Swing Culture
Acknowledgments
Swing Dance Luxembourg acknowledges that dances of the Swing era are descended from African and African-American roots and founded on a deep and complicated history.
We are committed to being respectful of the culture, to learn about it and to talk about it. We do not hold any truth in this, but we hope to trigger your interest in the history and the culture of Swing dances and to raise your awareness.
Cultural talk sessions
We would like to invite you to join us for some talks about Swing culture and history. These sessions will be held from time to time on a Monday before our regular social dance, from 20h00-20h45 approximately. Please sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook in order to be kept informed about these sessions.
Our first cultural talk on Monday February 6th, 2023 at Altrimenti. We invited you to read « Moving to Higher Ground » by Wynton Marsalis, the book we have discussed in a small book club during the Fall 2022 semester. While we will not reiterate all the book club sessions, this book will offer ground for our discussion on different topics related to Swing music and dance! We were happy to see many of you there.
Our second cultural talk took place on Monday March 20th, 2023 at Altrimenti. On this occasion, we discussed the book « I Don’t Like the Blues: Race, Place, and the Backbeat of Black Life » by Brian B. Foster (2020).
Other sessions have followed and we are happy to offer these sessions, prepared and held by volunteers of our association.
If you want to share your knowledge about a specific topic in this context with the community, drop us a line: info [@] swingdance [.] lu
Please note that our our safe environment guidelines are valid for our cultural talks.
Reading recommendations
As a first read into the world of Swing literature, we recommend:
- Frankie Manning, « Ambassador of Lindy Hop »
- Norma Miller, « Swingin’ at the Savoy »
- Albert Murray, « Stomping the Blues »
- Wynton Marsalis, « Moving to Higher Ground »
- Brian B. Foster, « I Don’t Like the Blues: Race, Place, and the Backbeat of Black Life »
You will surely find more books out there! Please share your best picks with us 🙏
If you want to dig further into the current discussions in the swing scene, culture and history, we also recommend you to follow the activities of Collective Voices for Change.