Swing Dance Luxembourg: Dance, History, and Community

It was a place from another world, where people came together and discrimination had no place – only joie de vivre and shoes for dancing. From 1926 to 1958, the still legendary Savoy Ballroom on Lenox Street in Harlem, New York, was known as the "Home of Happy Feet". Dancers of all skin colours, backgrounds and social classes twirled and danced to the live sounds of big bands, because they all had one thing in common: a love of jazz. Swing dance was born.

Today, after decades of attempted "whitewashing" of swing, i.e. the appropriation of the dance genre by white dancers for commercial purposes without promoting the origins of the style, the joie de vivre surrounding the dance still takes centre stage, captivating thousands and thousands of people worldwide. Luxembourg has also caught swing fever, and not just because of its dance steps. "You don't just get to know the music or the technique behind it, you immerse yourself in a whole new universe, " says Yohann Wattiez, one of the local dancers. Three years ago, the French-born dancer discovered the Swing Dance Luxembourg association, which organised regular dance sessions behind the Philharmonie during the Covid-19 pandemic.

First get to know the roots, then enjoy the vibe

Yohann has been a fan of the scene since last year at the latest and takes part in courses, social dancing evenings and festivals. "I was already at the Swing the Abbey Festival, when I didn't know any steps and was the only one dancing rock, " the 28-year-old recalls with a laugh. It's the special atmosphere that makes swing so different from anything Yohann had ever experienced before. "It's the energy when you enter the room and that you can feel even between those who are sitting and those who are dancing, it's simply indescribable, " says the dancer.

Every year, the association organises a small show at Christmas where the students get to show what they've learned so far. "You're excited, but everyone cheers you on and claps and you're dressed like you're in the 1920s, so you forget any nervousness. " Bands with singers who incorporate short improvised scats into their songs, Marlene trousers like those from Gatsby films, recommendations of books that tell the story of swing: you can always and everywhere feel that the community is not just about dancing, says Yohann. This is exactly what the trainers and members of Swing Dance Luxembourg want to convey, because without an understanding of its roots, there is no understanding of the vibe.