Welcome to the Stockbridge Swingout!

Roughly one pandemic ago, the Edinburgh Swing Dance Society hosted two weekenders a year (Swing into Swing and the Winter Swing Weekend). As our society strengthens, we're looking to move back into the weekender business. To that end, we present The Stockbridge Swingout, a weekend of Swing dancing lessons, tasters and socials in Stockbridge, Edinburgh!

Guest Teachers

This weekender will be taught by the eminent Bic & Simone Graham of The Lindy Club in Southampton working together with the redoubtable Allie Butler & Jass McNeill of the Glasgow Lindy Hoppers. These four will be sharing our two taught streams through the weekend, together with teaching taster classes of their own!

Bic & Simone Graham

Bic & Simone met on a crowded dance floor in 2008, they found a common passion for Lindy Hop and have never stopped dancing since. Their love for the dance has taken them to many places such as New York, China, Sweden, Barcelona and Bali to experience the various local scenes around the world. 2012 saw a succession of first place positions in competitions all over the UK and 1st and 2nd place at major French camps.

Bic & Simone have a reputation for their focus on technique in their teaching. On the social dance floor they are known for their fluid dance style and commitment to both each other and the music. They teach these techniques using relevant exercises, shapes and sequences of lindy hop moves.

Allie Butler & Jass NcNeill

Allie & Jass have been dancing together since 2016 and it’s a huge source of joy to them both. Their dance journey started with Lindy Hop and then continued on to Collegiate Shag, and they are passionate about both dances.

When teaching Allie and Jass love to create a warm and informal environment, in which dialogue and collaboration is welcome. They like to emphasise connection and energy in a partnership and encourage students to feel confident to find their own style and feel of the dance, while maintaining the importance of fundamental technique.

Live Music

Our Saturday Social will enjoy live music provided by The Joys of Swing, a veteran local swing band that ESDS has benefitted from many times in the past. The Joys of Swing provide proper swinging jazz from a hand-picked group of musicians who think along the same lines and play as a team. Great for swing dancing and easy on the ear.

The Joys of Swing will be ably supported by ESDS's volunteer DJs, who will provide music for the band breaks on Saturday, and set lists for the Friday social.

Teaching Tracks

We're providing two taught tracks in The Stockbridge Swingout, pitched to best service ESDS's current community of dancers. We hope that dancers from across Edinburgh and further afield can appreciate them too!

Our Improvers / Intermediate stream is aimed at dancers who have moved into ESDS's Level 2 classes within academic year 24/25, while our Intermediate / Advanced stream is aimed at dancers who have advanced beyond ESDS's current Level 2 standard.

Improvers / Intermediate

Dancers at this level will be able to dance socially in a fluid manner, rarely if ever breaking rhythm, but may still feel nervous or intimidated on the social dancefloor. They'll be restricted to a limited set of moves, and may have difficulty leading / following more complex sequences. Dancers are able to dance the following socially even if they don't always feel smooth:

• A 4x8-count sequence featuring a Swing Out, two Lindy Turns and a Circle,
• A 4x6-count sequence featuring a Tuck Turn, two pass-bys, and a six-count collect,
• Mixing and matching any 6-count or 8-count section of the above.

Dancers should additionally have awareness of floorcraft, be able to notice breaks (even if they can't make good use of them yet) and know one or two solo jazz steps.

Intermediate / Advanced

Dancers at this level have the experience, versatility and skills to dance with anyone smoothly at most tempos. You'll understand musical phrasing and a wide variety of lead/follow techniques. In addition to meeting the requirements of the Improvers / Intermediate level, dancers at this level are able to dance the following socially:

• Texas Tommy,
• Hand-to-hand and Tandem Charleston,
• Several Swing Out variations,
• Several pass-by variations,
• Improvisation during breaks & breakaway,
• Leader turns.

Dancers should additionally be able to produce at least one classic stroll on demand (such as the Shim Sham), and be able to match their dancing not just to the rhythm, but to the phrasing and structure of the music (e.g. aligning movement with 4- or 8-bar phrases)