Lindy Exchange

I am sad I missed pittstop lindy exchange this year and over the last two years. And every time I keep hearing how great it was! I had no excuse and could have gone and am sure I would have had a great time too! I did go to pittstop 1 and 2, years back and the first two time I went had a very good time. But somehow I still got cold feet. Maybe I wasn't really sure if I would have enjoyed it as much as I thought I would.

I think I figured out why I had cold feet and ultimately also figured out what going to an exchange means to me. It certainly took a couple to figure it out. To me lindy exchange is not really about dancing non stop 2-3 days in a row, or looking to dance with the "most excellent" follow every guy is talking about (of course to me that’s Mo but I’m just saying), or looking for that zen swingout (at least I know one person, who shall not be named, is still looking for it). I think it is about making new friends and catching up with old ones if you happen to meet them. It is after all a social event. But a dance scene can also be very cold. You can dance with 100’s of people and still not feel welcome. A couple of bad experiences can ruin the whole weekend. This is where the energy of a lindy exchange scene can make a huge difference.

A lindy scene that is friendly and welcoming actually makes everyone visiting friendly and welcoming as well. A scene that has an atmosphere not just for dancing but as a gathering of people from different background from hundreds of different places who somehow all know the same dance and share in it. That’s the exchange I’m looking for.

In almost every scene, I have noticed there is always that “clickish” tight knit group that usually hangs out together. A few have their nose stuck up in the air so high it can pop a balloon if they are not careful. You cannot avoid it and is probably the nature of any social group and I avoid them like a plague. But the rest of the group are always friendly and this is where the energy of the lindy exchange scene can make a difference.

Maybe why I got cold feet was I missed that element the first two times I went. But as pittstop is maturing and from reading in the blogosphere, it appears that may be changing. I'm glad and now I certainly plan to go next year.

The one scene I really enjoyed and met some really cool people was at Orange County Lindy Exchange (OCLX). Kudos to the people there and hope you have a great one again soon. I hear Seattle lindy exchange is also nice and hope to make that trip too in the near future. DCLX to me is getting a little “blah”. Boardwalk boogie mini exchange was one of my best! But, each to their own.