SwingFest 2026 - Schedule

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Check the items you want below - then add to your booking.
NB for all workshop bookings a unique Attendee name is required, and for partnered workshops LEAD or FOLLOW role is required.


LEAD - leads the steps in a partnered dance; FOLLOW - follows the steps. For non-partnered workshops or for the bands etc. you can click either button to add the attendee.

Workshops 10.30am 12.20pm 2.00pm
The afternoon dance BallroomPrivate Dining Room 3.00pm Relaxed space with tables and seating
The evening dance Club RoomClub Room Mezzanine 7.30pm

Afternoon and evening bands & dancing

All welcome! No dance experience required!

You don't need to be able to dance to enjoy the fantastic bands we have lined up.

There will be more seating available in the afternoon, and it doesn't need to be reserved. There is no seating for the evening other than the limited number of seats on the balcony which you can pay to reserve.

Workshops - dance styles

Here's a quick guide to the workshop dance styles...

Lindy hop

Partnered - but you don't need a partner to join the workshops.

Also known as "Jitterbug" or "Jive", Lindy hop was born in the dance halls of late 1920s Harlem, New York City, at the height of the Harlem Renaissance. As hot jazz music gave way to swing in the 1930s, Lindy hop evolved rapidly, especially at the legendary Savoy Ballroom, where the opportunity for the best dancers to entertain the tourists helped it become both a social dance craze and an exciting performance style! The music is happy and the dance is immense fun - a chance to let go and forget about other things in life!

Whether you've just started out with Lindy hop or are well-and-truly hooked, SwingFest is for you!

Charleston

Solo.

Lindy hop has many of its roots in the Charleston dance craze of the 1920s - the Roaring Twenties, also known as the Jazz Age, and the era of the flapper. Many steps characteristic of Lindy hop are clearly derived from the earlier dance. With the move from hot jazz to swing music, dancers changed from a choppy, up-and-down style to a more fluid, horizontal style with a gentle bounce, so the steps can look very different.

Black Bottom

Solo.

Related to the Charleston, but not the same, is the Black Bottom, which also became popular in the 1920s. It was danced solo or by couples. Originating among African Americans in the rural South, the black bottom was adopted by mainstream American culture and soon became a national craze.

Tap dance

Solo.

Tap dance is an indigenous American dance genre that evolved over a period of some three hundred years. Initially a fusion of British and West African musical and step-dance traditions in America, tap emerged in the southern United States in the 1700s.

Tap dancing can be done for show, or just for the personal challenge and enjoyment!

Workshops - levels

Open level

Open to everyone - but perhaps expect a challenge or two!

Improver/intermediate

Rough guide - less than 2 years of dancing swing.

In the improvers/intermediates workshops you will learn and refine many of the core steps that intermediates and above are expected to know.

Intermediate/advanced

Rough guide - 2+ years of regular classes and social Lindy hop dancing.

When it comes to workshops, intermediate/advanced level is for competent social dancers who can comfortably lead and/or follow at least the following steps on the social dance floor :-

  • A variety of 6-count with triple-steps and kick-steps
  • Swing out, Lindy turn, Circle, Texas Tommy
  • Side-by-side Charleston, send out into partnered ("tandem") back Charleston, crossover Charleston
  • You will almost certainly already know the Shim Sham

Whatever level and dance style(s) you are taking you will learn loads and have a blast - we have amazing teachers lined up! The teachers are all adept at adjusting the material to suit the particular class.

Workshop size will be strictly limited to 20 each of leads and follows and partners will rotate throughout.