Photo Essay: For the love of Lindy

It’s Friday night. The slouch that I am is voluntarily putting on a dress, doing my hair – heck, why not throw in a little eyeliner and lipstick. I’m grinning, giddy in anticipation. It’s Friday night, and it’s time to dance.


The dance that has me all atwitter is Lindy Hop, a large subset of the swing dance umbrella that originated in Harlem, USA, back in the 1920s-1930s. I’ll spare you the history lesson, but suffice to say that it’s now a worldwide phenomenon, with huge swing dance scenes proliferating in seemingly unlikely places like South Korea and Sweden. Malaysia still has a ways to go to build a similar foothold, but I’ve already fallen head over heels (literally at one point) for Lindy Hop.
But what is Lindy Hop? On the surface, it’s a rather simple dance. A triple step here, a tuck turn there, almost effortlessly controlled yet relaxed. But then I realized that none of it is choreographed, and that the real complexities of partner dances such as this are in body language and communication. The lead has to always be on point, know what moves he wants his follow to do and guides her in the right direction. The follow has to constantly be alert, listening to his signals as she translates what her lead wants into steps. This sort of improvisational communication is the best and most challenging part of Lindy Hop, and I learned to quickly trust my partner to keep me safe and in control.
 
It’s essentially jazz, but for my body.


Lindy KL is one of the two main groups contributing to the KL swing dancing scene (the other being pioneers KL Swing). Founders Joanne Khoo and Lionel Tan had learned swing dancing in Vietnam and USA respectively, and wanted to have a project of their own.  “I decided to pick it up just to have something in common with Lionel,” says Joanne candidly of her life-and-dance partner. When Lionel wanted to teach Lindy Hop in 2011, she supported him in the capacity of girlfriend/manager (as they all are) and helped scout for studios to partner with. Fast forward to 2014, and Lindy KL now has a cozy home in New Star Studio with regular socials on Friday nights, Lindy Hop classes for various levels, and the occasional event, like Swing Out At Publika.

It’s a dance, it’s a lifestyle, it’s the best fun I’ve had in years. It’s a culture full of courtesy. It’s a fabulous workout. It’s got probably the best dancing music of all genres. And best of all – it makes me happy. Everybody leaves the dance floor after Lindy Hop with silly exhausted grins, and I truly believe it’s because we alllove Lindy Hop. It’s hard not to. I’d gush more, but I’ll do you one better: show up for a Friday night social and experience it for yourself. 

 
“Swing dancing is the greatest fun there is. You feel like you are flying.” – Bill Nye.

Even more photos:
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(Toggle the Expand Gallery button on top right for the fullscreen experience)
 

 
Socials are on every Friday night at New Star Studio with a free taster class at 9pm. Check out www.lindykl.com and LindyKL on Facebook for updates.

 

Photos: Azwan Mahzan



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