Our Goals
- To build community by supporting and encouraging dancers of all levels who are challenging themselves, not glorifying winning but celebrating individuality and expression
- To honor the creators of Lindy Hop and Black street dance culture with their competitive spirit
- To host a fun night of social dancing – Lindy Hop is first and foremost a social dance
Our Values (and judging criteria)
- Solid foundations: Grounded movement, clear rhythm, authentic jazz groove, quality of movement, precision in execution
- Connection with your partner: Collaboration with your partner, clear leading and following through skillful physical connection
- Musicality: Dancing in time to the music, expressing and responding to the feel and structure of the music, the breaks or highlights, individual instruments, etc.
- Improvisation: Responding to opportunities that present themselves in the moment, in conjunction with the music and your partner
- Expression: Individual personal style, presentation, creativity
The Role of Competitions
This competition does not seek to find the “best” dancer. There is no such thing as the objectively “best” dancer; different dancers can be equally wonderful in different ways, judging is subjective, and it all depends on what happens in the moment on the night.
We do not run a competition as an opportunity to win and “be the best”. A competition is an opportunity to challenge yourself and commitment to practice and improvement.
A competitive spirit is very much a part of the history of the dance, and the culture of the Black American communities who created Lindy Hop. We all encourage and support each other’s bravery, and we all go home friends at the end of the day, proud of our hard work.
The social elements of West African dance, African American vernacular and authentic jazz dance
From Rooted Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetics and Equity in the Twenty-First Century (Lindsay Guarino, Carlos R. A Jones and Wendy Oliver)
Lindsay Guarino lists the social elements of West African dance and African American vernacular dances as:
- Community
- Individuality within the group (individual creativity)
- Vocal encouragement
- Lack of separation between performer and spectator
- Friendly challenges among the dancers
- Confrontational attitude (“in your face”)
- Joyousness
- Call and response
- Conversation between musicians and dancers
In the spirit of authentic jazz dance, we strive to bring these elements to Lindy Royale.
Support for the Black Lindy Hoppers Fund
Lindy Hop was created by Black American dancers in Harlem, New York. As a community across the world in Australia, and with very few members of the Black American community, we are conscious that we are guests in this dance. Tragically, many Black American people have been unable to participate in a dance that is their own birthright because of a lack of funds, an unwelcoming atmosphere or other reasons, while white people have often taken credit and claimed ownership of the dance. We will be making a donation to the Black Lindy Hoppers Fund to provide assistance to dancers, musicians and researchers of the African Diasporic Heritage.