We don’t usually play cupid in our classes but Scott Cupit and Joo-Lee Stock knew they had to do something when they saw Toby and Vicci at a Lindy Jazz workshop one Saturday afternoon. See what Vicci has to say. . . .
Swing dancing is such a sociable hobby; you get to interact with so many people in a short space of time, especially thanks to Joo-Lee’s “thirty second relationship” rule during class rotations! Seriously, though, dancing provides you with a great social life – and not just at the weekly classes, as many dancers meet up socially away from the dance floor as well.
I started swing dancing in 2009 about a year after graduating from university; many of my friends from my four years of study had moved away and I found myself, as many new graduates do, facing the realisation that my life would now consist of full-time work and far less fun. I didn’t want my work colleagues to be the only people I saw! I didn’t join Lindy Jazz specifically looking for a partner but, like most singletons (I suppose), I was open to the possibility of meeting someone.
I first met Toby, who I will be marrying on 24th July next year, in As You Like It at one of Joo-Lee’s Blues nights in late 2009. But that was that for a couple of years; we knew each other to say ‘Hi’ to on the occasional nights that Toby was able to come to Lindy Jazz, since he was working in Scotland until 2013. All that changed in November 2011, when Joo-Lee and Scott Cupit from Swing Patrol in London (maybe you saw his success in Dragons’ Den on Sunday night?) began their match-making… Even after some gentle (ahem, actually, subtle as a slap round the face) encouragement from the two of them, still, no sparks flew. It wasn’t until the Lindy Jazz Snow Ball the following month, when we actually engaged in a conversation beyond “Hi, how are you?” that we decided to give it a go.
We still dance together now and then, though definitely not as often as we should. Otherwise hectic lifestyles and a geographically-challenged relationship over the last two years (between us we have lived in Newcastle, Leuchars, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Catalonia and Worcester in that time) have meant we’ve been away from Lindy Jazz for far too long. This will change when we return to the north east properly in September!
It does seem silly that I now rarely dance with the man I will be spending my life with, as it is a great way to connect. Many people who dance and whose (romantic) partner doesn’t are very envious of people like me who have a dancing partner in more ways than one! We really should make the most of it! As we will both continue to be very busy in the coming year, maybe going to Lindy Jazz together will be the motivation we need to spend quality time together!