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Rachel Blundy

You don’t have to have rhythm to dance here, but it helps.
Every Wednesday, beginner swing dancers turn out at Grappa’s Cellar in Central as they learn to Lindy Hop, Balboa or even Shag.
What started out as just a few enthusiasts bopping outside Hong Kong jazz clubs has grown into a local swing dance movement – and it seems to be going from strength to strength.
Founded in 2006, Hong Kong Swings recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary.
Karen Tong, one of the group’s founders, wanted to bring the atmosphere of 1930s and 40s America to Hong Kong.
The 35-year-old lawyer, who lives in the Mid-Levels, first tried swing dance while studying in London in 2000. When she returned to Hong Kong after completing her degree, she couldn’t find anywhere to keep up her passion, so she decided to set up her own dance group.

“I went to a lot of jazz clubs in London,” she says. “It was quite a friendly scene; everyone was dressing up in vintage – everything came together really well. It was something I had never come across before. I came back to Hong Kong – I really wanted to dance but I could not find anything but salsa. So I decided to start something.”
Swing dance originated in African-American communities in the 1920s as the jazz scene exploded in New York. Various styles of the dance evolved but the Lindy Hop proved most common. In recent decades, nostalgia for the period has led to groups being set up all over the world. And just last month, the late legendary American dancer Frankie Manning, one of the originators of the Lindy Hop, was commemorated in a Google Doodle.
Swing dancers step back into bygone jazz era
Tong says she finds swing and jazz music inspires her in a way no other musical style does.
“Swing is music you really want to move to and tap your feet to,” she says. “I love to listen to it because it can be rhythmically very interesting, and I love to reflect that in my movements. When I move, I feel like I am creating something that will have never been created before. It feels very special. With other scenes in Hong Kong, I find I am dancing but it just does not feel as fun.”

Tong started Hong Kong Swings with Philippe Crompton-Roberts after they connected on an online forum for swing dance enthusiasts.
The 48 year old, who runs his own export business, says he fell in love with swing while studying in London in the late 1980s.
He is now one of the main DJs for Hong Kong Swings, with a particular interest in 1940s black pop music.
“It is fun and upbeat,” he says. “Swing can be very relaxing after a day’s work – you can find yourself for three minutes.”
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The pair began by dancing at local jazz clubs and handing out fliers for their proposed swing dance group in the foyer of The Fringe Club. Their following grew steadily, largely through word of mouth. Ten years on, about 100 people now attend their sessions each week, with three weekly socials attracting everyone from beginners to more advanced dancers. There is no membership and no fee, just a mailing list and a Facebook group – a relaxed approach which seems to keep people coming back.
“It grew and people were coming to Grappa’s,” Tong says. “We were really approachable and open to anyone. We grew from only five people until it felt like it was snowballing.”
When asked what gets people hooked on the dance, she suggests: “It is the driving feeling of the rhythmic groove. Some people are overwhelmed by the aspects you see in the movies. It attracts their imagination. What keeps people coming back is that the dance is very happy. It is very light-hearted. And it is quite easy to pick up the basic steps.”

Unsurprisingly, Hong Kong Swings dances have become a place where romances flourish.
Brendan Doherty, a member of the group for six years, met his wife Hoi Kin through the group. They now take holidays in places where they know there’ll be the opportunity to dance.
The 34-year-old science teacher from Melbourne says he first tried swing dancing after he and some friends watched a group perform in a park in his home town while he was a student.
“I had no idea it existed until we saw them and then I started getting into it,” he says. “It is fun and free. It is something you do anywhere around the world – there is no language barrier.”
But Tong insists people do not just join in the hope of finding love.
“It happens all the time, lots of couples have met here, but if people come just for that reason then I am not sure they would last that long,” she explains.
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Although Hong Kong Swings say they have only suffered a couple of instances where members have received unwanted attention from another dancer, they recently introduced an anti-harassment policy to help ensure everyone feels safe at their socials.
“There is appropriate and not appropriate,” Tong says. “It has been an issue in the global Lindy Hop movement. It is important to create a safe space to dance when people are dancing in close quarters. If people are feeling uncomfortable then they can come to us.
“We have only had one or two incidents in 10 years – I hope it is not from lack of people speaking to us.”

Brian McDaniel, a 44-year-old lawyer from San Francisco Bay, says he originally tried swing dancing in the United States in order to meet women, but soon became enraptured by the dance itself.
He says discovering there was a swing dance scene in Hong Kong became a significant factor in deciding whether to move here in 2008. He now DJs for Hong Kong Swings.
“The jazz scene here is not as good as in San Francisco and New York but it is smaller so I am a bigger fish in that sense – I have exchanged words with most of the musicians and some of them I can call friends,” he says.
In Asia, swing groups have generally been set up by locals who have become fans of the dance after working or studying abroad, or by expats who have wanted to replicate the groups they attended in their home countries.
The New York-based musicians blending traditional Chinese instruments with jazz
Korea, where the dance has been adopted by the local community, appears to be the exception. There are more than 5,000 dancers in Seoul alone, making Korea one of the biggest social swing dancing scenes in the world.
Despite its African-American origins, McDaniel does not see it as problematic that swing dance has been predominantly appropriated by non-black groups.
“White America revived the dance at a time when black America was not as interested in it,” he says. “Those original musicians would have nothing but positive things to say about people from different cultures bringing the dance back into popular culture.”

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, the swing dance community may not be as big, but it is close-knit and continues to thrive. Members of Hong Kong Swings regularly perform with local bands and musicians. The Victoria Jazz Band commonly feature at socials.
“If you have a big band, it is better than any set of speakers,” says Crompton-Roberts.
“I think the jazz scene is pretty good,” adds Tong. “It could be better – there could always be more. We work with what we’ve got. It is growing. We are dancing to live music more and more.”
In 2008, the group started the Hong Kong Swing Festival, offering a weekend of dance workshops. It continues to attract hundreds of people from all over the world every year.
And they are branching out by offering classes for children, teaching the next generation about the world of swing.
“Little kids are pretty different from adults; it’s fun to see them dancing to music they have not heard before,” Tong says.
Swing has never been so hip.


Swinging the night away: original New York jazz scene lands in Hong Kong as growing numbers discover swing dance at Grappa’s Cellar

Hong Kong Swings recently celebrated 10 years of introducing the city to the Lindy Hop and other jazz club dances. Organiser Karen Tong explains the irresistible allure of swing

Hong Kong Swings organises class to swing dance beginners at Grappa's Cellar in Central. 08JUN16 SCMP/Nora Tam

Hong Kong Swings organisers Karen Tong and Philippe Crompton-Roberts during a class at Grappa’s Cellar in Central. Photo: Nora Tam

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Hong Kong Swings recently celebrated 10 years of introducing the city to the Lindy Hop and other jazz club dances. Organiser Karen Tong explains the irresistible allure of swing
