Swing and Lindy hop in Vilnius
JUYL first ever personality of the month , Mr. Hong Wee – listed among the best singapore swing export , has a fond fantasy about Lithuanian follows.
How true can it be , I wonder ? I set out to investigate . By making a covert visit and getting up close and intimate. That is the only way to verify.
First of all , the capital city of Lithuania is Vilnius . 9,200Km away from Singapore .
I visited Vilnius during cool and sunny autumn in September 2010. Besides being a very beautiful city – European Capital of Culture 2009 , I discovered the Lindy social scenes are even more beautiful.
The Social Scene
1. Every Friday 8pm at Hoppers’ dance studio located at Konstitucijos pr. 12, , organised by hoppers.lt
I arrived one day late only to realise the social ran deep into the wee hours !
So, yes, my next trip will cover friday night alright.
2. Every Sunday 8pm at lindyhop lt Klubas located at Saltoniškių g. 29/3, organised by lindyhop.lt .
I was greeted by the lovely and beautiful Justė Buzelytė , and had my first dance with her.
The studio was soon filled with many lindy hoppers , full of energy and passion.
And boy oh boy, not only they dance well ( both leads and follows ) , and all the girls look gorgeous !
(*sorry girls , your photo are used here without permission, but I am sure you do not mind being Vilnius most gorgeous lindy ambassadors year 2010 )
Guys, do not ask me for their names. You have to visit Vilnius and ask them yourself.
If looks can kill, and you survived it , wait till you have a chat with them. Warmth, genuine , demure and sweet.I must admit, it is hard not to blush and tongue tied while talking with these girls.
Did I mention they are truly good dancers/follows ?
well, try a gentle 4 beat pause at open hold and watch them move and you will see what I mean. But hey, first, make a trip to Vilnius.
The girls are gorgeous , yes. but really, these people here – girls or guys, big or petite , young or young (right, only young, no old) are all genuinely friendly . No sense of distance, gap or alienated , but warmth and hospitable and fun right for the start.
I left the studio with a heavy heart. Though it was 12 midnight , they were staying back dancing, chatting and relaxing. How pleasant , they could stay for as late as they wanted to (2-3am)- if only this can happen in Singapore. And have you forgotten this is a Sunday night ?
I will visit this studio again , defintely. Anybody coming along ?
3. Every first Saturday of each month , at Tamsta Club , organised by lindyhop.lt .
During such Saturday , the dancing club is opened to the crazy lindyhopers team with swinging dance and music performances.
Unfortunately, I was not there for the 1st Saturday of the month, so, yes, my next trip will cover 1st Saturday of the month alright.
Addition
Me a guy, hot blooded one. so I do not apologise for blogging about gorgeous experience with gorgeous girls.
However, it is fair and interesting to note what Agent W said and I quote, referring to Herrang dance camp 2010 “Do you know there was a pyjamas party one night at Herrang week 4 and the party-goers voted “Lithuanian men” as the most desirable in the whole camp? ”
So, before you decide to reject my ‘wanna dance ?’ , remember you could get tips on traveling into Vilnius and other information not written in this blog.
Mind Blowing
You have got to listen to this …
Can you dance non stop for 5 songs in a row ? Lindy hop with songs at 150bpm and above ?
What about non stop for a moderate 42km marathon timing of 4hrs ?
What about non stop for a moderate 100km marathon timing of 10hrs ?
well.
These crazy guys at lindyhop.lt did such a Lindy hop Marathon at a record timing of 30 hours ! ( with hourly interval break of 10mins) . read more .
This is such fun and craze..
we here in this tiny Island shall response to such similar challenge .
The End
So, Huncle Hong Wee, you indeed are right about what you said. now I share the same fantasy, ie Dancing with Lithuanian twin. Let’s make plan now. Trip to HDC , sharing of intels, and also including the student Xchange program.
that’s all for now, till my next visit in Vilnius , signing off ,
Agent A
Jazz Up Your Life Singapore ! 