Princeton Swing Dance Club

Spring semester 2007:

Current lesson series: charleston and fast swing!
Learn to dance to fun up-tempo music! No prior experience required. If you were in the lindy hop series, you'll see how charleston naturally integrates into your lindy. If you weren't, you'll have a blast anyway. The five-lesson series starts April 4.

Best of all, the lessons are free for students (thanks to sponsorship from the GSG Events Board)!

This semester we are meeting in the Forbes College Black Box Theater. Lessons are from 9 to 10 pm, followed by a social with DJed music.

Come and bring your friends. No prior dance experience of any sort required.

To be kept updated on our plans and swing events in the area, email us and we'll subscribe you to our (low-traffic) mailing list.
Not sure what kind of dancing we do?  Here is a link to a YouTube playlist with a bunch of clips.  There's much more out there -- explore around!

Swing is a raw, improvisational street dance that was created in late 1920s in the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem.   It  evolved from the likes of foxtrot and charleston, but quickly surpassed them in popularity.  Lindy Hop, as the dance came to be called, took the country by the storm.  Over the years, Lindy evolved into a multitude of styles that fit all sorts of music genres.  Sexy slow blues and funky West Coast swing are just two examples.  Lindy Hop is still quite popular; vibrant Lindy scenes exist in just about every US city and in many cities across the world. 

We love swing because of its flexibility and its focus on partnering and connection.  While ballroom dance moves are codified, in swing anything goes.  Modern swing dancers invent moves constantly.   While ballroom dancers tend to focus on what looks good, swing dancers focus on what feels good.  (And if it feels good, chances are it looks good, too!)  Above all, we value play and fun.  A national instructor used to say, "If you don't fall on your ass at least once a night, you haven't tried anything cool!"  (Of course, you can be silly or you can be classy - your choice!)  Finally, the music is fun!  At swing dances you will hear gems from the big bands of the past, legendary jazz vocalists.  More modern R&B songs  make frequent appearances, and you might often hear tracks from Madonna, Outkast, Weird Al, and if you've bought the DJ enough drinks, a lounge version of Baby Got Back.

See you on the dance floor!

The mission of the Princeton Swing Club is to promote social swing dancing at Princeton University and in the Princeton community.

For questions, or to join our mailing list, please e-mail swing@princeton.edu.

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Last updated
3 Apr 2007 by LVA