25 FEBRUARY 2010
I am an alcoholic!
Not really. Since news of my engagement though so many people have bought me a wine, beer, glass of champagne and it has really lovely. It does mean though that I have been a little hazy for two weeks and working in slow motion. Thank you though for the many well wishes from students and dancers around London. Has been really lovely.
Belonging to a swing dance community is amazing and we are all tied into quite an amazing network that goes something like this.
Many of you belong to a venue in terms of you learn, dance and enjoy friendships at this venue. You are part of a wider Swing Patrol collective around London (and Swing Patrol also has families in Melbourne, Sydney and Berlin).
Swing Patrol London are part of an amazing London scene that is more rich and diverse than people give it credit for. So many options, so many great people. When I first arrived in London people kept banging on about the rifts in London and warned me to stay out of it ( as the new kids on the block..) but I really think people have it wrong. Sure there may have been some rifts in years gone past but the swing groups around London are just super busy and work really hard to share this dance we all love. London is a big place (so much bigger than any city I have worked or lived in ) and it's so cool that many groups share the load of sharing the dance. We are still dominated by salsa and other cool dances in London. Swing is such an underground movement still (meaning we are all very cool.. ha ha..) I performed with Simon Selmon recently at a Ceroc event which was a lot of fun. Simon and I met last year to discuss the possibility of a joint event.. but it decided that we were simply too busy. We are really lucky to be part of a swing scene in one of THE most amazing cities in the world.. I feel honoured but every week I am a big tourist and have quite the love affair with London and it's rhythm.
London is part of the England swing scene and great swing communities exist now in almost every English city from Portsmouth, Devon, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Leeds, Durham, Sheffield, Norwich et c etc. The list is endless and I think that is amazing. It wasn't like this ten years ago when I was travelling through. This scene is closely connected to the British scene that all belongs to the European swing scene which has had such amazing growth. You will meet the Europeans at either LLX or the London Swing Festival. They are committed and good! A massive group from Denmark are coming to LSF..they are the best people!
Then of course we are all connected to the wider global swing scene that now sees swing dancing in Argentina, India and random places that people have introduced it to. The last workshop I did before I moved to London was in Christchurch New Zealand so I have been in contact with many swing dancing friends there this week with the horrific earth quake earlier this week. While all the dancers I know are safe and well, many have had some serious structural damage to their houses just like many Queensland swing dancers recently lost their houses in those crazy Biblical style floods. It's great to belong to community that is so vast, so caring and so passionate about its core elements... the dance and the music. The dancers in Queensland and now Christchurch have really felt the wider support of the world swing scene and as I said at the start... it is great to belong.
Well.. what a load of fluff. If you read my ramblings this week... I take my hat off to you!
Have a great week and all the best to Laura & James who kick off our West London venue this Tuesday.
Scottie
I am an alcoholic!
Not really. Since news of my engagement though so many people have bought me a wine, beer, glass of champagne and it has really lovely. It does mean though that I have been a little hazy for two weeks and working in slow motion. Thank you though for the many well wishes from students and dancers around London. Has been really lovely.
Belonging to a swing dance community is amazing and we are all tied into quite an amazing network that goes something like this.
Many of you belong to a venue in terms of you learn, dance and enjoy friendships at this venue. You are part of a wider Swing Patrol collective around London (and Swing Patrol also has families in Melbourne, Sydney and Berlin).
Swing Patrol London are part of an amazing London scene that is more rich and diverse than people give it credit for. So many options, so many great people. When I first arrived in London people kept banging on about the rifts in London and warned me to stay out of it ( as the new kids on the block..) but I really think people have it wrong. Sure there may have been some rifts in years gone past but the swing groups around London are just super busy and work really hard to share this dance we all love. London is a big place (so much bigger than any city I have worked or lived in ) and it's so cool that many groups share the load of sharing the dance. We are still dominated by salsa and other cool dances in London. Swing is such an underground movement still (meaning we are all very cool.. ha ha..) I performed with Simon Selmon recently at a Ceroc event which was a lot of fun. Simon and I met last year to discuss the possibility of a joint event.. but it decided that we were simply too busy. We are really lucky to be part of a swing scene in one of THE most amazing cities in the world.. I feel honoured but every week I am a big tourist and have quite the love affair with London and it's rhythm.
London is part of the England swing scene and great swing communities exist now in almost every English city from Portsmouth, Devon, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Leeds, Durham, Sheffield, Norwich et c etc. The list is endless and I think that is amazing. It wasn't like this ten years ago when I was travelling through. This scene is closely connected to the British scene that all belongs to the European swing scene which has had such amazing growth. You will meet the Europeans at either LLX or the London Swing Festival. They are committed and good! A massive group from Denmark are coming to LSF..they are the best people!
Then of course we are all connected to the wider global swing scene that now sees swing dancing in Argentina, India and random places that people have introduced it to. The last workshop I did before I moved to London was in Christchurch New Zealand so I have been in contact with many swing dancing friends there this week with the horrific earth quake earlier this week. While all the dancers I know are safe and well, many have had some serious structural damage to their houses just like many Queensland swing dancers recently lost their houses in those crazy Biblical style floods. It's great to belong to community that is so vast, so caring and so passionate about its core elements... the dance and the music. The dancers in Queensland and now Christchurch have really felt the wider support of the world swing scene and as I said at the start... it is great to belong.
Well.. what a load of fluff. If you read my ramblings this week... I take my hat off to you!
Have a great week and all the best to Laura & James who kick off our West London venue this Tuesday.
Scottie
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