The names of swing dances (mostly) demystified

The attempt of this blog is to bring a little clarity to the various naming conventions around dances of...

What is this thing, called swing?

Picture is Big Jay McNeely at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles in 1951, by Bob Willoughby. It was...

Why does Lindy Hop have 6 AND 8 count patterns?

Why does Lindy Hop have 6 AND 8 count patterns? I’ve taught a fair amount of classes in my...

An Intro to Teaching Dance

Most dancers that acquire a decent level of skill will be called upon at some point to teach a...

Why Scenes Sometimes Succeed and Sometimes Fail

The collective feeling of a dance community can be magical, or frustrating. Most people who’ve danced for a few...
Dance Musings, Dance Teaching
The names of swing dances (mostly) demystified
Dance Musings, Music
What is this thing, called swing?
Dance Musings, Dance Teaching, Music
Why does Lindy Hop have 6 AND 8 count patterns?
Dance Teaching
An Intro to Teaching Dance
Dance Musings, Dance Teaching
Why Scenes Sometimes Succeed and Sometimes Fail
About me

My name is Daniel Newsome

I've been loving swing and jazz since 1996. I've run teams, travelled, competed, taught, DJ'ed and performed all over the world. Welcome to my blog on teaching, running teams, dancing, and all things jazz and swing dance related. I hope you enjoy reading, and feel free to join in the discussion.

Dance Teams

A Blog Series

If you're just forming a team or have had one for years, this advice comes from 15+ years of coaching.

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Fun

How to build a home dance studio

Having a dance floor in your home is probably one of the best things you can do for your dancing.  To be able to go into your studio for 20-30 minutes and work something out when the inspiration strikes is…

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Fun

Swing dance in the 90’s and early 2000’s

(header photo of Indigo Swing and Brian Setzer, by John Ambrosino of City Rat Photo) I recently read a little pop culture missive about the swing revival in the 90s.  While the article had some good information, it didn’t capture (for…

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