Look who came in the mail today! My new Sailor Buddie. I’ve wanted one of these guys for SO long, and last weekend I saw one in an antique store priced at $150. Insanity! I knew there was one listed on the internet, so I bought it as soon as I got home – he’s in better condition and cost less than 1/3 of the other guy!
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| Betty Roeser, original (Balboa) Swing dancer, often wore flats – but her feet flew! Photo Source: LAPL Library |
Over the last week, there’s been a lot of chatter in the Lindy Blogosphere about Women Dancing in Heels – Yay or Nay (inspired by Why Women Should Wear Heels by Sarah Breck). I’m not surprised that it created some excitement (although I did think it was going to center around the oppression of women rather than physical comfort! 😉 The other night a couple people asked me about dancing in heels, so I thought I’d write up a little sumpthin’.
For roughly the last 3-4 years, I’ve danced nearly exclusively in heels – not too tall, 2 3/4″ is my favorite heel height. But I don’t give it a lot of thought, my shoe choice is almost exclusively based on color…
Dancing only in heels wasn’t a conscious decision – back before that I only danced in sneakers or wedges, but my feet started feeling heavy and sluggish and grounded, and when I danced in heels it forced me to lighten up and pick up my feet more. It changes your posture because your weight is forced forward onto the ball of your feet, and it gave me a jolt to re-evaluate how I wanted my posture to look while dancing Lindy. The more I wore heels, the more I liked the look and the feeling, and now I feel clunky in wedges. (I still kinda like tennies.)
Nowadays, I rarely drop my heel to the ground, and when I do it’s usually to accent a beat or do a certain styling – I almost never put a lot of weight on it. It’s come a long way from my old flat-footed dancing!
Reasons I wear heels:
1) I’m lazy – I don’t like to change my shoes throughout the night, so I just pick a cute pair and stick with them.
2a) They’re loud. I know just enough tap dancing to make trouble, and it’s easier to add a little tap rhythm styling while wearing heels.
2b) I’m more inspired to do footwork in general – because I’m not as “grounded” it’s easier to move the dogs around.
3) I like the look of a tight narrow base (regardless of 1 foot or 2), and heels help focus your weight into the smallest area possible. Should I try pointe shoes next? 🙂
4) I only go dancing 1-2 nights per week, and that’s when I like to dress up. I’m super casual and wear flats the rest of the time, so I figure I have time to recover from the damage I do to myself. If I danced more, I’d have to switch it up.
5) Heels were popular with Original Balboa dancers.
Reasons to not wear heels:
1) They really do injure you, and make existing joint issues worse.
2) In general, Original Lindy dancers wore flats or wedges.
3) Because your weight is forced only the balls of your feet, it’s really really hard to pike properly in a swingout, especially to fast music.
Funny thing is, after talking about wearing heels, I want to get out some flats and experiment with them. I wonder what I’d discover?
Chris and I are celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary today! Time’s flying, and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. He surprised me last night with a deadstock 40’s purse that I had been mooning over for a while (pics to come!) and today we poked around in some antique stores in Seal Beach.
Broadway Melody of 1940 was on TCM the other night, and we turned it on just as my favorite dance scene was starting – the “Italian Cafe Routine”. It’s not as jaw dropping as the “Begin the Beguine” finale, but I love how this routine is natural and playful. And it doesn’t hurt how great their outfits are – Chris and I would wear clothes like this every day if we could! (He’s just crazy for that little bolero – they show off his small waist. 😉
Here’s a picture of Fred and Eleanor rehearsing for this movie- I love that Eleanor was a trousers gal.
Back in the late 90s when I started swing dancing, vintage style was all the rage – high-waisted pants, gabardine skirts, the aforementioned long-sleeve blouses…it wasn’t enough to dance awesome, you also had to look the part.
Then the popularity of the vintage clothes waned – they’re expensive, fragile, and it’s hard to make or buy decent repros. Much to the chagrin of club promoters and brides-to-be, jeans and t-shirts were common at even the fanciest events and biggest competitions.
The last couple of years I’ve seen a real upswing (hehheh – no pun intended) in swing fashions. I chalk this up to 2 causes: among instructors there’s a new emphasis on performing choreographed routines, so costuming is being considered more, and the emerging Balboa dance culture prides itself on being Refined instead of Raw. I’m loving it – what you wear has a huge impact on how you move, so dressing the part can actually make you a better dancer!
A couple weeks ago we went to the Saturday night portion of Inspiration Weekend and saw the 30-Second Showcase. This is a competition designed for non-professionals to get their feet wet with choreographing and performing a routine – the dancing was great, but I was really impressed with some of the outfits! So many competitors managed to put together looks that were coordinated without being cheesy, using modern clothes that are dance friendly. I hope to see more of this! 🙂
Over the last couple of weeks things have finally started calming down and I’ve managed to squeeze in some personal sewing time. I’ve known for months what my next project was going to be – I’ve been desperate to try Wearing History‘s pattern for mid-30’s trousers – how cute is this?!
