Swingout New Hampshire 2007 (Aug 29 - Sept 3)

And they danced...

Four and a half days of dancing. Two nights of all night dancing. A real landing spot for east coast swing dance enthusiasts. So why was I there? I had been to other swing camps in the past, e.g. Swingout Catalina, but this swing camp had the best of two worlds - it did a good job of recreating a camp like feeling (down to the pink bug juice and mediocre food) and it had excellent instructors, good dance bands, and friendly dancers.

I approached this camp with excitement and a small bit of dread. I hadn’t been doing much dancing over the last year. Too much surfing, I guess (actually, LSAT prep). Even though I had been there last year, I still didn’t know many people. Additionally, I knew I would go through a variety of emotions during the day. It was the Lindy Hop Camp emotional rollercoaster. In each class, they would teach us a new routine. In the beginning of each routine, I would feel confident, but as the routine progressed, I would nor feel as confident. If a follower commented on my good lead, I would be happy. Often times, a follower would leave with a scowl on their face. Almost always, this meant that the follower was not happy with their own technique. But at the end of a class, getting 10 scowls, one begins to feel pretty low. Also, a follower would offer advice or direction. In most cases, this advice was well intentioned and appreciated. But sometimes, even though the advice was correct, I might feel hurt or burned by the suggestion. Such is the peaks and valleys of the Lindy Hop Camp emotional rollercoaster.

I was in Cabin 10 B - Boystown - Our Cabin was the only one to have a cyclist on its sign. The rest of the cabins had...I don't even remember. I think the cabin next to mine had a bully on its sign. What is that all about?

So we ate, danced, ate, danced, swam or played tennis, ate, danced, and slept, though not necessarily in that order. On the last night, we presented a routine that we had learned. I was in the group of dancers called the Chipmunks (Group 3A), just below the mean. Our practice dance can be seen here. I'm in the back corner somewhere.

Here's the routine that we actually performed. I'm barely visible in the far right hand side of the picture. Look for the male-pattern baldheaded cyclist - here.