{"id":746,"date":"2021-08-22T14:38:33","date_gmt":"2021-08-22T14:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/?page_id=746"},"modified":"2021-09-03T14:04:14","modified_gmt":"2021-09-03T14:04:14","slug":"our-lockdown-labour-of-love","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/?page_id=746","title":{"rendered":"Our Lockdown Labour of Love"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>On 17 July 2021, four months into the pandemic and the hottest day of the year, we came together to film ourselves dancing 3 classic swing dance routines; Shim Sham, Tranky Doo, and The Big Apple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Shim Sham (Tuxedo Junction) - Lindy Jazz\" width=\"670\" height=\"377\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Gk28kw9PDak?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Before the pandemic, we\u2019d usually try to learn routines like The Big Apple or Tranky Doo in one day at weekend events, then we&#8217;d forget them the following week. But when the pandemic hit, we didn&#8217;t want to stop dancing- and we didn&#8217;t want to stop smiling or laughing either. So we decided to try out learning some of the most challenging routines on Zoom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason we&#8217;re sharing this story with you today is that we want to give a big shout-out to our wonderful Lindy Jazz dancers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Covid-19 could have given them an excuse to stop dancing and give up. The lockdown could have made their passion for social dancing, enjoying swing music, seeing friends, and everything else that&#8217;s connected with the exciting social life of a swing dancer disappear overnight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But instead of complaining or giving up, they decided to accept our challenge to learn 6 classic Lindy Hop routines over Zoom- and this was no easy thing! They had to fast-track their technology skills, overcome any technophobia, completely change everything that was easy and familiar to them, learn a new way of thinking, and build up their confidence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tranky Doo - Lindy Jazz\" width=\"670\" height=\"377\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uB16vdm-UvM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We kept the social connection alive by dancing every week with each other, having chats after classes on Zoom, learning more about swing music through DJ Andy\u2019s music webinars, and having fun quizzes to test their newfound knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is where the fun, friendship, and community foundation of Lindy Jazz really shone through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To learn Lindy Hop via Zoom seemed almost impossible at first. It&#8217;s not easy to synchronise sound and image precisely on the platform, so learning routines packed with complex rhythms was a huge challenge\u2026 add to this the glitchy internet connection and having to dance in the limited confines of the kitchen or living room; it\u2019s enough to make anyone give up on the idea. But what happened? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Big Apple - Lindy Jazz\" width=\"670\" height=\"377\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ScY2iEXIBhQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We pushed back the furniture, built temporary DIY dance floors in our kitchens and living rooms, and focused on what we love most \u2013 dancing and staying in touch with friends. There were so many surprisingly positive outcomes of overcoming the challenges that the pandemic brought with it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022 We learned new moves and new dances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022 We deepened our knowledge of swing music;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022 A performance group has emerged!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Shim Sham (Tain&#039;t What You Do) - Lindy Jazz\" width=\"670\" height=\"377\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CD0nSB8pZyU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Everyone involved learned about how resilient they really were, and now friendships are even stronger, and our love for swing dance is even greater. If you want to reignite your love for swing dance and build your confidence for social dancing again, our new course might be just the thing for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Getting Ready to Social Dance\u2019 starts on 7th September and it focuses on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022 Mastering your own movement;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022 Improving your dance vocabulary;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022 Improving your leading and following skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are you ready to discover or rediscover your love of swing dance? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Register here: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/l.facebook.com\/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Flindyjazz.dancecloud.com%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1O9fXZIyBABkl_4dS2sJbCdoCP5hB6z7GWt37jH6YgsLi7R9hYolrI5Us&amp;h=AT1YAf7m2D5CByyweNv4oKXeBm3hGJOkRb1i__DrKYhFXU38ijSEfIfNzjB8AnJQIg4FEznvMSYujhf-MMSwYrpznZ1RuD-B-TvHMW_f-sCYdgL-xhuk82BTMD4gmaRPr2DFboM&amp;__tn__=-UK-R&amp;c[0]=AT2HKleltXz-fd56s92DEs6E1ofxMO7Yq3H1DRSbz8HapVeHhkUI7g4ytrfvXTMLICTLbqlRa9Y9Bvyif18V1NLbkO4kPQET4LZgHUySdc4So_TAKBYAuhJK9NiFn2kDI-KBTPcLuS0MiNHdK1WHjbLTgGKf7ncAGZ8Gax5W856gAIlNhmGxe32uitCJ_zraPI_XI8vbi-E6k5H17N4\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/lindyjazz.dancecloud.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On 17 July 2021, four months into the pandemic and the hottest day of the year, we came together to film ourselves dancing 3 classic swing dance routines; Shim Sham, Tranky Doo, and The Big Apple. Before the pandemic, we\u2019d usually try to learn routines like The Big Apple or Tranky Doo in one day [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-746","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=746"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":771,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/746\/revisions\/771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lindy-jazz.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}