So one thing you may not know about me (Tina) is that I love, love, LOVE African Dance! So I was super excited when Nii Kwarty Owoo turned up in Leeds and started running weekly classes! His classes are brilliant and I want more people to know about them so I’ve organised a weekend workshop for him in November and I’m really hoping especially to see lots of Lindy Hoppers there.
If you’re wondering, “What does West African Dance have to do with Lindy Hop”, the answer is “Basically everything!” Lindy hop is an African-American dance that grew out of earlier dance styles (Charleston, cake walk, tap, etc) that would have been heavily influenced by the traditional dances that came over from West Africa. This blog post does a much better job than I would of breaking down the influences and similarities that you might notice.
For me, personally I find that African Dance feels vibrant and joyful in the same way that lindy hop does and it uses the whole body in ways that feel strong and natural. Its also similarly geeky and challenging. I’ve taken classes all over the world but still struggle to hear the beat of the music correctly and have to work really hard to figure out how to make some movements look right–I love the challenge!
I hope you can join us in November, either to explore the roots of lindy hop or just to try out a new dance style. There will also be a drumming workshop and Ghanaian lunch but you can pick and choose which bits of the day interest you most.
West African Dance & Drumming Workshop
24th November 2018
at Chapel Allerton Methodist Centre, LS7 4NB
10:00-11:30 Drumming Workshop
12:00-13:30 Dance Workshop
13:30-14:30 Lunch Break (Homemade Ghanaian food!)
14:30-16:00 Dance Workshop
Please book your ticket in advance as it may sell out. You can book from the facebook event in the link above or go directly to the booking form
Swing Dance Leeds 