SCHEDULE
The beautiful city of Umeå once again invites you to U May Swing the 31 of May – 2th of June, a weekend packed with dance classes, fantastic music, unique personal meetings, and competitions and shows! U May Swing 2024 will host Lindy hop classes and open level tasters with international and local instructors at convenient walking distance within central Umeå. The weekend will kick off on Friday night with a taster class followed by a welcome party with DJ-music. Saturday night you can dance to the amazing swing band Mildred & the Hot Nuts live at Umeå Folkets Hus. A cozy tea dance on Sunday afternoon will wrap up the intense weekend at Ordenshuset with fika, a small flea market clothing shop and more great music!
The weekend welcomes everybody and this year’s edition will offer four levels. You cannot register for the top level, but an audition (held by the external instructors) will split the highest group (Blue/Red) into two.
Pricing
Weekend Package – Ordinary Bird: 1700 SEK, Late Bird (May): 1800 SEK
- 6 hours of Lindy Hop, 1 hour of solo jazz for each track (Green, Yellow, Blue or Red)
- Tasters
- All parties/social dances. (Friday, Saturday and Sunday)
- Register here
Party Pass: 500 SEK
- All parties/social dances. (Friday, Saturday and Sunday)
- Register here
Party Entrance Fees
- Friday: Folkets Hus social dance – 100 SEK
- Saturday: Folkets Hus Mildred & the Hot Nuts – 350 SEK
- Sunday: Ordenshuset tea dance – 150 SEK
Tracks
Photo: Mikael Stiernstedt
mikael.st@gmail.com
Green/Grön
You are rather new to the dance. You have participated at least one lindy hop basic course, but perhaps not social danced much yet. Or – it was a long time ago you danced and want to start over again. On this level we continue to practice and refine the fundamental figures, and explore new steps and techniques. You have probably danced regularly less than a year and also tested to dance socially a few times.
Yellow/Gul
You feel rather confident in your dance and have probably danced regularly, both in courses and socially, during 1-2 years. You can easily mix different types of figures and footwork, started to get used to higher tempos and are not afraid of challenges with new figures, techniques and musicality. On this level you like to experiment and improvise and you have started to adapt your dance to the music.
Blue/Blå
At this point you have danced regularly for several years and dance like a fish in the water. You listen to the music, can vary your footwork, dance at higher tempos and add styling and variations to your dance. You have probably participated in all the courses at your local scene, been to workshops in other places and want more. At this level basic figures, such as swing-outs, feel effortless even at higher tempos. This is a level that you can stick around on for a while.
RED/Röd
This is the top level where you ticked off all the other level descriptions. The classes will get back to
basics and you are ready to work on your own touch to your dancing, being creative with your
partner and music, and playing with rhythms, variations and concepts of material you are probably
already familiar with. If you hesitate, you are probably better off registering to a lower level.
Register here/Registrera dig här
(Note that you register for the Blue/Red level and it requires an audition at the start of the event to enter the Red level. / Observera att du registrerar dig för den blå/röda nivån och att det krävs en audition i början av evenemanget för att komma in på den röda nivån.)
Competitions
60 SECONDS CHALLENGE!
MIX & MATCH!
Amateur dance competition where everybody can join. In the qualifications, everybody dance at the same time. In the finals, one couple at a time will be spotlighted!
Instructors
Nils & Bianca
Nils and Bianca are full time swing dance teachers, performers and choreographers, who both got stuck in swing dancing and its music, their biggest passion, at a very young age. Their paths crossed when Bianca moved to Sweden at the age of sixteen and that’s when they started performing and competing together.
Nowadays they travel all over the world for teaching, performing and competing. They love to teach what they believe in, it gives them inspiration, happiness and satisfaction. Bianca and Nils like to bring their love for the dance through energy and enthusiasm on stage and they like to make all their students feel comfortable in expressing themselves through their dancing.
