Swing Out & Shimmy

What should I expect?

Our classes and courses are designed to be accessible, and we cater for a range of levels. if you've never tried a dance course before, and don't know what to expect, read on!

Most of our lessons and courses are taught in dance studios. These are spaces that will have a wooden polished floor, and mirrors along one side (to help you see yourself and the tutor). They will usually have shower facilities and a place to change your clothes (if needed). see our FAQ's if you're not sure what to wear!

When you arrive you'll be greeted by the tutor who might need to check your name off the list.

We always start with a warm up, which is needed to get all of your muscles engaged and flexible. A warm-up will help prevent injury and is also a fun way to get your body moving and begin listening to the type of music you'll be dancing to. In the warm-up you also might be introduced to a few of the type of steps you'll be learning but the main thing for everyone is just to get all of their body moving in a safe and comfortable way.

You'll then begin to learn some of the steps. This might be something like the basic Charleston, a jazz 'kick, ball-change', or a 'fall off the log'. Once you've learned a few steps, we'll combine them into a short routine to the music.

At the end of the class, we'll do a warm-down. You'll do some gentle stretching to relax the body, ready to continue with your day.

As you progress in the classes, or course, a few more moves will be added as well as revising those already learnt so that you are able to dance through a whole song using the moves you've learnt. The idea is that you'll eventually be able to combine the moves yourself into different routines, and apply them to all sorts of songs on the social swing, jive and jazz dancefloor - so you can be comfortable dancing in a social situation. or, if you prefer routines, to build up to dancing them with us, either for fun, or even for a performance.