Just in time for the holidays, SwingColumbus is offering themed apparel you can purchase for that special lindy hopper in your life. We have a number of designs across different types of clothing… see below for a sample.
By purchasing a piece of clothing, you’re showcasing your style, and supporting vintage swing dancing in Columbus, Ohio. Revenue goes to venue rentals, live bands, and hiring DJs and instructors.
Join us for three special two-hour crash courses on Thursdays this December. We hope you have a blast with Leveling up Your Lindy Hop, Intro to St. Louis Shag, and Fast Dancing Made Easy. Keep reading to learn more.
Leveling Up Your Lindy Hop
Photo by Siriomi Joy Photography
Join us December 5th for the first of these exciting courses, Leveling Up Your Lindy Hop!
Want to take your dancing to the next level? Feel like you’ve hit a rut in your learning? This class is a great opportunity to push yourself and elevate your dance ability. Students will work on technical drills, focus on partnership, and learn some cool new moves in the process.
$15 for one 2 hour crash course
$35 for all three December crash courses Cash or check made out to SwingColumbus, Inc at the door
Location
First UU Church 93 W Weisheimer Rd, Columbus, Ohio 43214
Parking
FREE in church parking lot
Introduction to St. Louis Shag
Photo by Siriomi Joy Photography
St. Louis Shag is an energetic swing dance that came out of St. Louis in the 1930s and evolved from Charleston! Come join us for an introductory crash course to learn this exciting Midwestern style of jitterbug. No partner or experience required!
$15 for one 2 hour crash course
$35 for all three December crash courses Cash or check made out to SwingColumbus, Inc at the door
Location
First UU Church 93 W Weisheimer Rd, Columbus, Ohio 43214
Parking
FREE in church parking lot
Fast Dancing Made Easy
Lindy Hop is a dance often associated with its fast and energetic movements, but dancing at higher tempos is an art form all itself. Learn tips and tricks to bring your dancing up to speed, and have fun doing it. No partner required, but some swing and Lindy Hop experience is recommended.
We have a jam packed weekend for you this December 6 – 7, including our black tie house party and SwingColumbus on a Saturday Night: Holiday Edition.
Black Tie Holiday House Party
The Christmas Formal is back!
Break out your fancy duds, tuxedo jackets and formal dresses! We’re used to seeing each other dressed to dance, but this is our chance to get fancy. We will be getting together to celebrate the holiday and enjoy each others’ company before we all are busy or heading out of town for the holidays.
There will be some refreshments and treats but you are encouraged to bring holiday-themed snacks, potluck, and beverages to enjoy the season.
Join in the holiday merry-making, we’ll have holiday tunes playing, so come get some Christmas Spirit.
Looking forward to seeing you all fancyfied!
We’ll add the directions to Shannon’s house as it gets closer to the party.
**For those of you that are allergic, this is a household with cats**
John Vermeulen Swing Orchestra will be playing on Swingin’ Tuesdays on November 26th for SwingColumbus Bands-giving! Come dance with us to some great vintage music!
No partner? No problem! We’ll rotate regularly in class so you have a chance to try what you’ve learned with many different dancers.
Friendly reminder to all dancers that for safety reasons, SwingColumbus does not permit aerials, also known as air steps or throwing one’s partner so their feet leave the ground. Watch out for each other on the dance floor.
We will be teaching a Crash Course of the Big Apple routine. Choreographed by Frankie Manning in 1937, this solo dance is filled with high energy Charleston movements and intricate jazz steps. Not only is it danced here in Columbus on occasion, but you are guaranteed to see it at most big swing dance events around the world! This routine, passed down through generations of Lindy hoppers has some of the most iconic and storied moves in Lindy Hop. You will learn moves like the shim sham, gaze afar, applejacks and breezy knees. Come learn a piece of our Lindy hop history.
This routine will be taught during two 2 hour sessions, meeting on November 14th and 21st from 6:45-8:45pm.
The Big Apple Routine on YouTube
First UU Church
93 W Weisheimer Rd
Columbus, Ohio 43214
ADMISSION
$50 General Admission
Cash or check made out to SwingColumbus, Inc at the door.
