Swing Dancing


When I was a young girl of 22 living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I began to learn the great art of swing dancing. Since then I have become more outgoing, more active, and, overall, more productive.

Do I attribute all of that to swing dancing alone? Not entirely, but I’d be lying or exaggerating if I said it didn’t have the biggest part to play.

The first rule I had difficulty teaching myself about dancing was to just keep going. Stepped on someone’s foot? Don’t apologize, keep going. Messed up that turn? Don’t apologize, keep going. Elbowed your lead in the face? Don’t stop, don’t apologize, just keep going. (not that those things have EVER happened to me >.> )

Learning to just keep going translates outside of dancing in numerous ways-usually to the effect of displaying confidence in direction, confidence in style, and confidence in self.

Dancing is fun. Have trouble constantly running on a treadmill for exercise? Take up dancing. [Lindy Hop] is pretty intense, though practicing the [Charleston] can be more exhausting. Dancing keeps me on my toes, so to speak, and has been a gateway to a more active lifestyle.

Naturally, a healthier body means a healthier mind and more consistent writing. I find that dancing has instilled a certain routine in my life built around social dances, classes and practice sessions. As a result it’s almost impossible for me to put off my designated writing times. There’s just too much going on for me to put off my writing until later! When I have nothing going on on a daily basis, it’s all too easy to fall into lazy habits with the excuse, “I can just do it later!”

It’s easy for writers to become unhealthy both physically and socially. I find that swing dancing is helping me skirt those issues while having fun and, overall, improving my quality of life.

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