Weird. I agree with YellowSchoolBus. :D

As long as you're not creepy well, Frankie and Dawn are still dancing, so you have at least another 30 years.

I'm 38 and know exactly what you're talking about. We have a VERY young scene here in Austin. I've had this discussion with a number of the older guys (and women) in our scene.

Basically: Be careful in your dealings with the young ones, and just remind yourself that "you're here to dance" and you should be fine.

Another thing you can do is to find the creepy guy (every scene has one or more) and watch him.

Then don't do that. :roll:

As for very concrete advice watch what moves you do with the young follows. I won't do the "hip catch" with anyone I don't know well. And it's a stupid joke, but I warn follows "I'm going to do the 'cheesy guy move' just a warning so you don't think I'm trying anything."

Oh, and be very careful of compliments, what sounds like a nice compliment from you can sound pretty skeezy to her.

Finally, if you've been dancing with someone weekly for 6 months you can probably joke around a lot more I have buddies who are 18 who I flirt with because we're been dancing together for years but you have to be careful with that since their friends may not realize it and they could think it's creepy.

Check out the threads on creepy leads and follows.

I'll be 45 next month and the ladies aren't running away from me yet.

OK, well let's just say I can still run faster than they can.

One of the things I really liked when I first watched people doing this kind of dancing was the way I saw people of very different ages dancing together and enjoying it. It didn't matter if you were old or young or cute or overweight or downright unattractive. All they seemed to care about was dancing.

I can't really speak for the young girls, since I'm over 40 myself, but the 2 leads I dance with regularly who are in their 40's, both dance with younger women and I'm quite sure no one has a problem with it. One is very skilled, and makes a point of dancing with new dancers of whatever age and helping them along. This guy seems, to me, to have a special kind of talent. He can do anything, including leads with his hand on your hip, or putting you in "close embrace", without making you feel like he's coming on to you. (This carries over outside of dancing - he can also give really warm affectionate hugs that somehow say "I like you; I'm happy to see you; and BTW, I'm not the least bit attracted to you.") The other lead is newer and less skilled, but he's always careful to lead things that don't involve too much, or questionable kinds of physical contact, and he has to know you pretty well before trying even the most innocuous sort of dip.

I've also danced with guys that were both 20 years older than me, and 15 years younger than me who kind of gave me the creeeps. I've never been sure whether they were really creepy or just inept, but I don't dance with them any more. Most of us will say yes to most requests to dance, so if you get a high percentage of no's (from women who aren't brand new), that could mean they think you're creepy.

Quoted from "LINDYLOVUR"
Ok...here is the question of the day....How old is too old to be a lindy hopper? I am 41 and sometimes i am feeling a bit old as many of the dancers or very young (which is a good thing) Does dancing with older dancer wierd any of you ladies out?

Careful who you call old!! :wink:

I don't know if I prefer dancing with the young cute guys, or the older ones who make me feel young! I don't think it's age that wierds a lady out ... I think it's creepiness, as has been said.

Keep brushing your teeth and smiling, wearing deodorant and a clean shirt, saying pleasant things to your dance partner, and I'd say you've got another, say, 60 years to go before you'll be "too" old!

I'll let you know about the Lindy Hop limiting age, and it probably will be pretty soon. I am 75, and I can't Lindy Hop steady for over 2 hours a night, and I should not dance four nights in a row.

I try not to do anything inappropriate, and yet have some fun, but any Lindy Hop leader my age can expect to be considered de-facto creepy by some young followers. That I cannot control, and so, it doesn't bother me. I seldom get turned down; so far, so good.

Allen Hall

Turned 53 in July. I have two regular dance pals that I dance with at least twice a week. You would have to add both of their ages together to roughly approximate mine.

I would love it if more women my own age were Lindy Hoppers, but there just aren't any; not around here anyway. If I wanted to dance with women my own age I would have to go the WCS/Ballroom route and folks, that ain't happenin'.

I have never had any age related problems with my dancing, be it Lindy Hop or Blues; and I didn't even start dancing until I was 46. I don't know if it is a testament to the tolerance of the young women of Kansas and Missouri, a low creep factor, or both.

So I say just do your best to help dispell the myth that older always equals creepy. You can't stop time, but you can work to leave a positive impression.

Spread the good news: www.kclindyhop.org

Too old:

Dancing keeps you young. Not only is Frankie still dancing at 93, but he looks at least twenty years younger and has had very few health problems aside from having to replace a few joints. My plan is to keep dancing 'til I die!

And I still remember dancing with Allen two years ago. I'm looking forward to doing so again next weekend! :D

I think Norma Miller is about 89 and Dawn Hampton is 80 or very close.

I have had the pleasure of driving Frankie and Norma to their hotels when they were in town.

Quoted from "mrmusichall"
I'll let you know about the Lindy Hop limiting age, and it probably will be pretty soon. I am 75, and I can't Lindy Hop steady for over 2 hours a night, and I should not dance four nights in a row.

I'm so sorry about that, Allen.

Well, at least we keep ya busy for that 2 hours. If you do find that limiting age for your body, well, at least we'll make sure it was fully booked till the last swingout!

Swing dancing is one of those dances you can keep doing as long as your body can handle it (ie until you're dead). I'd ease up on the arials as you get older though. I did an arial last year with a complete stranger and it was the scariest thing. I'm sticking to being groovy and sexy now instead of ruining my knees, back, neck, etc. with crazy moves that the younger dancers should be showing off.

Quoted from "bryn"
Dancing keeps you young. Not only is Frankie still dancing at 93, but he looks at least twenty years younger and has had very few health problems aside from having to replace a few joints. My plan is to keep dancing 'til I die! And I still remember dancing with Allen two years ago. I'm looking forward to doing so again next weekend! :D

Dancers do not age the same way as non-dancers because we are more physically active and socially engaged. Maybe you can grant me a dance at Showdown even though I will probably only be the second oldest guy in the room. As I implied in my last post I'm not looking for 1 position anytime soon because I LIKE Allen! So 2 is good. :)

(FYI - My friend in the Twin Cities told me that the Twin Cities Hot Club is very likely to play a gig at the late nite dance Saturday, and my friend will most likely play bass with them if they do. So if anyone wants to find me for any non-violent/non-snarky purposes, during the first band break I'll be the late-middle age guy in the black tux hanging out with the band.)

After that, I'll probably head out. We older guys need our sleep -- most of the time ... there's always a chance that insomnia will keep me at the late nite dance until the second band break. ;)

Quoted from "celia"
Until you can't move anymore. You are never too old!

What she said.