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.
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.
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Photos: Azwan Mahzan
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