‘A lot of fun’: Summer swing dancing returns to the Halifax waterfront

The Dal King’s Swing Dance Society offers free classes on the Halifax Waterfront.

A group of Halifax university students are back for another season of dancing on the waterfront.

The DalKing’s Swing Dance Society were in front of the WaterPolo restaurant on Tuesday night to celebrate International Lindy Hop Day.

The group hosts weekly dances at the spot every Tuesday and Sunday over the summer.

“On Tuesdays we do lindy hop, and on Sundays we do blues dances. It’s kind of a community event we do in the summertime when we finally get to come out here and dance on the waterfront and it’s open to anyone who wants to come by and dance with us,” said president Jacob Ives.

Lindy Hop is an African American dance form that originated in the 1920s at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, New York.

“It’s a vernacular dance form, which means that it came from the music, and dancers at the Savoy Ballroom would kind of dance to it and that’s where this style came from,” Ives explained.

“It’s a partner dance, it’s very fun and it’s energetic and you get to meet a lot of people.”

Blues is another vernacular dance form, also with African American roots.

“It’s a lot more about connection, even though Lindy Hop has a whole lot of connection in it, it’s a lot more about feeling the music and the partner. You have to be a lot more attentive,” said Ives.

“Sunday blues is our opportunity to have a fun dance social where we don’t get so sweaty!”

Bruce Delo was among those who took part in Tuesday night’s event.

“It’s a lot of fun. One of the things about swing dancing is it’s very social. You don’t have to have a partner, people dance with each other and it’s just a very upbeat vibe, everybody’s having a good time and the dance is fun,” he said.

Dancer Mackenzie Tomlin also took part.

“I’ve been doing ballet, jazz and modern since I was three, so I’ve really been enjoying getting to do a new social dance. I haven’t really done as much of that, so I’ve been enjoying social dancing just this year, adding that to my repertoire,” she said.

The society’s free lessons will start again on June 2.

Tuesday’s Lindy Hop lessons begin at 7 p.m. and the blues socials start at 8 p.m.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jim Kvammen

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