So, Who Swings Here?

Tarzan.

JonMC - You are LeBron James. And I don't want to be you. I want to be better than you.

I do! I took lessons in college (also took Latin dancing lessons) and my steady and I always talk about taking lessons again with each other. One of my favorite things ever is to go dancing with him.

It's hard to find lessons in Houston though because most people there teach Texas swing.

I have a strict no-dancing policy. If you see me dancing in public, I've had too much to drink and should be sent home.

Mind you, it'd be different if I could learn this dance (complete with the mask and the outfit).

This guy was a contractor on my team for six months. He came by dancing so naturally, it was a struggle for him to sit still. He would practice steps while walking or just waiting for the elevator. I've known a few dancers but nobody that was that plugged in all the time.

My ex boyfriend was a swing dancer and a total fucking tool. Cheated on me with his dancing partner. Still hope they dance their way off a cliff.

Sorry, no dancing here.

I'm with BoPo. I have a friend who swing dances, and while he is a sweetheart, his constant insistence that he's going to teach us all to swing dance makes me mostly want to punch him in the face.

Sorry, buddy :P

My mom liked to dance, and taught me to "jitterbug," which y'all might call Lindy, or Lindy Hop, when I was about 7, so she'd have someone to dance with, to her records, when my Dad didn't want to dance, or wasn't home. Later, I learned some West Coast moves my Dad picked up when he was sowing his oats in San Diego and L.A. in the late 40s. My folks were great dancers, and kept at it, into their early 40s.

My opportunities for swing dancing independent of my folks haven't been great, but I have taught some West Coast moves to a few girls, 'cause I like the music, and was trying to get others to listen to it, too. But my Swing days on any dance floor are pretty much over, with two artificial hip joints, bad knees, and a need to stay mobile, so as to be able to take care of myself and family. Occasionally, just for grins, I break out 30 seconds of my stiff, slow Lindy for the dog, and he gets all excited, and thinks we're having a jumping/barking contest. He's a pretty stupid dog, but he's enthusiastic.

So my advice is to Swing while you can, and have a blast. Tempus fugit, and happy feet get old, too soon.

Just for you, PaulSC, I'm going to name my swing style the Stupid Dog Swing.

I took swing lessons in Boston, and really enjoyed it. But now I'm in California, where everyone does West Coast Swing, which confuses the hell out of me. I should eventually learn it, but right now I just do a little triple-step triple-step back-and on the sidelines and hope that an Easterner will come rescue me from myself.

I'm a belly dancer, which is worse.