traumatised my body five …
Learning to Swing Again
Strangely, it’s hard to recall when, or even why, certain pivotal moments of one’s life began. This could be said of my late wife’s and my relationship with Lindy hop – how we got started has been lost in what for me has been an on-and-off relationship with swing dance that’s lasted over twenty years. When I met Liz, I had …
The Big Apple: A brief history of a dance that’s harder than it looks!
In March, I attended Muriel’s super-intensive three-hour Big Apple workshop at the Observatory Community Centre. I’m going to be honest: it was hard. There were moments in which I was praying for time to speed up so I could be released from the mental and physical ordeal. But those moments were few; mostly I tried to maximise every second in …
Swinging Out Far from Home: A Cape Town Lindy Hopper in Vienna.
A month and a half ago I waved goodbye to my parents and boarded the plane to Austria. Though filled with excitement, I knew there would be much I’d miss about South Africa, and the Cape Town Swing Dance community featured prominently in my mind. I’ve been part of this community since I attended the Stellenbosch classes with Sarah back …
Dancing My Troubles Away
I’m not exaggerating when I say that swing dance has saved me. It’s changed my life completely, and I’m so thankful. I won’t bore you with the details, but last year was a struggle. I moved continents and had my heart broken to a million pieces. My only source of income was the online business I’d started so that I …