Tracks, Classes, etc
A note from the organizers
Pirate Swing is about having fun while social dancing.
Just like the social dance floor, each class will contain dancers with varied skills and experience.
This is a good thing, because learning with each other in class will help you have better dances with each other later.
That said, in order to keep class sizes reasonable and to let dancers work with others of roughly similar ability,
we do ask you to sort yourselves into tracks. We want you to be in the track that will provide the best possible learning experience.
If you choose a track you aren't prepared for
you'll find yourself struggling to keep up, which will disrupt the learning experience for you and the other students in the class.
Pirate Swing has four main tracks, each of which includes classes in both Lindy Hop and Blues.
The "Swabbing", "Dunking" and "Flogging" tracks are open to all students who fit the appropriate descriptions,
while the "Keelhauling" track requires an audition.
Horizons - *This track is not for the complete beginner!*
The Horizons track is a small, focused track for those newer to lindy hop who are ready to spend a whole weekend learning more about this lindy and blues stuff. To be in the Horizons track you should have encountered a swingout before, but it's ok if you haven't done too many of them or if they're a little bumpy.
The track will be limited to 20 students so you'll get lots of personal attention. All Horizons track classes will be with Mike 'The Girl' Legett and Dan Rosenthal, which means you'll get all weekend to work with their particular philosophy of dance. The track also includes Horizons 'Office Hours,' during which you can practice with each other and ask Mike and Dan your most burning question.
You are already familiar with lindy hop and you routinely dance at your local dances.
You are comfortable with
this standard repertoire.
You may have minimal or no blues dancing experience.
You understand that a solid foundation is a truly important step to becoming a good dancer. You want to
continue to work on your fundamentals, and bolster your repertoire.
You travel regularly to lindy hop and blues workshops and to dances outside of your own dance scene. If this is
one of your first workshops outside of your local dance scene, THIS TRACK IS NOT FOR YOU!
Your fundamentals are strong, and you enjoy re-visiting them to deepen your understanding. You no longer
dance with a set pattern, and you understand the importance of "frame" and "connection".
You want to improve your connection to both your partner and the music.
You want to improve the quality of your movement in addition to learning new moves.
You are a seasoned dancer with a solid foundation and expansive repertoire in both Blues and Lindy Hop. When
you are exposed to new material, you get the general idea quickly and just need some time to try it out.
You want to be creative and expressive on the dance floor.
You want classes that will be challenging, but you understand that sometimes the challenge is in the details.
You're ok with spending a whole class deepening your understanding of one move; you're also ok with classes that move quickly and leave you
knowing several moves that you can't quite execute yet.
This track requires an audition. Auditions will be held on Saturday morning. For more about the audition process,
see our FAQ.
Solo Sailing - Mike Faltesek
Friday - 8:00pm to 9:00pm
Whether you are new to solo jazz, or an experienced student, this class is for you.
Mike Faltesek will cover some basic solo jazz steps, as well as how to spike
things up for those of you with more experience. A perfect way to kick off Pirate Swing! This class is available to all levels.
Buried Treasure - Joe and Campbell
Saturday - 8:00pm to 9:00pm
Joe and Campbell will share the buried treasure with everyone, with a focus
on fun blues moves for the social floor. This class is for the Intermediate track and above.
Stranded on Tango Island - Avik and Patricia
Sunday - 1:15pm to 2:15pm
In the midst of our travels through Blues and Lindy Hop, we got caught in a
strong current which took us to Tango Island. Here we discovered two wonderful
Tango instructors to give you a crash course in some popular tango
movements. No tango experience is required. This class is for the Intermediate track and above.
Office hours is by far one of the favorite parts of Pirate Swing, both for the students AND the teachers.
This is your chance to spend five minutes working personally with one of our teachers.
If you arrive early, you may even be able to see more than one!
Please come prepared with a question so teachers can more easily provide useful feedback.
Music will be playing throughout office hours, and we encourage everyone to practice with each other when not asking questions.
You must contact us directly to schedule private lessons.
Contacting teachers will not guarantee you a spot!
We're keeping the teachers busy and we want them well-rested enough to dance with everyone at the evening dances, so we have very few slots for private lessons.
For rates and availability, please e-mail jaz@jazdance.com.
Horizons Track
Mike and Dan will provide awesome lindy and blues goodness, carefully tailored for the participants in this delightfully small group.
All Other Tracks
Each set of teachers has been given a topic, and their classes in each track will focus on that topic.
The Beatings Will Continue Until Swingouts Improve
Peter and Naomi will whip your swingouts into shape, and go on to explore other movements in Lindy Hop.
The Weird Zone
Mike and Casey explore "The Weird Zone," sharing ideas for things to do when the music is somewhere in between lindy and blues.
Deep Blue Blues
Joe and Campbell bring the blues. That is all.
The beatings will continue until swingouts improve
