Swing in the Square!

Dresses flowing, feet bouncing, people laughing: these are the sights you see when you watch a group of swing dancers. The crowd shakes their shoulders, back steps their feet, does the charleston, and spins like a mass of Whirling Dervishes. You can see joy on their faces as their energetic spins and jumps move them from one space to the next. Their eyes gaze at one another or up into the sky and their lips tilt up at the corners. Their teeth show. They rap their arms around each other, but they still give one another space. They dance in tandem like bicycles. They mirror one another. They follow their instincts and the sound of the beat as they listen to the rush and sway of the music and the thump of the base on the ground. They each add their own flare as they fold themselves together and explode in jumps and breaks. They are beautiful to watch and energizing to be a part of.

(The above photos are by E. Andrew McKinney)

Location: Lindy in the Square, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.