Getting in the swing of things
2019-10-23 10:19:11 China Daily Mo Hong'e
International swing dancers are invited to perform at the annual Swingtime Ball in Beijing, which also conducts workshops and master classes for local dancers. (Photo provided to China Daily)
A century-old jazz-dance genre and subculture from the United States has continued to grow in popularity in China over the past decade.
The heat didn't stop the swing. Indeed, the 30 C temperatures at dusk in the small town outside of Bangkok didn't slow down the hundreds of swing dancers, including a group of around 40 people from Beijing.
They still grooved to live brass performances on a street illuminated with strand lights near a Buddhist stupa.
This sweaty scene took place at a weekend camp for swing-dance enthusiasts from around the world.
Attendees participated in workshops during the day and enjoyed outdoor dancing at night.
They were totally immersed in the subculture that developed with the jazz-dance genre that evolved in the United States in the 1920s.
"The evening glow in the warm night sky fell over the bustling street and sacred stupa," recalls Beijinger Shi Danqing, who started learning swing dance two years ago.
"People from different countries danced to the same rhythm. It created a fusion of diversity and harmony. I could feel a strong connection among us.
"It was the most romantic moment I've ever experienced."
Shi hopes to relive some of that magic during Beijing's Swingtime Ball on Nov 7.
It claims to be the Chinese mainland's largest swing event. About 600 fans of the genre from home and abroad will enjoy a series of activities, including workshops and competitions.
People enjoy dancing at the Swingtime Ball in 2017, initiated by Zeng Weiming (third from left, front row), one of China's first swing dancers. (Photo provided to China Daily)
The roughly century-old US music genre's subculture started gaining a foothold in China about a decade ago.
"About 80 people attended the first Swingtime Ball in 2012," founder Zeng Weiming says.
"The number exceeded 500 last year."
The 35-year-old was one of China's first swing dancers.
He earned a living by playing saxophone with a Beijing jazz orchestra in 2007.
The group's Chinese American leader, Adam Lee, persuaded Zeng to take up the old-fashioned dance style as a pastime.
Lee went on to teach others in Beijing.
After a year, Zeng decided to seek master classes and camps in countries where the genre is popular.
He wouldn't have been able to attend if not for the support of the swing community, who crowdfunded his trips to South Korea and Sweden in the hope that he would teach them when he returned.
"The spirit of camaraderie that permeates through the swing community makes me feel a strong sense of responsibility to help the swing scene develop in China by teaching local fans the moves I learned overseas," Zeng says.
He rented a ballroom in the capital's Haidian district to offer swing classes in 2012. He and his partner mostly taught friends, initially.
Two years later, he bought a basement space to open Cat's Corner swing studio, "a cozy home for swing dancers in Beijing".
"It's a place for us to practice and rehearse, deliver classes and hold parties to tighten the bonds of the community," Zeng says.
The community has continued to grow, and there are now seven places in Beijing regularly visited by about 2,000 dancers, according to Zeng's "conservative" estimate.
He attributes the dance style's increasing popularity to the country's economic development.
Wealthier Chinese are more willing and able to afford to learn foreign dance styles and the cultures associated with them, he believes.
"Most importantly, swing enables relaxed face-to-face-and even heart-to-heart-interactions in an age where young people spend too much time on social media," Zeng says.
"It may also help people to overcome their social fears."
Zeng believes swing dance, especially the lindy-hop couples' style, is more than just about movement. It's also about feeling and interpreting the music, self-expression and responding to a partner's timing and style.
Shi agrees. He learned international-style ballroom dancing for 12 years from the age of 6, and started competing in several domestic dance sport contests at a young age.
Compared to international ballroom dancing that often requires learners to obtain a higher degree of physical vigor, Shi explains, swing dance features impromptu moves that are likely to release him of daily pressures.
"I've found greater release in swing dance's impromptu motions," Shi says.
Some swing dancers have even made a career out of the pastime.
Beijinger Yu Yifan has gone from being a beginner to become a full-time teacher over the past two years.
The 32-year-old Beijinger found a good banking job as suggested by his parents after graduating from university in Australia and returning to his hometown.
But he didn't know what he really wanted to do.
"As a bank account manager, I felt like an outsider," Yu recalls.
"I felt bored a lot when I had to frequently mingle with clients after work."
He found a sense of belonging when he joined a class at Cat's Corner in 2017.
"I had to dance in sync with different partners," he says.
(Photo provided to China Daily)
"We created shapes with our choreography. We talked about the footwork.
"It brought me back to happy university memories."
Yu then felt a visceral need to dance, although he wasn't really a natural.
He regularly watched online videos, attended classes at different studios and participated in balls.
Zeng eventually persuaded him to become a full-time teacher.
Beijinger Yi Ran likewise left an accounting job to work at Zeng's studio.
She was a vocal and bassist in a rock band in college, but it was disbanded before her graduation, which left her longing for fun.
Yi Ran, 25, an accountant-turned-dancer, has discovered a lifelong passion for swing dance. (Photo provided to China Daily)
She came across a swing dance showcase at a vintage-garment market in 2014, where she was lured by the expressive art form that engaged the lead dancer and partner, while bouncing, spinning and lifting them through the world of jazz music.
She started attending swing classes soon after that. "The one hour I spent in the ballroom for each swing class was a precious break for me out of routine work," Yi says.
The 25-year-old Capital University of Economics and Business graduate applied in 2015 to work as an administrative officer to assist with brand promotion and student enrollment, and became a dance instructor a year later.
She has continued digging deeper into swing culture.
Yi has collected online reference materials and visited overseas destinations for swing enthusiasts, such as Sweden, France and the US.
She has met such foreign veterans as dancers who worked with legendary US lindy hopper, Frankie Manning.
She also met her boyfriend at one event.
Eventually, one of her dance partners became her romantic partner, in another sign that swing is finding and creating a new romantic appeal across China, in every sense.
