Written 10/28/2025.
As we say in the dancing world, I was totally “swung over” from this past weekend.
I attended the annual Swing City Chicago event at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg. Dance events are unlike any other events I’ve been to as they actually SCHEDULE things to start at MIDNIGHT.
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As a guy in my 50s, this is not an easy thing for me to participate in. I like to be snug in my bed around 10 pm, thank you.
Picture 900 people from around the world who LOVE to dance. A culture where you can ask anyone to dance and they will. An excitement that between competitions, they play 15 minutes of music and hundreds of people rush out onto the floor to dance.
Pretty F-king amazing.
The event also includes hours of instruction. What I love about this is that these instructors come from across the globe and teach things that local instructors don’t. Like the finer points about styling or the right-side pass (also known as the underarm pass).
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Here’s one example. When I first started, I was taught the three basic moves. The sugar push, the left-side pass, and the right-side pass. We are taught to use our bodies to initiate the move (we don’t pull our follower with our arm, but our body moves backwards). What I learned is that to do the best right-side pass, you do NOT pull backwards but just lift your arm up. This creates tension and forward momentum and positions the follower exactly where they should be on each count. How cool is that!
By the way, I did participate in the Novice competition. Most newer and more experienced dancers fall into this category, so we had over 130 participants. I didn’t win. I was one of the lowest placed. I’m not upset at this as this is exactly my second competition at this event. I did it to test myself and get uncomfortable
Then came the midnight dancing. I stayed Friday and Saturday night at the hotel so that I could dance into the morning and collapse into a bed versus driving home. I made it to 1:45 am the first night and just 1:15 am the second night. It was still a lot of fun.
I did have friends up to my room for margaritas and a fireball chaser before dancing Friday night. We got to learn more about each other than the brief times we see each other at West Coast Wednesdays.
If you have ever thought about dancing, look up West Coast Swing in your area. It’s usually cheaper than ballroom and the people are fun.
I am so glad I found it for myself. This is my happy place.
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