FAQ

Beginner

Welcome to the world of Swing! Never danced Swing before or just took a few basic steps before? Then this ist the level for you! On this level, we work on the basics of the Lindy Hop like triple and single steps, lead and follow, and the most important moves for dancing at socials. Here is a playlist with songs especially suitable for beginners.

Required to join: None

Beginner +

Your feet start to twitch and move when you hear Swing music and you already made the first steps on the dance floor? In Improver workshops, the basics will get a deeper focus to make the experience on the Social dancefloor even better. We will work more on 8count moves and take some first glances at Musicality.

Required to join: Your are comfortably dancing triple steps, change of place and send out.

Intermediate

Still haven’t had enough of Lindy Hop? In this workshop we deepen and enhance the techniques you are already familiar with – lead and follow, flow, connection – but classic moves will also be an important part.

Required to join: Your are comfortably dancing triple steps, change of place, send out and swing out.

Intermediate +

If the love for Swing is becoming noticable, then this ist the level for you! On this level, moves are becoming more challenging, variations and improvisations are only waiting to be discovered!

Required to join: You have moderate experience in social dancing. Your are comfortably dancing change of place, send out, swing out and circle and you know some basic charleston.

Focus Tracks

Lindy Hop became a part of your life and the Socials are fixed dates in your calendar? On this level, we are going deep into the world of Lindy Hop: Improvisation, musicality, moves, dancing to different speeds…choose whatever Focus tracks suits your learning needs the best.

Required to join: You go to socials on a regular basis. Your are comfortably dancing swing out, circles, tuck turns, sugar pushes, charleston basic and hand to hand.

Every class lasts 75 minutes. All all Lindy Hop workshop series take place on 6 dates. For all other classes and workshops (Shag, Balboa, etc.) can be found in their respective description in workshops.

An audition is a process, where teachers can assess, if the aspired level is the right one for the dancer. Auditions can take on many forms, e.g. dancing in a group with changing partners. The teachers observe the dancers to assess their skills. For the Lindy Distillery, the audition will ensure that everyone can keep up with the pace and contents of the track.

We compiled for our workshop attendants well suited playlists for the various swing dances:

• Lindy Hop
• Collegiate Shag
• Balboa

What does Lead and Follow mean?

In partnered dancing, two persons move together to the music. In contact with each other (most commonly by touch) a connection is established, which then allows to create dance moves. Thus, there are two roles in dancing: Lead & Follow

• Lead: In this role, one person initiates the movement into different dance steps. Using a repertoire of techniques allows the Lead to communicate the move to the Follow, and tempo, movement and direction are being established.
• Follow: In this role, the lead’s set of directions are being turned into a move. The Follows have room for interpretation and styling in executing a move. The more experience Follows and Lead have, the better they can create the dance together.

Why do I have to register as a Lead/Follow?

Both roles are being danced by all genders nowadays (and back then as well). If you register for a workshop, we kindly ask you to tell us which role you wish to learn. There is usually no need to register with a partner – unless otherwise noted in the worksop’s description – because we change dance partners during the course of an workshop.
We aim to provide a good balance between the number of Leads and Follows, thus, if there is a far larger interest in one role than in the other one, we will put further applicants for that role on a waiting list. Once the balance between Leads & Follows has been adjusted again, applicants on the waiting lists will be contacted about the opportunity to join in.
Registrations as a couple or rather two persons registering as Lead & Follow are exempt from this waiting list and can register anytime, as long as there is room in the workshop.

Please use our registration form to sign up for one of our current workshops. The Lindy Cats do not require to bring a partner. You only need to tell us your desired role. Payment is in cash at the location.

We offer workshops continuously. You may find all current dates on our workshop page.

Our workshops happen at different locations. You can find us usually at the BRG Kepler in the Tango-Baustelle or in the Tanzhaus Graz.

We also rent regularly other well connected locations in Graz. You can find the location for your workshop in its respective flyer.

Ideal are flat, comfortable shoes which provide good support for your feet. Sneakers like Keds or Toms are very popular. The sole should be smooth made from firm rubber/plastics or chrome leather. Polished smooth leather soles are usually too slippery, while soft rubber soles are generally too sticky.

Ideally, you will bring the following items to the workshops:

• Comfortable shoes
• Comfortable clothes
• Something to drink
• A shirt to change
• A towel to dry your face and neck

Graz offers almost weekly possibilities to dance to Swing music. A brief overview of the current dates in and around Graz offers our calendar. If you want to be informed monthly abound the current events, subscribe to our newsletter.

Swing dance festivals take place regularly all over the world. An overview of the huge pool of festival in Europe and beyond provides SwingPlanIt. Regularly, festivals offer discounts for registration with a partner. You may find the Facebook group Swing In Graz or BuddyMe helpful in finding your partner for the festival.