Rethinking our event models

Last updated: 15 November 2021

Hey friends,
After a bizarre and upending 2020, we hope that with a new year, there is new hope for a better 'normal' in a post-Covid world.
It's been months since we've been in touch with you—our last communication expressed hope for a deferred Mother City Hop in March 2021. However, it's become clear that this will be impossible, with the virus making its way through the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in a second & third wave of infections.
While the Cape Town Swing community takes a bit of a breather from events and get-togethers, this pandemic has sparked a rethinking of the festival event model, especially in the context of the climate crisis. Organising a large event that relies on international visitors is already a financially risky model, but it also comes with a huge environmental footprint which is simply very difficult to justify. Explicitly encouraging flights to our event (without which, the event would not exist) is something we are thinking carefully about.
We have not taken any firm decisions, but as we approach a new post-Covid reality (hopefully later in 2021), our framing of dance events in Cape Town will be different, as we try to imagine and create a new normal. A 'normal' where there is more interest in and support for our local and regional contexts, and with connections to other lindy hop scenes that don't require many intercontinental flights.
Perhaps we'll see more weekenders tailored for the local scene, occasionally with visiting instructors from other scenes. Our events will always be open to international visitors who happen to be in the country. Until 2019, we only had two larger annual events: Mother City Hop (with an international teaching team and many international visitors) and Swing Camp (a smaller, cosier weekender with local teachers and almost exclusively local dancers). We hope to bring Swing Camp back (as soon as it's safe), and maybe some additional events with a similar format.
We hope you're doing well despite the circumstances, and we hope to connect with you again soon. Thank you for supporting the Cape Town Swing scene, your participation in our community helps make it what it is.
Love from Cape Town,
The Mother City Hop team
The Covid-19 pandemic has spurred us to take fresh perspectives on how we think about our local dance community and its relationship to the international community.
 
In January 2021, we released the following statement on Facebook:

After a bizarre and upending 2020, we hope that with a new year, there is new hope for a better 'normal' in a post-Covid world.

It's been months since we've been in touch with you—our last communication expressed hope for a deferred Mother City Hop in March 2021. However, it's become clear that this will be impossible, with the virus making its way through the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in a second & third wave of infections.

While the Cape Town Swing community takes a bit of a breather from events and get-togethers, this pandemic has sparked a rethinking of the festival event model, especially in the context of the climate crisis. Organising a large event that relies on international visitors is already a financially risky model, but it also comes with a huge environmental footprint which is simply very difficult to justify. Explicitly encouraging flights to our event (without which, the event would not exist) is something we are thinking carefully about.

We have not taken any firm decisions, but as we approach a new post-Covid reality (hopefully later in 2021), our framing of dance events in Cape Town will be different, as we try to imagine and create a new normal. A 'normal' where there is more interest in and support for our local and regional contexts, and with connections to other lindy hop scenes that don't require many intercontinental flights.

Perhaps we'll see more weekenders tailored for the local scene, occasionally with visiting instructors from other scenes. Our events will always be open to international visitors who happen to be in the country. Until 2019, we only had two larger annual events: Mother City Hop (with an international teaching team and many international visitors) and Swing Camp (a smaller, cosier weekender with local teachers and almost exclusively local dancers). We hope to bring Swing Camp back (as soon as it's safe), and maybe some additional events with a similar format.

We hope you're doing well despite the circumstances, and we hope to connect with you again soon. Thank you for supporting the Cape Town Swing scene, your participation in our community helps make it what it is.

Love from Cape Town,
The Mother City Hop team

Swing Camp

As we put Mother City Hop on hold for the medium or long term (for the reasons mentioned above), this opens up an opportunity for hosting our cosy and delightful Swing Camp in its stead. An event made by our local team, for our local dance community, it's considerably more sustainable from an environmental, financial and organising perspective.

We're excited about giving more energy to the Cape Town Swing community, and connecting with the South African jazz community and its history.

While Swing Camp is designed for the local community, international visitors are very welcome to join, if they happen to be in the country. Space is very limited, however, as the entire 3-day event is held on an olive farm with limited accommodation.