(From Yelp...) I always had this seemingly wild fantasy of learning swing dancing, seeing as how I'm into old movies and music and that era in general, but I never figured it would be something I'd have much hope of being good at, seeing as how I'm a bit bookish and well... not someone you would expect to do much dancing. Nevertheless, on a somewhat daring whim I decided to give it a shot so I signed up with no partner for the Swing I class at Big City Swing.

It's now two and a half months later and I've completed two group classes, a private lesson, and one workshop, and I'm signed up for a third group class. I go dancing at least twice a week now, and I spend way more time than I should watching videos of competitions on YouTube. I can't wait to get to the more advanced dances like the Lindy Hop and the Charleston.

The instruction at Big City Swing is great; the usual Monday Swing I teachers (Jenna and Lou) in particular have a really fun dynamic -- the teaching is great but there are also a lot of amusing jokes and the like to help you remember stuff (like "Barbie Arms" which someone else here on Yelp mentioned). I took a private lesson that was really helpful, too, and some of the stuff we're learning in the Swing II classes is just plain cool.

But what really got me hooked was the people at BCS and the local Swing & Lindy community to which this studio is central. I just moved to Chicago recently and had not had the best luck meeting people, but this is the best way I've found so far. It's a small enough crowd that you see and get to know a lot of the same people at dances, but that you pretty frequently come across new people too. I'm already having to balance my time between different groups at Fizz (a bar that does swing on Monday nights, closely connected with the Big City Swing crew) because I know more people in this than I can mingle with or dance with in one night.

It seems like swing dancing (or maybe just the core members of this particular community, hard to say which -- maybe both) attracts a sweet crowd with comparatively few bad apples, and of course the dancing is fun and you're always learning new tricks.

If you want to get hooked into this scene or just learn some classic American dances BCS is a good place to get introduced. You could either give First Fridays a try (first friday of the month they have a beginning lesson and a dance for $10), or just sign up for Swing I cold like I did. Just be warned that once you start learning it's a bit addictive... you might get caught practicing your triple steps in the supermarket like some kind of jitterbugging junkie.

(From Yelp...) Something has to be pretty darn good to keep me coming back for more... Big City Swing's classes certainly fit the mold!

It will one year next month that I have been taking classes at BCS. So far I have covered Swing I thru III and now I'm making my way through the Lindy Hop and Blues Swing series of classes.

The teachers are all great, although I must say that Jenna is by far my favorite. Her teaching style keeps things interesting and her overall goofiness makes you just want to hug her.

I've been lucky enough to take classes with fun people who I now consider friends. It's a great way to broaden your social circle without going to a bar.

Soooo...

Take a class.
Make friends.
Get fit. (FYI - Blues Swing makes my quads burn)
Look cool on the dance floor. (You'll be a star at weddings!)

Don't be afraid... Come out and dance!