The Swing North Manifesto
This document was adopted by majority vote, at the AGM on 23rd January 2023. It should be considered to be a work in progress, and members may propose amendments for future voting.
HISTORY & INCLUSIVITY
We recognise that swing dance and music come from Black culture. We pay respect to those pioneering musicians and dancers who in the face of racism and adversity, created the art forms that we enjoy today, and we stand for racial equality.
Everybody is welcome at Swing North, regardless of their skin colour, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, lifestyle or physical appearance. We are part of the worldwide swing dance community which has no borders, and we love making friends from across the globe. We respect one another, and treat all others as they wish to be treated.
We question the relevance to us of music and events which appear to rewrite the history of swing music and dance, or that use military or patriotic symbolism.
We prioritise Lindy Hop, as the most popular of the swing dances. Charleston kicks and triple steps are equally fundamental elements of Lindy Hop, and we learn and dance both.
We encourage and promote other dance styles where possible, such as Solo, Balboa, Shag, and Blues (and how they cross-over), and we offer a balance of music for these styles at our events, where appropriate.
OUR SOCIAL VALUES
We ask each other to dance, regardless of our experience level, and that of the other person. We generally try to say yes when we are comfortable doing so, but we can also say no, without the need for an explanation.
We prioritise our personal hygiene, before and while attending. We love fresh breath, clean armpits, dry clothes and germ free hands! We wear appropriate footwear, generally soft and flat, so as not to cause damage to the floor, or our fellow dancers (and we don’t bring talcum-powder for the floor).
We look out for other dancers and obstacles on the dancefloor, and we always apologise immediately, after even the most minor collision.
SAFETY & SAFEGUARDING
We look out for harassment and abuse in any form, and report these to a member of the Swing North Safety Team, or S.T.E.P.S. network. We take such reports seriously, in accordance with the S.T.E.P.S. Code of Conduct, and the Swing North Safeguarding Policy.
We are each responsible for our own physical safety, and that of those sharing the space. We keep our drinks and personal belongings away from the dance floor, and we stop drinking alcohol before our coordination, safety or judgement may be impaired. We only dip with consent, and we don’t perform aerials on the social floor.
The personal boundaries of others may differ from ours. We learn the best ways to invite a close connection – for any style of dance which may require it – which allow the other person to participate in a consensual manner.
We apologise for any accidental contact, which may make the other person feel uncomfortable. We avoid conversation and language which could be deemed to be offensive, inappropriate or unwelcome.
Some of us are here to make new friends, but we have no obligation to do so, to share personal contact details, accept digital contact requests, or reply to online messages. We avoid any such communication which could be deemed to be unwelcome. For example, “Let me give you my number, but don’t feel obliged to get in touch” is far better than “What’s your phone number?”
We welcome those that adhere to these guidelines, and we reserve the right to refuse entry to those that don’t. We talk to other dance organisations, and share best practice with them, as regards safety, and the potential for abuse within the local or wider community, while maintaining confidentiality where appropriate. We and they may refuse entry to anybody on these grounds.
SHARING
We share our knowledge and experience when and where it is appropriate, but we never offer unsolicited advice, especially on the social dance floor. When sharing, we offer our own understanding of what works for us, rather than suggesting what we believe to be right or wrong.
We start and finish our classes and events at the advertised time, to ensure value for money, to promote punctuality, and to allow scheduling around our busy lives.
We encourage and nurture those that wish to share their experience by leading our classes. Our classes are fun and accessible, especially the beginner class, for which we aim to use our most experienced and outgoing partnerships.
A leader or follower may be any gender, and so we reflect this in our classes, and avoid gender references. We offer equal content for both followers and leaders
We promote the concept of lead and follow, right from the start of the learning journey. As an example, we don’t teach follows to rock step by default, when learning the basic steps, but rather focus on the connection and technique that allows such a step to be led and followed.
We recognise that swing dance evolved, and continues to do so, and as such there are no standardised patterns, nor a right or wrong approach. We share a range of styles, methods and patterns, and encourage each dancer to develop their own individual style. This isn’t a ballroom dance, and as such we avoid dancing by numbers.
We show learners what we would like to see, rather than what we would not like to see. Those leading a class will enter the rotation and participate when practical, and offer encouragement to even the slowest learners.
We recognise that people learn in different ways. Some people find numbers useful, to understand things like steps and rhythm, while others benefit more from seeing or hearing. We try things lots of times, and with different people.
We never stop learning, or developing our understanding of swing dance and its history. We are open to different ideas, and changing from the ways that we have approached things in the past.
Where it may be difficult for attendees to hear us without raising our voices, we use microphones where possible, so as to avoid the need to shout.
MUSIC
We dance to jazz music that is from the swing era of the 20s, 30s and 40s, or is of the same style.
We’re all about the music. It is our everything. Our classes include lots of music throughout, and we resist the urge to talk too much when learning, teaching and dancing.
We prepare and play music from our own devices, when leading a class or DJing, and we check that we have the correct cables or adaptors to connect them to the sound system.
Where possible, we manage sound levels so that we can speak to the person next to us without needing to raise our voice, but so that we can still hear the rhythm clearly.
LOYALTY
We contribute to the ongoing success of Swing North, through regular attendance and membership fees or volunteering. We support the wider swing dance scene, in Manchester and beyond.
We are evangelists, in both our digital and physical lives. We know that each time we interact with an online post or hand out a flyer, we are helping others to discover and share in our community.
PHOTOS & VIDEO
We take photos and video, to share the joy of our activities with others, and we often share our own media, digitally and physically. If we don’t wish to appear in such media, we will remove ourselves from the subject area, or speak directly to the person operating the capture device.