Lindy By The Sea FAQ



FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. I'm new to Swing Dancing. Where do I start?
2. How do I sign up for classes?
3. Where are classes held?
4. How much are classes?
5. When does the next Series begin?
6. How long is a Series?
7. What if I can't make the first lesson of a Series?
8. What if I can't make all four lessons in the Series?
9. Does my Series Pass expire?
10. Do I need a partner?
11. Do I get a discount if I have a partner?
12. Will a dance partner help me get better faster?
13. Who are the teachers?
14. What is taught in your classes?
15. Should I repeat a course?
16. What's the difference between Parts "A" and "B" of Levels 1 & 2?
17. Is my Series Pass transferable? Refundable?
18. Do I have to pre-register for classes?
19. Do you offer student and senior discounts?
20. What if I can't afford classes?
21. Do you rotate partners in class?
22. What should I wear to class?
23. What shoes should I wear to class?
24. Where do you get your shoes?
25. Do you have some suggestions on music for swing dancing?
26. What is musicality?
27. What if I have more questions?

ANSWERS

1. I'm new to Swing Dancing. Where do I start?
You will start with the Level 1 course in our Thursday night beginner program. We start from scratch there. Whether you have no dance background, or you've been dabbling with swing, this course will give you a solid foundation and a great start to your Lindy Hop journey.

2. How do I sign up for classes?
You can sign up from our Registration Page. REGISTER NOW.

3. Where are classes held?
Classes are held in El Segundo, California. Click here for LOCATION & DIRECTIONS.

4. How much are classes?:
Pricing information is on our Registration Page. Click on the PRICES tab.

5. When does the next Series begin?
New Series generally start every four weeks. You will find START DATES on our Registration Page.

6. How long is a Series?
Each Series lasts four consecutive weeks (except for holidays.) There are several courses offered in each Series. Each course consists of 4 weekly lessons.

7. What if I can't make the first lesson of a Series?
It's okay to begin a course on the second week.

8. What if I can't make all four lessons in the Series?
If you purchase a Series Pass and need to miss a night, make-up lessons will be honored for the same course(s) during another Series.

9. Does my Series Pass expire?
Series Passes are good until activated. Once activated, they are only good for the student and 4-week series recorded on the card. Make-up lessons will be honored (space permitting) for missed lessons up to 6 months from the end of the original Series.

10. Do I need to have a partner for class?
Definitely not. Come on your own or with friends. We rotate dance partners continually throughout each lesson so that you get an opportunity to dance with as many people as possible.

11. Do I get a discount if I have a partner?
No, there are no partner discounts.

12. Will a dance partner help me get better faster?
If you are planning on going professional, as a performer or teacher, sure, find a partner. Otherwise, we feel that swing dancing is at heart a social dance. As such, we feel that your lead and follow skills improve by dancing with many different people. Conversely, having only one person to dance with actually impairs your social dancing skills as the two of you gradually learn each others habits (good and bad) and patterns. We advocate having a "practice buddy", i.e. someone whom you can review steps and moves with after a lesson, but not an exclusive partner. (We do feel that you should only perform aerials with a person with whom you have studied and practiced with extensively, making them effectively your "aerials partner". Under no circumstances should you attempt aerials with someone whom you have not studied and practiced with before.) Take advantage of the thrill of leading and following with loads of different people. It's surprising, exciting, and makes you a better dancer to boot!

13. Who are the teachers?
Rusty Frank is the founder of Lindy By The Sea, and has been teaching Lindy Hop for 26 years.
Ron Campbell currently runs Lindy By The Sea, and has been teaching Lindy Hop for 21 years.
Ted Stanley joined the team in 2014, and has been teaching Lindy Hop for 10 years.

14. What is taught in your classes?
Click HERE for our entire curriculum.

15. Should I repeat a course?
Absolutely! In fact, our Thursday night beginner program is designed so that students take the Level 1 and Level 2 courses AT LEAST twice (more on that below.) We understand that no student takes away every move and every technique that is taught in a lesson the first time around. This is why we offer a significant discount on additional courses for our Series Pass. We want to encourage you to repeat a course at least once AND move on. Most of our students repeat courses as they move on and are really pleased with the results. You will be too!

16. What's the difference between Parts "A" and "B" of Levels 1 & 2?
We designed our Thursday night beginner program to help our students develop really solid fundimentals. To do this, our Level 1 and Level 2 curriculum are divided to span two Series (a "Part A" and "Part B".) These "A" and "B" Series each reinforce the same basic fundamentals while also providing completely new material in each course. It DOES NOT MATTER which Series ("A" or "B") you start your Level 1 and Level 2 learning with.

17. Is my Series Pass transferable? Refundable?
Series Pass sales are final and non-refundable. Series Passes are transferable and good until activated. Once activated, they are only good for the student and 4-week series recorded on the card. Make-Up Lessons will be honored (space permitting) if you need to miss a lesson. Make-Up Lessons have no monetary value and can not be refunded nor used to register for a new Series Pass.

18. Do I have to pre-register for classes?
No, you don't. Drop-ins are welcome (if space if available,) but you do save money on Series Pass prices with early registration!
You can REGISTER NOW from our Registration Page.

If you decide to drop-in, make sure you show up 10-15 minutes early so that we can get you registered before class starts.

19. Do you offer student and senior discounts?
We do! Pricing information is on our Registration Page. Click on the PRICES tab.

