What we’re about
This group aims to inform the swing dancers of Silicon Valley about the places where we can dance swing. The event selection reflects the Organizer's preferences, primarily the Lindy and Charleston varieties (a. k. a. "East Coast" swing). Most events will be mid-week, as this is when the Organizer is present in the Valley. For more comprehensive lists of dance events in the area, see
- Hep Jen's weekly event calendar at www.hepjen.com/calendar.html
- Bay Area Lindy Hop and Swing Events calendar at sites.google.com/view/bayarealindyhopandswingevents/calendar.
This group will be focused on at most one or two events per week where the live ("in-person") swing dancing is expected to happen, there will be no announcements for online events, lessons, or opportunities to merely listen to the music.
All members are expected to be experienced dancers familiar with both the dance and the community, thus no common-sense instructions will be posted for each event. Swing dance etiquette is discussed, for example, at www.dsds.org/Etiquette.
If you will have any questions, feel free to send me a message or talk to me at the event.
As is typical with the Meetups, all activities are done at your own risk. The dance events announced by this group are not professionally guided and not hosted by the Organizer or the group: these announcements simply describe the public dance events already set up by someone else. You are responsible for your own safety and safety of non-Members you bring with you to the Meetup. There is no guarantee that your fellow dancers will have the training or experience to prevent an injury or other adverse issue. As a member of this group, you agree to release all Organizers, Hosts, and fellow Members of any and all liability. By participating in the events announced by this group you agree to accept any and all risk associated with these events .
Upcoming events (1)
See all- Wednesday Night Hop (live music, San Francisco Syncopators)First United Methodist Church-Palo, Palo Alto, CA
Wednesday Night Hop goes on every Wednesday at the ballroom of the First United Methodist Church in Palo Alto. This is by far the largest swing dance event around Palo Alto, with about 100 dancers attending each event. This night is a once-a-month live music variant of the party (San Francisco Syncopators), so the entrance fee is upped to $20; an online payment at wednesdaynighthop.com is the only way to pay. Masks are not required for the party (still mandated for lesson). I do not know anything about the band.
Dance floor is very large, providing ample room for the dancers, and is of excellent quality. No water is allowed on the dance floor (a water fountain is available in the hall next to the ballroom). Event includes all the standard trappings, like Shim Sham and birthday jam. The dancers' skills vary from true beginners to quite advanced. Event is beginner-friendly and the percentage of beginner follows is significant. At the starting time, there is usually somewhat more followers than leads, ratio evens out due to the natural attrition as the dance progresses, finding a follower to dance with gets harder after 11PM. The more skilled dancers mostly congregate closer to the stage and DJ, intermediate dancers and beginners line up the wall between the entrance doors (there is no clear demarcation and very little seating, except for the stage and few chairs at the wall opposite from the stage, for a follower sitting in these chairs would be taken by many leads as a sign of desire to take a break).
Logistics: You need to pre-pay online on wednesdaynighthop.com, lessons (starting at 7:15PM and 8:15PMPM, newcomer taster class at 8:15PM is included, other classes are extra) might fill up quickly. For the party, you can pre-pay while waiting in line to enter. There is plenty of free parking available on the streets around the church and in the relatively small church parking lot off Byron street. If all of this gets filled (unlikely), virtually unlimited free parking is available in the Webster/Cooper garage structure in the next block (the nearest entrance is off Webster St.). The ballroom is located on the second floor of the Fellowship Hall building, the entrance is between the church buildings off Hamilton street through the courtyard (on the right side of it, while the entrance itself is not visible from the street, an A-frame signage is usually present pointing to the hidden door).
