América Latina Swings this Sunday: First Online Show by the Latin American Swing Community!
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Ever since the pandemic started, dancers from all around the world have been trying to adapt to this new online and distanced way of experiencing dance events. Live streamed classes on Facebook and instagram, Zoom Dj Parties, and even online competitions such as ILHC. Online events are definitely not the same as being together in the same venue listening to a live band and swinging out on a crowded dance floor. But they have managed to provide something that was impossible in the Before Days: equal opportunities and accessibility. You don’t need to pay for plane tickets, hotel rooms, or expensive event fees. Nowadays, there are even so many events and classes that are donation based, which makes it possible for dancers in difficult financial situations to be able to participate.
This is where Latin American dancers come in.
As a Brazilian with the dream of working as a full time Lindy Hopper, I have always been frustrated to not be able to travel and attend the amazing swing dance events happening around the world (and with that, I mean mostly in the U.S. and Europe). If attending those events might be expensive for people living in those continents, for Latin Americans it’s ten times more expensive. And this culminates in the fact that we have very little representation at those events. As attendees, as teachers and as competitors.
I was so exhilarated at last year’s online ILHC with half of the finalists from the Open Solo Jazz competition being from Latin America and the incredible Swinglímites team from Buenos Aires that got first place at the Team Showcase division! Can you imagine how expensive it would have been to move nine dancers from Argentina to Washington to compete in person? That’s something that could not happen any time soon. But thanks to the opportunity of online events, people from all around the world got to see their talent on their screen.
And this is what we are looking to achieve with our online show América Latina Swings, happening on Sunday, June 20th!
Our goal is to create a bond between the Latin American Swing communities, showcase these communities and dancers to the international Lindy Hop scene and offer an instance of financial support for the professional Latin American dancers who have been heavily affected by the pandemic in already disadvantaged economies.
The show is going to be free and live streamed on our Facebook page and Youtube Channel. You can find all details about the show on our website where there will also be a donation page. We are asking for donations of any amount to raise funds for the dancers and communities participating in our show. Also, we’ve been able to collect, with the help from many dancers around the world, some very nice rewards, so depending on how much you donate, you can get from a personalized Thank You card to a discount voucher on dance shoes and free online classes or courses from our Sponsors. All of this is well explained on our website too.
We have an initial goal of raising US$5000 to provide support for the professional dancers in our show, pay the organization team and cover basic costs. However, if we manage to surpass this goal, we will also start a fund for Latin American dancers, which is going to help in the continuous development of local scene leaders and teachers, as well as providing support for specific dancers and communities when needed. For that we have established a second goal of US$8000, which will give us US$3000 to start building new projects for the region’s Swing dance and music scenes.
I must say, I have already watched some spoilers of the performances we will have on our show, and trust me, you don’t want to miss this!
So, if I got your attention and now you are really eager to come watch our show and support this project, how can you contribute?
Follow us in all our social media: Instagram, Facebook and Youtube
Share our posts on your social media and invite your friends to follow us too!
Post on your feed the flyer or Facebook event of América Latina Swings telling your friends about this new initiative
Make sure you check out our website americalatinaswings.com and make a donation if possible!
We really do hope you are able to watch our incredible virtual show on June 20th and support the Latin American Swing communities! It’s going to be at 15h (UTC-3), or 20h (CET). See you there!
And moving on towards the future, I hope the global Lindy Hop community is able to find ways to make international events more accessible for dancers outside of the U.S. and Europe and in disadvantaged financial situations. This is the type of community I look forward to being a part of.