Mattias & Hanna
Mattias and Hanna are highly appreciated for their fast, energetic Lindy Hop and explosive acrobatics, but also for their fun and warm personalities. They have their own unique dance style that consists of a solid foundation of original dance roots mixed with modern influences. They are the driving forces behind the dance collective Kalabalindy, which spreads Lindy Hop to children and young people.
They were members of The Rhythm Hot Shots, which later became Harlem Hot Shots, until 2007. With Mattias and Hanna, you will be challenged and inspired, and every part of the dance lesson is filled with their guiding principles: joy, freedom, and community.
Viktor & Wilma
The Edlund siblings started to dance bugg at age seven(Viktor) and six(Wilma). At a smaller dance camp in Luleå they witnessed Lindy hop and Boogie Woogie and fell in love with it instantly. They are largely self-taught and are today part of the national teams for both Boogie Woogie and Lindy Hop, with impressive merits. The recently won the world championship in Boogie Woogie (2023).
Today they travel around the world and dance together, one of their favorite places being Herräng. They love to teach, social dance, perform and compete. They think the social scene is as important as the competitive scene and that both are useful to become an all round good Swing dancer. They say that dancing is an unofficial peace movement that unites and creates joy as nothing else does!
Band
Mildred & the Hot Nuts
Mildred & the Hot Nuts play dance music from the Roaring Twenties, featuring hits by Jelly Roll Morton, Bessie Smith, King Oliver, and Kid Ory. Mildred & the Hot Nuts offer a joyful and inclusive concert, spiced up with tap dancing, sing-alongs, and a parade! We have extensive experience playing for dancers and vary tempos to suit Lindy Hop, Balboa, Blues, and Charleston.
Tasters
St. Louis Shag
Sofia Enros & Daniel Johansson
Known for their creative footwork, improvisation and love of dancing, Sofia and Daniel have taught internationally in places such as Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden and the USA. They have performed with musicians and dancers in New Orleans and St Louis, and have danced both on the big screen in Åland and Swedish channel TV4. In 2013 they won 1st place in the Pure Bal Fast Feet Competition during the Revival in Malmö, Sweden. However, they like it best at the social dance floor, which you can tell from their motto – come dance with us!
Photo: Tiina Tahvanainen
Ballroomin Blues
Nina Saari-Jonsson & Tobias Jonsson
Nina and Tobias are avid social dancers frequently found on dance floors around Sweden and Europe. They regularly take classes on an invitational level from the best European and American blues dance teachers. They have been teaching around Sweden since 2015 and strive to respect the African American origins of blues dance. The taster will cover the basics of ballroomin’ blues and some fun moves to use on the social dance floor. Learn couple dancing to the slow jazzy blues music often played by swing bands. We will mostly dance in close embrace.
Bollywood Dancing
Ritwika Mukhopadhyay
Bollywood is a lively mix of classical, folk and modern dance styles deeply rooted in Indian cinema, known for its energetic moves and catchy beats. Join us on the dance floor for some Bollywood fun!
Clothing Flea Market
There will be a flea market for clothes at the Saturday Folkets Hus social dance and the Ordenshuset Tea dance on Sunday were participants go if they wish sell some garments and/or buy new ones!
Instructions for the Flea Market on Saturday and Sunday
On Saturday the flea market will take place in the room outside the Studio at the Folkets Hus where tables and clothing racks are available from the morning. Sellers are responsible for marking the clothes with name tags. Tags are available on-site. Afterward, write your name on the nearby sellers list along with contact/payment details (For example, phone number for SWISH). It is suggested turn your clothing in on Saturday morning for those who intend to sell.
If you want to buy clothes, check the name tag of the item that you are interested in and use the contact details on the sellers list to pay the seller.
On Sunday the flea market will be in Ordenshuset and start just before the social dance.
Clothes that have not been bought or reclaimed by sellers after the soical dance on Sunday will be donated to charity.
Contact info@swingum.se if you have further questions.