In partnership with the Central Ohio Hot Jazz Society, we’re offering a Charleston workshop on October 27th before the dance with live music from the Sunset Stomp Dixieland Jazz Band! This special workshop is only $20 and includes admission to the dance!
Photo by Miguel Acero III
Join us for an intermediate level partnered Charleston workshop from 11:00am-1:00pm with guest instructors Kerry Kapaku and Viktor Lillard. This workshop assumes some prior Charleston experience.
New to swing dancing or want to focus on your fundamentals? From 1:10pm-2:00, we’ll be having a newcomer partnered Charleston lesson with instructors Shannon Varner and Mark Calkins. This beginner lesson is free to all!
No partner? No problem! We’ll rotate regularly in class so you have a chance to try what you’ve learned with many different dancers.
Dress up in your scariest or silliest duds for our costume stroll at 9:30pm.
Haven’t danced before? No problem. A beginner East Coast Swing dance lesson is included with admission and will get you started to dance the rest of the night. No partner necessary.
Regular dancers, welcome our new friends who are joining us after reading the article about our event in the Columbus Dispatch…
Hulk Hogan can dance.
So can a Smurf, the rapper Macklemore and Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz.”
All have been spotted jiving to traditional jazz and swing music at past editions of the SwingColumbus Halloween party, which will take place on Tuesday this year. Dancing veterans and newcomers alike are encouraged to dress in costume, but never fear — lessons are available before the group dance for those without experience.
“For anyone who says they may have two left feet or is hesitant to try dancing for the first time, this is the perfect lesson to get started,” said Mark Calkins, music coordinator of SwingColumbus.
Although most swing dances focus on classics by big-band leaders such as Chick Webb and crooners such as Frank Sinatra, the Halloween dance will include out-of-genre selections such as “Monster Mash,” in addition to classics such as Sinatra’s “Witchcraft” and Lionel Hampton’s “Lavender Coffin.”
A costume stroll also is on the schedule for those who wish to strut their stuff.
Be prepared to switch dance partners often! We’re a social dance club and the best way to work on your social dancing is to learn how to connect with different dancer styles and levels of experience.
Time
7:30 – 10:15 PM
Admission
$5 General Public
Location
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church 404 S 3rd St, Columbus, OH 43215
Parking
FREE parking beside church and in United Way parking lot
Join us this Saturday, October 12th! SwingColumbus is bringing you a dance workshop so you can participate in a global dance project, “office hours” to receive casual and fun dance mentoring, and our Saturday evening dance party to a live band.
Learn the Trickeration in honor of Norma Miller
Take advantage of this rare opportunity to be part of the Global Trickeration Project in honor of Swing Queen Norma Miller, and to learn her famous and challenging routine, Trickeration!
The Trickeration routine is a challenging solo jazz routine. No partner required! Students are recommended to have some solo jazz experience. Expect to be challenged and to have the class move quickly.
Dancers from around the world are learning Norma’s “Trickeration” routine and submitting videos for a compilation and live performance on December 2nd at The International Lindy Hop Championships in Washington, D.C. The final edited video will be shown on Norma’s birthday Dec. 2nd at The International Lindy Hop Championships as well as performed live by all in attendance! Use this opportunity to share this routine with others in your community who don’t know it and help us spread Norma’s legacy and inspiring life around the world! Long live the Queen!
We regret to inform you that the 2019 Rocktober Lindy Hop Workshop weekend, scheduled on October 11 – 13, 2019, has been postponed to October 9 – 11, 2020 due to low registration.
In the 11 years that SwingColumbus organizers and volunteers have offered the Rocktober Workshop Weekend, we have never had to make this call. Those of you who have been a part of this event know how different and special it is and thus know the importance for this event to continue in the future. This was not an easy decision. We feel it is our responsibility to you, the attendees, to provide the intensive workshop weekend experience you expect.
Registered attendees have two options:
Keep your registration for the 2020 event, or
Ask for a cancellation and refund.
We sent an email to all registrants. Reply to the Rocktober email with “Keep” or “Refund” by Thursday 8 PM October 10, 2019.
We will process all responses by midnight Friday Oct 11, 2019. Registrations without responses by this time will be cancelled and refunded.
