Quoted from "Capt Morgan"
Sadly, this is what most of the world thinks swing is all about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmWY1qKyyRU

That video totally wins Yehoodi today. The Charleston bit is especially great.

Like I said, the Jerk & Twirl.

That was truly dreadful. I'm so horrified I don't think I can show that on the Talk Show. Maybe as a cautionary tale.

The basic step that they're doing actually looks a lot like jive... which works great to the rock & roll music they're dancing to. Too bad the aerials are so terrifying.

Quoted from "Capt Morgan"
Sadly, this is what most of the world thinks swing is all about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmWY1qKyyRU

Oh noes! They stole my latest competition routine! Bastards!!!

Quoted from "Eve"

Quoted from "Lowkey_Lindy_George"
Regarding the very first post and video: It seems to me that the music is pretty much secondary (if needed at all) for these folks. Which begs the question: When does dancing end and "just doin stuff while music happens to be playin'" begins?

If you ain't dancin' to the music, you ain't lindy hoppin'. I think in general you can dance whenever you like to whatever you want, but the act of lindy hopping requires dancing to the music.

I don't normally come to their defense, but in fairness. They do not claim to lindyhop or even swing dance at all. All of the songs they dance to are country songs and they claim to dance country western. If you listen to what they say, they call what they are doing their high speed polka or the aggie jitterbug (which is their own dance completely...you can tell if someone learned how to dance from them). While they have obviously borrowed from swing, they don't claim they are swing dancing...but rather doing their own dance that has some swing elements in it.

If you ask them about swing dancing, they will send you over to annother group on campus that actually does lindyhop.

Quoted from "Capt Morgan"
The latest dance craze!!! FOUR COUNT SWING!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXpMueyaQ5o FYI, don't take any lessons at the College of San Mateo.

Looks more like bastardized Hustle to me. Even the music is good for hustle. Someone should just teach them the hustle already so that they don't give swing such a bad name (literally).

I agree with Asane, the rhythm they're dancing to looks like hustle. One of our local ballroom studios teaches "swing hustle", they also call WCS "western swing". That video could be swing hustle, avoiding any images of leisure suits and disco music the term hustle conjures up.

I disagree with rikomatic, it's way more sedate than Waltz. Perhaps they're just dancing in their sleep, Ben Stein must be their dance teacher ... Bueller, ... Bueller, ...

Quoted from "Mak"
And some think this is what swing dancing is: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_iQzBGUjLO4

Now it's really starting to bother me that these people all know way more aerials than I do, and everyone at work who finds out I am a swing dancer thinks I must suck because I don't "fly in the air" >.<

I'm glad my first real exposure to swing was lindy hop (thank you Alfred swing club!). Having athritic shoulders from years of lyme disease, I probably would have given up very quickly from being jerked around like that, if not died from a cracked skull in my klutzyness.

Well it's better then this..

Me: Do you know what swing dancing is? Friend: Yeah. It's where you throw the girl around like a rag doll. Me: I'd rather not... :roll: :roll: :roll:

That video makes me want to cry. :cry:

Was the music in the background dubbed in later? Because their movement had nothing to do with it in the least.

So from a lot of these videos, everyone seems to be doing the pretzel... Now the only place I ever learned the pretzel is in a country dance hall, and NEVER associated it with swing dancing. Now the question is, who is going around teaching the pretzel as swing dancing?

Many instructors refuse to teach the pretzel simply because many people lack the timing to do the move correctly and smoothly.

So that means people learn the pretzel from

A. Each other B. Online videos

Neither is good enough as somebody watching you and telling you if you're doing it correctly, and painlessly for the follow. Which also brings the point of why I believe that many people dislike the pretzel, nobody wants to take the chance of hurting the follow or the lead, after the follow knees the lead.

Quoted from "redbean"
Besides dangerous and unsolicited aerials, the & pretzel has to be the single most evil thing ever to infiltrate the realm of "the swing". :evil:

Oh, I heartily disagree. The windmill and the peekaboo share the crown of evilest "the swing" move evar.

And the cross arms behind the head slide down and swivel thingy. That move should be executed. Preferably, electric chair while being eaten by hungry rabid rats.