A jazz band belts out swing tunes and the dance floor comes alive, with couples spinning, twirling and kicking out sassy Lindy Hop and Charleston moves.
A scene from the 1940s?
Nope – just a Wednesday night at Lauderdale Tennis Club in Fort Lauderdale, where Swing Out South Florida has its twice-monthly swing dance socials.
Swing Out South Florida is a volunteer-run nonprofit that brings together dancers of all skill levels to learn and have fun cutting a rug to classic swing dances popular in the 1930s and ‘40s, says Brad Rogers, who started dancing with Swing Out in 2014. A current board member, Rogers helps DJ at socials and teaches classes. Bands are brought in for special events.
Dance styles seen include the Lindy Hop, an energetic dance that traces its roots to 1928 African-American communities in Harlem, the fancy-kicking Charleston, and the Balboa, which is danced chest-to-chest and evolved from the 1930s when dance halls had crowded floors and limited space.
In addition to its social dances at the Lauderdale Tennis Club, Swing Out offers weekly classes at Funk & Flow Studio, 1215 NE 17th Court, in Fort Lauderdale.
“We want dance to be accessible to everybody and anybody, so absolutely no experience is required. Before every social dance, we teach a ‘Taster Class,’ so anybody can come, learn a few moves and be able to dance with anybody else that shows up, regardless of experience, and no partner is required,” says Rogers. “We actually rotate and change partners often, so it’s a very fun and social group and a great way to meet new people and make new friends.”
Rogers, a pharmacist at Memorial Regional Hospital who lives in Hollywood, says all types of people come, from teens to retirees, and from every profession imaginable — including artists, teachers, engineers, university professors, and scientists.
Swing dance has traditionally been a way to bring people together, he says. Even during times of segregation, the ballrooms hosting swing dance were the most integrated places, where you could find anybody dancing with anybody, according to Rogers.
“The spirit of the dance has definitely been that, bringing really different people together,” he says.
Weekly classes focus on Lindy Hop basic steps and turns, and basic swing rhythms, enough to get you going, says Rogers.
Who’s Dancing
Rishona Cann, an artist and art teacher at Sandpiper Shores Elementary School in Boca Raton and Bailey Contemporary Arts Center in Pompano Beach, started dancing with Swing Out in 2012. Cann and some other dancers took the reins of the group in 2013, and has been on the board ever since. She handles event planning, including decorations and refreshments, among other duties.
“Dance brings out the best part of my personality,” she says. “It’s like an entryway into a portal that regular people don’t know about, an underground happiness that I never knew existed.”
Madison Hevia, a homeschooled high school junior from Miami Lakes, started dancing with Swing Out three years ago at 14. She sews her own vintage style clothing from the 1920s and 1940s for dances.
“In a weird way, ‘The Three Stooges’ got me into it because it got me into vintage fashion and swing dancing,” says Hevia, who binge watched the 1922 vaudeville series when she was home during the pandemic.
She found the Swing Out group online and decided to try it, her first venture into dancing. Hevia says it doesn’t bother her being the youngest in the room.
“It doesn’t feel weird to me. At first, I was thinking, they probably don’t want me here, I’m the only kid. I was only 14,” she says. “But no, everyone was super nice.”
Now, she can’t imagine her life without dance.
“Not only is it super fun, it’s also great exercise. I’ve also met so many nice people there, and everywhere I go dancing,” says Hevia. “Another thing is the music. While I do love classic swing music – Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, etc., I just love the ‘90s swing revival stuff. You’ve got Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Royal Crown Revue, The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, etc. Music is such a big part of my life and I’m grateful that swing has led me to one of my favorite genres.”
It was the music — particularly jazz — that led Rogers to the swing dance floor.
“I was a trumpet player in a jazz band growing up, and when I moved to South Florida, I wanted to learn partner dances,” says Rogers, who tried salsa, but found it difficult. “But with swing, I already identified with it, because I was used to playing it in high school.”
Dressing The Part
For most classes and social dances, dancers dress in comfortable clothes and flat-soled shoes like Keds or Converse that slide well on wooden dance floors. But for special occasions, like bands or a theme night, the vintage threads come out, with, depending on the occasion, women in 1920s’ flapper girl dresses or 1940s’ swing dresses and men in newsboy caps, fedoras, vintage vests, bow ties and suspenders.
Cann says she loves thrifting to collect vintage finds. “I think I’m one of the most excited people, besides Madison, about dressing up because it just adds to the fun,” she says. “When I walk into a room and every single person is dressed up in their best outfits, I love it.”
Some people love dancing in pants and a T-shirt, which is fine, Cann says, whatever makes you comfortable. “But for me, that new red dress and that new headpiece just transforms me,” she says. “I think it transforms the experience, too.”
Though having a partner is not required for socials or classes, Jenny Todd of Fort Lauderdale and her husband, Terence Carmichael Jr., have found a shared activity they both enjoy in dance. Todd, a product designer for Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, and Carmichael, a robotic engineer with Think Surgical, are regulars at Swing Out events.
“Terence has been swing dancing for a number of years, and at first, it wasn’t something I was really interested in. I would go with him to dances every once in a while,” says Todd. The turning point was when the two began doing choreographed dances with a group.
“I started liking it a bit more. Then I started taking the Tuesday night classes,” she says. “Once I started to feel a little more comfortable, learning the moves and feeling like I knew what I was doing, that’s when I really started dancing, a little more than a year now.”
Todd says she enjoys the social aspect.
“You get to dance and know people a different way, because in swing dance, you switch partners often,” she says. “You get to know people you’d probably not normally interact with on a day-to-day basis.”
Swing Out events sometimes have drop-ins from swing dancers traveling from other parts.
“There’s a huge international community of swing dancers, from as far as Japan, through the U.S and all other regions of the world,” says Rogers. “Just about any time a swing dancer goes and visits a new city, the first thing they usually tell me they do is Google where and when the swing dance is.”
Cann says when new people come to a social or class, they’re usually looking for a social experience.
“If they stay with it, it’s because they realize how close people get,” she says. “It’s a very kind, loving community.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT :
Swing Out South Florida’s social swing dances and “Taster Class” of basic moves
WHEN:
7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Taster Class, and 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. social dance, Wednesday, Jan. 22, and every other Wednesday
(check website for specific dates)
WHERE:
Lauderdale Tennis Club, 600 Tennis Club Drive, Fort Lauderdale
TICKETS:
$10 adults, and $6 students with ID, at the door
INFORMATION:
Swing Out South Florida
WHAT :
Swing Out South Florida classes
WHEN:
7:45 to 8:45 p.m. on Tuesdays
(check website for specific dates)
WHERE:
Funk & Flow Studio, 1215 NE 17th Court, Fort Lauderdale
TICKETS:
$25 drop-in or $80 for a per month pass
INFORMATION:
Swing Out South Florida
