In this episode, Celtic shares a drink with the magnificent Marie N'diaye, professional dancer, teacher and phd. Over rum and beer they discuss her being inspired by her sister, the genius of Janet Jackson, the joys and struggle of coming up in the northwest suburbs of Paris, remembering to be grateful, her origins in dance training, her article for Zazoo Magazine, European dancers “playing ostrich” in regards to racism, camouflaging and playing up her French identity as a survival tactic while abroad, the perennial question of why there aren’t many Black people in the Lindy Hop scene, what it really means to dance with a partner, nerds cosplaying the Lindy Hop, the epiphany of finding honesty in dancing with Black Brown & Beige, the virtues of finding your people, showing yourself in African diasporic dance, taking hits for the team in order to speak the truth, the importance of being humble as a guest of Black culture, the connection between leads and follows to the music, the benefits of being a “bad follow” and her rule for dealing with leads who won’t listen. Celtic is deeply ashamed of his pronunciation.
To help support Marie during this time of social and economic upheaval, please consider making a donation of any amount to: PayPal https://www.paypal.me/marieswingjazzdance
