Um, I'm not a dancer. I've never been into clubbing. I've always hated school dances (attending them OR chaperoning them - ugh, teenagers are disgusting!), and I'm the one who stays firmly planted in her chair at people's weddings. Should I ever have my own wedding, I would bypass the dancing portion altogether.
That said... I have always wanted to learn how to swing dance. I've been obsessed with swing culture since I was in high school, and Ms. Intersimone, my English 2 Honors teacher had us analyze the movie Swing Kids. I love the style, I love the music, I love the clothing, I love that (in that movie, at least) it was a form of rebellion against the government. I love that there was an art to this dance, and it wasn't about trying to be sexy.*
So, here, I give you a song you can dance to, a song I COULD dance to if I knew how, "Sing Sing Sing" as played by the Benny Goodman Orchestra:
*I know between today and yesterday's music post, it sounds like I have something against being sexy, but I don't. I just think that there is a time and a place for it, and I feel like our culture is just oversaturated with sex. I mean, they sell thongs for little girls now!!! Plus, there is such a uniform view of what "sexy" and "desirable" is supposed to be, that it sends harmful messages to young girls (and even to young boys) about how men and women are supposed to look and how they're supposed to act, and it comes at the cost of self-respect.
That said... I have always wanted to learn how to swing dance. I've been obsessed with swing culture since I was in high school, and Ms. Intersimone, my English 2 Honors teacher had us analyze the movie Swing Kids. I love the style, I love the music, I love the clothing, I love that (in that movie, at least) it was a form of rebellion against the government. I love that there was an art to this dance, and it wasn't about trying to be sexy.*
So, here, I give you a song you can dance to, a song I COULD dance to if I knew how, "Sing Sing Sing" as played by the Benny Goodman Orchestra:
*I know between today and yesterday's music post, it sounds like I have something against being sexy, but I don't. I just think that there is a time and a place for it, and I feel like our culture is just oversaturated with sex. I mean, they sell thongs for little girls now!!! Plus, there is such a uniform view of what "sexy" and "desirable" is supposed to be, that it sends harmful messages to young girls (and even to young boys) about how men and women are supposed to look and how they're supposed to act, and it comes at the cost of self-respect.