Swing Dancing in Italy?

[lily]

Hi Everyone,

I will be traveling to Italy within the next few months and I would really love to go swing dancing while I'm there. As it seems that there are people on this forum from pretty much all over the world, I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me...

Thanks so much for any addresses, contacts or links that anyone has :D

Lily

[suek]

post your question on Yehoodi.com also...lotsa swing dancers on there. Also check out http://www.swingoutoftown.com

Happy travels!

[lily]

Hi Suek,

Thanks for the links. I have just gone to those web sites and I think that they'll be very useful :D

[alfborge]

There is also dancers.org (http://www.dancers.org).

[lily]

Thanks alfborge! I've had a look around that site and it's really useful :D

I'm hoping to do a sort of 'exchange' where I invite a dancer to stay with me in Paris for a week or two, show him/her the sites and take him/her dancing and then I stay with him/her in Italy. If this doesn't work out, I'll just go there and stay at a hotel, but it's less fun, more expensive, not as good to practice the language and I very much doubt that the hotel staff will know where I can go Swing dancing!

[alfborge]

I'm hoping to do a sort of 'exchange' where I invite a dancer to stay with me in Paris for a week or two, show him/her the sites and take him/her dancing and then I stay with him/her in Italy. If this doesn't work out, I'll just go there and stay at a hotel, but it's less fun, more expensive, not as good to practice the language and I very much doubt that the hotel staff will know where I can go Swing dancing!

This sounds pretty good. What's even better is if you do this without the exchange part. Keep your place open for dancers that visit Paris, and dancers elsewhere will keep their place open for you.

That's how it was (or at least how I got the impression that it was) when I visited USA last year. I had lots of offers of places to crash, and when me and my friends in LA went to Phoenix for an exchange, we all crashed at someones house there.

I stayed mostly in LA with a friend there, but a Swede I met there traveled around USA a lot more, and I think he crashed with dancers all over the continent.

When he was in LA, and was planning on going to somewhere else, the dancers in LA hooked him up with someone where he was going and so on. I was really impressed, and I hope we in Europe can do the same thing :)

The best way to get to know dancers from the rest of the world is to go to Herräng. That's how I made friends with people in LA, and how I got to spend 3 lovely weeks in the sun there while my friends were being rained on in Norway. :)

So if you ever visit Trondheim (Norway) let me know and I'll fix you up with somewhere to crash, and ofcourse somewhere to dance :)

--
Alf

[lily]

Thanks Alf :D. From what you describe, it looks like it could be possible to dance oneself around the world! Hey, I wonder if anyone has ever done that for charity - a sponsored 'Swing-around-the-world'. 8)

I'm interested in going dancing in Italy though because I want to practice my Italian before leaving Europe this autumn. I thought of the exchange idea as I wanted to chat and hopefully become friends with the Italian rather than simply have somewhere to stay while I'm in Italy. Also, I'm not sure about how to get myself invited to stay at someone's house unless I start by offering him/her the same in Paris. :)

[alfborge]

That's true. What I'd do is to search for a Lindy Hop club where you're going, and contact their board of directors. They'll probably be able to help you get in contact with someone who might be interested in such a deal.

I agree that offering such a deal is a good way to initiate contact. I was just voicing my opinion that one shouldn't really ask anything in return for letting a dancer crash. That you yourself let other dancers crash is the best way of repaying this favour :) That's just my opinion though, and to offer the return favour might be the most polite thing to do.

And I think you'll become friends with them if you crash with them. After all, you owe them a dance or two for letting you crash :)

[lily]

Very good point! I agree that by crashing with someone and dancing together, the chances of becoming friends can be good! :D

Good advice too - I hadn't thought of contacting a club or a school but that's a great idea 8)