Mother City Hop

When we first sat down to start brainstorming Mother City Hop in 2015, we had to make a decision about whether it would be a really small event, with just one or two international teachers and mainly local participants, or whether we'd go big and have more teachers, try to attract more international participants, and put the Cape Town scene on the map. Although the scene had grown since Boogie Back Dance Co. opened its doors three years prior, three couples on the dance floor felt like a lot. We wanted to connect to the rest of the global swing community, but since few of our dancers were able to travel overseas, we figured we'd invite the world to us. We launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise the funds – and with amazing support from lindy hoppers all over the world, we were able to make Mother City Hop a reality. Each year since then, about half of the event participants have been from other countries – at our last event, we welcomed dancers from 29 countries.

Swing dancing has a beautiful way of connecting people. In the last few years, the Cape Town Swing community has grown in size and in spirit: we've developed lasting friendships within the scene and our dancers are traveling to other events. Mother City Hop has been a big driver of this growth, inspiring dancers in our city and building connections to other scenes. We're learning more about the local history of swing music and swing dancing through the Echoes of Sophiatown project, uncovering a treasure trove of music and stories that might otherwise be lost.