Getting goofy with Lindy Hop

Getting goofy: Locals and expats 'converse' at JZ Latino in the Renaissance Yu Garden Hotel. Photo provided to Shanghai Star

Dance, dance evolution

Still stepping' lively

Easy Talk: Life after retirement

Fast and furious. No, not the movie franchise. That's how they describe the Lindy Hop, an evergreen form of jazz-based swing dancing characterized by aerial choreography and the swingout, as improvised by Frankie Manning eight decades ago at The Savoy in Harlem.

It follows a basic eight-count structure and takes its name from Charles Lindbergh's "hopping" of the Atlantic in 1927, when he flew solo and non-stop from New York to Paris. You'll often find it grouped with East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, the Boogie Woogie, the Charleston and the jitterbug. Some forms are eight-count, others six.

Hobbyists like Iris Xu say the rhythmic count doesn't really matter. After a while you figure out how to blend them seamlessly into a single song.

"Every move here is different. You can make it up as you go along," says the 30-year-old. "Just learn some basic steps and then follow your lead. It makes me feel like I'm back in 1930s Shanghai."

The biggest headache she faces?

"Not enough men," she moans during a recent social dance class.

As an American instructor led both sexes through their first moves earlier this month – "rock, step, triple step, triple step, Deejay, can we have a song please?" – two local ladies sat on plush red seats and watched, too shy to join in.

Nathan McWilliams lays down the jazz and blues soundtrack on Monday nights at JZ Latino. He says swing dancing is more community driven and geeky than Latin dances like salsa and tango.

McWilliams runs Deco Rhythm, one of a handful of groups catering to this specific taste in the city. Until three years ago, Orchid Bae's Shanghai Swings had a monopoly.

"If you want sexy dancing, it probably isn't your thing," says McWilliams. "They're not trying to be cool. They're playing with each other. Swing dancing is a conversation.

"There are local communities everywhere, so you can crash a city for a weekend and instantly be connected with like-minded people."