DISCLAIMER: Please make sure you review your SOLO dancing skills along with your experience in partner dancing, since the level you register for will include both styles of dancing. If you’d like to ensure the best possible learning experience for yourself and everyone else in your group, please be honest in your self-assessment and remember: in the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few. (S. Suzuki)

Intermediate*

You’ve been taking regular Lindy Hop classes for at least 12 months and are enthusiastic about learning more! You feel comfortable mixing basic rhythms, such as groove walks, charleston steps, triple steps etc., and can incorporate a few swing-out variations to your dancing. You alternate structures of 6 and 8 counts fluently and have integrated them in your social dancing. You dance to different mid tempos with ease. You would like to improve your dance vocabulary and connection with your partner, but still feel the need to improve your overall dancing technique. In addition, you know some basic solo jazz rhythms and steps.

Intermediate/Advanced*

You’ve been taking regular Lindy Hop classes for at least 18 months and have attended a few local workshops. It’s possible this isn’t your first international dance event. You feel comfortable playing with different rhythms, such as groove walks, charleston steps, kick steps, triple steps etc, and have no trouble staying on beat. You are able to add simple swing-out variations to your dancing. You can dance to 120 – 180 bpm music with ease. 

You’ve been dancing Authentic Jazz and Solo Charleston for 12 months (or a tad less, but are catching on quickly due to your background in partner swing dancing and your familiarity with jazz and swing music from the 1930s, ’40s and 50s). You know most of the basic steps from the Shim Sham routine, such as stomps, Tacky Annie, pushes, half breaks, breaks, boogie back, boogie forward etc.

Intermediate/Advanced Plus*

You’ve been dancing Lindy Hop for a minimum of 24 months. You dance regularly: you take weekly classes, attend social dance evenings, and, on occasion, you participate in local and international workshops. You can dance freely to various tempos: 110 – 200 bpm incorporating different rhythms, movement patterns and other improvisational elements into your dancing. You love dancing to live music and are putting more and more emphasis on improvisation, musicality and partner connection. You’ve probably tried a few other swing dances, like Balboa, Blues or Shag and are still hungry for new ideas and technical knowledge that may improve your dancing skills. 

You know the most popular classic solo jazz routines, including the Shim Sham, the Tranky Doo, and possibly even the Big Apple. You feel comfortable with your body movement and don’t need a dance partner to hit the dancefloor during a swing dance party. You’re looking for new rhythmic challenges and would like to improve your solo jazz improvisational skills.

Advanced*

You can’t imagine your life without Lindy Hop. You have been dancing at an advanced level for a long time, often participating in national and international workshops and festivals, and even competing. You may even teach locally. You quickly master and assimilate new steps and variations since you have a broad background in swing dancing. You can lead or follow extremely well and can easily establish a nice connection and clear two-way communication with any partner you dance with. You want to focus on movement skills and improvisation, as well as improve on musicality and communication.  On the one hand, you feel very experienced and are looking for new challenges, but on the other, you love working on your basics (swing-outs 4life 😉 ). 

You simply rock at Authentic Jazz and you’re looking for new inspiration and fresh ideas. Solo jam circles seem to drag you in and it’s possible you’ve even entered a solo jazz competition or two. At the same time feel like you’d love to work on improving your rhythm, movement quality and body awareness.

Note: We love your enthusiasm! However, we simply ADORE your realism 😉 Please make sure you sign up for the level that truly fits your dancing experience, and help us create a quality class experience for each and every one of you!

*Auditions: All participants registered for the Intermediate/Advanced, Intermediate/Advanced Plus and Advanced track will have a mandatory audition on Friday, before the start of the first workshop (exact time and location TBA). The purpose of this is to help us confirm you have indeed signed up for a level suitable for you and possibly suggest a change of class level, should your evaluators (the teachers at the festival) find it necessary to move you to a higher or lower level.