20
Lost your job? Took a pay cut? Is money tight? Don't give up dance. We'll work something out...

Every now and again, regular dancers just disappear from our scene and we wonder why. Did they get move? Did they start a new job? Or, did they suffer some financial hit? If it's economics, please know that you are always welcome at Lindy By The Sea. Don't disappear, reach out!

We know that dancing really helps in hard times. So don't be a stranger! We're happy to work with you to keep dancing in your life.

21. Do you rotate partners in class?
Yes, we always rotate partners in our group classes. Swing dancing is at heart a social dance. As such, we feel that your lead and follow skills improve by dancing with many different people. Conversely, having only one person to dance with actually impairs your social dancing skills as the two of you gradually learn each others habits (good and bad) and patterns. Take advantage of the thrill of leading and following with loads of different people. It's surprising, exciting, and makes you a better dancer!

If, for any reason, you MUST dance only with a specific partner, consider scheduling PRIVATE LESSONS with us.

22. What should I wear to class?
Basically, just wear comfortable clothes and closed-toe shoes that stay on your feet. (Sneakers are fine.) Please freshen up before class and come in clean clothes. Here are some more specifics:

    If you know you sweat, please layer. Wear an undershirt beneath a loose-fitting shirt/top. If you are staying for more than one lesson, and sweat a lot, bring an extra shirt or two.

    Wear tops/shirts with sleeves (nothing sleeveless) and full coverage on the back. When you perspire, you don't want to get it all over your dance partner.

    For those with long hair, have your hair off your back. But, NO HIGH PONYTAILS! They will hit your partner in the face when you turn or spin. Low ponytails are okay.

    Do not wear any big jewelry that can get caught on, scratch, or hit your partner. This includes large rings, bracelets, necklaces, belt buckles, earrings, piercings, etc. When in doubt, leave it at home. It's best to wear minimal to no jewelry at all. Do not wear ANYTHING that ties around your waist.

    Ready for something with a vintage / retro look? Check out Unique Vintage in Burbank. They even have an online store!

23. What shoes should I wear to class?
You can wear any comfortable, closed-toe shoes that stay on your feet to class. Sneakers are just fine when starting out. Most swing dancers will eventually prefer to have shoes with suede or leather soles specifically for dancing.

24. Where do you get your shoes?
We've got some great places right here in L.A.: WorldTone and Re-mix.
Dancestore.com also has fabulous swing dance shoes that have a very retro look.

Some dancers prefer to take regular shoes shoes (Vans, Keds, Converse, Bucks, etc.) and "Chrome" them. What does that mean? It means taking your shoes into a shoe repair store and asking to have the shoes "Chrome Sueded". This is a type of suede, used by dancers, that will be glued to the bottom of the soles. Chroming your shoes will make it much easier for you to dance on all types of wood floors. You'll be able to move, spin, and slide with ease. Many dancers feel like they really turn a corner in their dancing after they chrome their first pair of shoes. You can pretty much go to any shoe repair, but if they don't know what "Chroming" means, find another one. You also shouldn't pay more than $40-50 for this.

Rusty takes her shoes to Miriacle Instant Shoe Repair in Playa Del Rey.
Ron takes his shoes to Aviation Shoe Repair in Manhattan Beach.

25. Do you have some suggestions on music for swing dancing?
People are always asking us about starting a colleciton of swing music. There are wonderful "Swing Music" compilations available on just about every platform these days. That's a great place to start. Find some favorite bands and start digging in from there. Don't be shy about asking us for our favorite songs / bands. They change regularly but we're always happy to offer up suggestions.

Here is the list of songs, along with their Beats Per Minute (BPM), that we use on Thursday nights at Lindy by the Sea. We have chosen these songs because of their strong beats and fun arrangements. These are great for beginners.
CLICK HERE FOR THE LIST

Have a Spotify account? We also put our Thursday night music list on Spotify for you HERE.

26. What is Musicality?
Simply put, Musicality is connecting your dancing to the structure, tempo, and "energy" of the song you're dancing to. It's a complex topic but here's a simple introduction...

There are the two major musical structures used in the composition of most of the music that we swing dancers dance to! We call them:

A Swing Chorus uses the structure AABA, which you can read all about HERE.

A Blues Chorus is an easy structure to get right away, as it consists of just six 8-counts. What makes a Blues Chorus so recognizeable is the often accompanying Boogie Woogie beat (or "eight-to-the-bar" bassline) and the "Turn Around" (a melodic change on the fifth 8-count.) The "Turn Around" helps a lead find the "Big 1" for the next Chorus. One of the most famous Blues songs we dance to is "Jump Jive And Wail"... hum a few bars, and you'll see!

Song writers were, of course, free to use any structure they wished, and sometimes (though rarely) they mixed structure in a song. The most well known example of this is "In The Mood". The song starts in the Blues structure, then moves to the Swing structure, and then back and forth several more times. Give it a listen and see if you can find the changes.

The "Big One." Of course, we all know that each Phrase begins with a count of one. So to clarify matters, Ron Campbell coined the term The "Big One" to describe the beginning of a new Chorus in a song. In a Blues Chorus, The "Big One" would be count one of the first 8-count in a new Chorus. In a Swing Chorus, The "Big One" would be the count one of the first Phrase (AABA) in a new Chorus.

Get it? If not, come to our Level 2 class for a musicality refresher or sign up for a PRIVATE LESSON with Ron or Rusty.

27. What if I have more questions?
EMAIL us or give us a call at (310) 943-9663.