Table of Contents

• First Experience
• The Second Start
• First Experiences With Swingdancing
• Lindy Hop
• Teaching
• Various Other Things

Please understand that these pages are last updated end of 1997 - so they are kind of outdated, sorry.

First Experience

My first experience with dancing started somewhen in 1979: I had to go to ballet classes. First I didn't like it: 'A boy and ballet?' After some years I liked it: 'Look at me: I'm doing ballet!'. Unfortunatly in 1987 I stoped takeing this classes because I started to live away from home for some years. So I had a five year period with no dancing - I forgot everything I learned...

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The Second Start

In 1992 I finally convinced myself to take a ballroom class. Actually it wasn't just me, but my father said that this is the place to find all those pretty girls... :-)
Anyway, after some classes I liked not only the girls but even the dancing! That's why I started to help out in other classes. I had fun.

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First Experiences With Swingdancing

Once I was asked to help out in a Rock'n'Roll class, because they had too less boys there. Pretty soon I liked this kind of dance: some sport, some dancing. I wanted to join a Rock'n'Roll Club so I went to the Long Tall Ernie Plausch Rock'n'Roll Club. Fortunatly they didn't dance just this acrobatic style but also a (almost - my interpretation...) rule-free social style. I went through all the classes there and helped out a lot afterwards. From 1995 till 1997 I was a member of the board of the LTE.

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Lindy Hop

Some years ago I joined a Lindy Hop weekend with the Jiving Lindy Hoppers in Zürich. I was fascinated by that dance. So I did some more and in summer 1995 I went to Herräng for the first time.
Herräng is a international dance camp organized by The Rhythm Hot Shots (a Swedish professional dance group) and the Swedish Swing Society.
After that camp I started to dance the Lindy more regular - actually it was almost the only thing I danced... Of course I went again to Herräng and other workshops.

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Teaching

• Since 1995 I had a regular dance class for Rock'n'Roll. This changed to something like a dancegroup that I lead. It lasted till summer 1997.
• In summer 1996 I gave two workshops in Minneapolis:
  
  • European Swing Styles: "We've got them here they've got them there..."
  • Improvisation: Improvisation technique for both follower and leader.
• Sporadically I gave some workshops or dance introduction for friends and other people that were interested.
• Sometimes you might see me at the crashcourse of the Silbando Parties.
• 1997: jive/lindyhop danceclass for the 'Guggemusik Seegurke'

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Various Other Things

• Since 1996 I'm a member of the Crazyshakers Rock'n'Roll & Boogie Woogie Club. There I practice some Boogie from time to time.
• In the same year I had my first Tap experiences in Sweden. Meanwhile I'm joining a regular tap class in Zürich.
• Last year I had the chance to travel around the States with Lance Benishek, an American dance historian. He showed me a lot of those other dances from the 20ies/30ies like different Shag dances, Wheeling, Heelshag and many more that I don't really remember... (sorry Lance).

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