The Sydney Lindy Exchange was on this weekend, which also included the Australian Swing Dance Championships. I only attended the social nights but there were classes as well as late night events. People from all over the country were there (including New Zealand!). It hasn’t been on since 2012, but its come back and was pretty spectacular. The first night was at St Peters Church – SCEGGS. Gorgeous venue. It held one of my first ever events – the Jack and Jill. Nervous as anything, didn’t get into the finals, nor did I find the fun in it at the time. I was so nervous I couldn’t even hear the beat of the music. I eventually got there after about 8 bars. The other events that night were the Balboa Open, Solo Jazz and Team events.
The second night was at Petersham Town Hall and that held the Strictly Lindy events (Minor, Juniors, Apprentice (less than 2 years) and Strictly). I competed in the Apprentice which was interesting. I was again, very nervous, but eventually got comfortable and relaxed, and just danced. There was definitely no dancing with the audience as such, but rather we were just dancing together. Yes there were only 2 couples, meaning a guaranteed place (second in our instance =) ), but also that there was a gigantic floor with only 2 couples on it. There is a video, which I wish to never watch again, as it is VERY cringey, but I’ve included a screenshot of it.
It was a great weekend, and a good experience to have gone through it. Everyone was very encouraging. I definitely haven’t been put off doing it every again, but I might need to actually rehearse for it, or at least prepare properly. Clearly there is a long way to go yet for my dancing. I think the Melbourne and Canberra guys were absolutely fantastic in all the events.
