Swing shift

Coral Wilson

Step, step, triple step.

“Swing her out like you mean it,” dance instructor Shesha Marvin

told his class.

It was the last session of a six-week Absolute Beginning Lindy Hop

class, and the class was just starting to catch on to the fast and

tricky footwork. A series of beginning to advanced level swing

classes are offered Sundays at the Avant Garde Ballroom in Newport

Beach.

Rock step, triple step, and clap your hands.

“Half of you got it, half of you did it. That’s OK,” he said.

After reviewing the basic routine, the pace quickened, and the

room filled with a combination of laughter and apologies between

sets.

The class started out a little more than a year ago with about 50

students, co-instructor Terra Marvin said. Now, about 150 students

from 13 to 80 years old come out on Sundays to dance.

The secret to swing dancing is just to have a good time, she said.

“It’s supposed to be spazzy, crazy, loud and obnoxious,” she said.

“You just make it up as you go.”

At 80 years old, Clint Holland said he took up swing dancing after

his wife passed away four years ago. Before dying, she asked him to

continue doing the things they loved to do together -- including

bicycling, dancing and downhill skiing.

That gave him a free pass, he said, and now, dancing keeps him

young, healthy and active.

“I like the activity. There’s a lot of movement,” he said. “You

have to think and plan ahead.”

It’s easier than it looked, Michael Foley said after learning the

basic steps.

“The advanced dancers just do the basic steps with a lot more

flair,” he said.

The first couple of days were intimidating, but after six weeks,

he said, he can just about get by on the dance floor when classmates

meet to practice their moves at Tia Juana’s in Irvine. Their

instructors host Swing Night every Wednesday night, he said.

“I’ve been kicked a few times, but not that hard,” he said.

There had been some body smacking as well, Joy Hought added.

“Everyone just apologizes and keeps going,” she said.

It’s fun, the music is good, and swing dancing attracts a wide

variety of people, Hought said. Unlike other forms of dancing, gender

roles are clearly defined, and she enjoys the chance to express her

femininity, she said.

While Foley and Hought had decided to take a break for the next

session, they agreed that they weren’t ready to give up.

“You can do it if you keep practicing,” Hought said. “Even if it

seems like you can’t, your feet remember.”

You have to know what you are going to do ahead of time, and be

confident, Shesha Marvin told his class. He instructed them with the

directions to commit and then execute.

“Rock step, and stop right there,” he said. “Look at us, look at

you, and fix it.”

He called out the steps in place of music -- step, step, triple

pull. Five, six, seven, eight.

“That was it, that was it, there we go,” Joe Bauer announced

proudly to his partner.

The beginning class came to an end, and the intermediate class was

starting. William Daniels prepared to hit the dance floor.

Swing dancing allows for innovation and creativity, and there is

always something more to learn, he said. After his years of practice,

he said, the class is still an outlet for movement and expression for

him.

“Your energy level is just elevated,” he said. “You can’t help but

come away exhilarated.”

* CORAL WILSON is the news assistant and may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at [email protected].