Why Queer Lindy?

Queer Lindy Cologne is made up of a group of Queer Lindy dancers that want to create a community, resources and events for other Queer Lindy dancers – and that just really love to dance Lindy Hop.

"We chose to use the term queer lindy to connect with the other queer dancing communities, and to honor the roots of couple dancing outside the heteronorm, which come from LGBTQ+ communities. We appreciate that the term makes clear that lindy hop in many places is actually heteronormative lindy."

Gothenburg Queer Lindy Festival

Why would you need a space specifically for Queer Lindy dancers?

We dance best when we can relax, focus on our body, our movements, the music and our dancing partner; we need to feel like ourselves. In order to feel like ourselves, we often need to feel safe – which we don’t always do in heteronormative spaces, especially in the current political climate (some of us more so than others). It has been an eye-opening experience for some of us dancing at Queer Lindy events, and the difference can feel enormous.

Queer Lindy Cologne is working on both creating spaces specifically for queer dancers and making the Cologne scene a safer space in general.

"The times we’ve felt the most ourselves have been when we were surrounded by queer dancers, in an environment where everyone was allowed and encouraged to take part in this dance in a way that fits who they really are - no judgement of one another, simply being able to express yourself and appreciate others. The joy and positive energy we’ve experienced in these places has been exceptionally freeing [...] ."

Edinburgh Queer Lindy Festival

Lindy is so progressive, there are even women who lead in my class, and I once saw a male follow!

Sure, Lindy Hop may appear to be more progressive than your local dance schools offering wedding dance classes – but the default choice of role for most cis-gender people is still the same: women follow, and men lead. One of the main reasons there are female leaders is often because of a lack of leaders at social dances and classes, and they learn this role in order to be able to dance at all. The whole idea that dance roles are linked to gender identities are outdated and hinder us in our dancing.

Moreover, there is still a widely-spread notion that leaders, i.e. traditionally cis-gender men, are the ones doing ‘the thinking’ and followers, i.e. traditionally cis-gender women, are the ones blindly following. One of our strengths as queer people is to question such outdated notions, subverting them and changing them for the better. We also believe that both leaders and follow should be seen as much more fluid, e.g. in terms of who initiates moves or breaks, or with regard to switching roles mid-dance. At the end of the day, we are just two people dancing and creating something together.

Queer Lindy Cologne wants to work against these outdated heteronormative and explore what our queerness can add to the dance.

"Queer Lindy is Lindy Hop by, for, and inspired by LGBTQAI+ people—past and present. It’s both a way of dancing and a perspective, drawing from Black and Queer histories in jazz and swing. Queer Lindy celebrates diverse and intersectional identities by reimagining social dance through inclusive, expressive movement."

Queer Swing Seattle