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For three years, I have been in China teaching Swing Dancing. Now I'm wandering yet again...
2006-02-26
The Singapore Swing Dance Convention
Hello Swing Fans-
This weekend (right now) is the annual Swing Dance Convention in Singapore. Three people from our group have gone: Chris & Ramulas (my two Shanghainese proteges) and Orchid (my business manager). I, on the other hand, am staying here. I am in a money pinch, as usual, and I think I had better pay for rent than travel. or so the logic goes. But now that I am hearing reports from Singapore, I'm feeling left out.
Chris and Ramulas are my two star pupils. I have been training Ramulas for almost two years now. Chris, about 10 months, but she's caught on faster than anyone I've seen as a first-time dancer. They went to Singapore, where they are meeting with the dancers from around the world. I gave them all of my Shanghai Swings t-shirts and bowling shirts so that they could make sure that everyone knows they are from Shanghai! I heard a report today that they did a performance (impromptu) and it was a big hit. The two of them do the dancing very well, but there's also a fun, playful nature which is a pleasure to watch. I myself often catch Ramulas doing moves that I have never attempted. "Where'd you learn that?" I'll ask him. "I download the video..." he says with a smile.
So apparently they were a big hit. People coming up to them after the dance, asking who they are and to say hello. I'm really proud. Oddly enough, I'm also sad, perhaps because I'm not there, or perhaps because I'm not the one who is a hit. But I'm getting older now. The enthusiasm I felt for swing when I first got out to Shanghai over two years ago has mellowed quite a bit. But I can see it in those two when they dance. It's something very different, something which I have not felt before in any of my projects. I feel now like somehow I have the beginning of a legacy. Like somehow there's a purpose behind all of this seemingly wasted time I've spent here doing lesson after lesson and promotion after promotion.
Anyhow, the world Lindy Hop community is now beginning to realize there is swing in China, and Shanghai specifically, and it's damn good, too!
If I can muster the strength, energy, and money, I'm going to go ahead with the Shanghai Lindy Exchange, which would be a dance convention of our own. One year from now, in the Spring of 2007. If I accomplish this, I can say my work as the pioneer of Swing in China has come to fruition.
Peace,
J
This weekend (right now) is the annual Swing Dance Convention in Singapore. Three people from our group have gone: Chris & Ramulas (my two Shanghainese proteges) and Orchid (my business manager). I, on the other hand, am staying here. I am in a money pinch, as usual, and I think I had better pay for rent than travel. or so the logic goes. But now that I am hearing reports from Singapore, I'm feeling left out.
Chris and Ramulas are my two star pupils. I have been training Ramulas for almost two years now. Chris, about 10 months, but she's caught on faster than anyone I've seen as a first-time dancer. They went to Singapore, where they are meeting with the dancers from around the world. I gave them all of my Shanghai Swings t-shirts and bowling shirts so that they could make sure that everyone knows they are from Shanghai! I heard a report today that they did a performance (impromptu) and it was a big hit. The two of them do the dancing very well, but there's also a fun, playful nature which is a pleasure to watch. I myself often catch Ramulas doing moves that I have never attempted. "Where'd you learn that?" I'll ask him. "I download the video..." he says with a smile.
So apparently they were a big hit. People coming up to them after the dance, asking who they are and to say hello. I'm really proud. Oddly enough, I'm also sad, perhaps because I'm not there, or perhaps because I'm not the one who is a hit. But I'm getting older now. The enthusiasm I felt for swing when I first got out to Shanghai over two years ago has mellowed quite a bit. But I can see it in those two when they dance. It's something very different, something which I have not felt before in any of my projects. I feel now like somehow I have the beginning of a legacy. Like somehow there's a purpose behind all of this seemingly wasted time I've spent here doing lesson after lesson and promotion after promotion.
Anyhow, the world Lindy Hop community is now beginning to realize there is swing in China, and Shanghai specifically, and it's damn good, too!
If I can muster the strength, energy, and money, I'm going to go ahead with the Shanghai Lindy Exchange, which would be a dance convention of our own. One year from now, in the Spring of 2007. If I accomplish this, I can say my work as the pioneer of Swing in China has come to fruition.
Peace,
J
