Punk Rock Lindy Hop choreography by Benji Schwimmer on So You Think You Can Dance Canada
by Alain Wong
Arassay Reyes and Izaak Smith performed a Punk Rock Lindy Hop choreography on So You Think You Can Dance Canada this week. The dance piece was choreographed by Benji Schwimmer, winner of season two on SYTYCD USA and champion West Coast Swing dancer.
Watch the video here:
I started a discussion in the Lindy Hop community, and so far there have been some heated reactions to this choreography. You can also view comments on the Youtube video.
My first thoughts were (1) this is not swing music (2) Benji Schwimmer is not a Lindy Hop dancer (3) why didn’t they hire a real Lindy Hopper for the choreography like they did with Nick Williams on SYTYCD USA?
I reacted emotionally at first, and I think a lot of the harsh initial comments from members in the swing community were indeed emotional. As dancers and promoters of Lindy Hop, we identify ourselves with the tradition and authenticity of the dance, and so it’s easy for us to feel personally attacked by something like this. In other words, we take it personally.
However, once I overcame my negative initial reaction to the dance piece, I was able to think more objectively about what had just happened. The term “Lindy Hop” was used on Canadian television. That in itself is a good thing. Like the swing out that Ann Mony and I did in the Youtube Gmail video, every little bit of publicity helps bring Lindy Hop into the public consciousness. And if you can trust that people understand the business of media today and question what they see on TV, you’ll find people who have never heard of Lindy Hop do their own research and discover the dance that we love. That is a positive impact.
I agree with everyone that it sucks that Lindy Hop doesn’t get the respect it deserves. However, I don’t think we should put the blame on Benji, but rather on the TV and entertainment world that values “show” over “truth”. The actual dance choreography had some awesome moments, and I really dug Arassay’s performance. We’re talking about a show that has dancers learning new dances each week in a very short period of time - they are all phenomenal in my books.
I also thought it’d be nice to hear Benji’s side of the story, and he confirmed what I had suspected. According to him, the producers were the ones who asked for a mixture of Lindy Hop and Punk Rock, so that’s what he gave them. He brought along Sarah Breck, who dances Lindy as well as West Coast Swing, to make sure authentic moves were taught correctly. As for the results so far - he has received over 300 emails from fans of Rock’n Roll who had never liked the idea of swing dancing but who have now been turned onto the dance after seeing the show.
I respect Benji for his dancing and for his artistic creativity and am glad he gave me his side of the story. On an ending note, he told me that he was the one who begged the producers to have Lindy Hop choreographed on the USA version of SYTYCD, and if he was indeed the one who made it happen, we should be all grateful for that.
To check out Lacey and Neil’s performance choreographed by Nick Williams, go to Bobby’s interview with Nick.
In general, I agree with your comments.
I do believe that Benji is not at fault here. It is definitely a TV show and the producers are looking for ratings. Sometimes, the artistic direction is sacrificed for that, and that is unfortunate in my view.
However, I do no agree that “people understand the business of media today and question what they see on TV”. In fact, I would say that there are a lot of people, especially the younger generations who watch television and take it as the truth of the world. And this is happening not necessarily at the viewer’s fault; I don’t think there is a responsibility on the part of media of the impacts of what they are publishing.
So the conundrum that comes to my mind is: “What are we willing to sacrifice in the art of dance in order to get people interested in the dance?” Something to think about…
I say sacrifice the TV
Lots of people watch 15+ hours of TV per week, time which could best be spent socializing and dancing!
While I believe you are being nice to Benji, some of the blame does indeed fall on him being the choreographer for the piece. Yes, the studio and show had a direction, there are still things as the choreographer you can do. I also think a major fault for Benji was to bring along Sarah Breck to help. Sarah is a West Coast dancer, yes she does Lindy but it is not really what she does. If Benji needed a Lindy Hopper as a guide there are so many talented and knowledgeable dancers he could have brought along.
Alain F: The role of media and how it portrays their version of “the facts” is definitely a societal issue, and I think that TV producers themselves are victims to the broadcasting and entertainment industry. They feel the pressure of delivering good ratings, and will act accordingly.
A point which I forgot to address in my post was that our role as ambassadors of Lindy Hop is crucial to the survival of the dance, and that we shouldn’t forget that. Annie Trudeau’s post on the swingmtl yahoo group addresses this concern very well. For the non-Montrealers, I’m reposting it here:
So the onus is on us to educate and share, at the grassroots level, what Lindy Hop and swing culture is, and there’s still a lot of work ahead of us.
Joshua: Agreed. I’m guessing Sarah was chosen because she’s a friend - and I’m all for getting your friends to help you out - but maybe someone with more Lindy cred would have given the choreography a different direction than the one chosen by Benji.
for Joshua, Sarah Breck was a lindy hopper starting at age 9 and was a US Open jr. lindy champion at age 12. She did West Coast Swing and Lindy for the next five years and is well known with the more professional lindy hop dancers.
And she did make the Jack and Jill finals at Showdown in 2006.
Even a 20/20 special dedicated to Lindy Hop would be biased and people would complain that it didn’t really show reality as it really is.
This is an inherent problem with the media, and anybody who’s ever had an issue close to their hearts being portrayed on TV, newspaper, etc. will understand what I mean.
I am a lindy hopper and I cringe when I see it on mainstream media. I’m a Catholic and I cringe and shake my fist at the TV whenever something the Vatican says is distorted and twisted by a news story. I’m a brazilian and I cringe when I see newstories about Brazil on TV.
This should be a warning to all of us to not take what we see at face value and be skeptical, do our own research, and find out how things really are.
This is a sytematic problem of our culture and this is just another case…
@Cesar
There are always people who will disagree with particular facts or biases in a story however that doesn’t mean that it is always gross misrepresentation. The SYTYCD Canada choreography however screams poor choice on the part of the directors both music wise and choreographer wise.
I think it is excellent to see Lindy Hop on TV and in some cases it has been represented well enough that I don’t cringe (beyond the obvious pain of seeing someone who has only been doing it a week).
Systemic problems aside there are still better representations despite the critical eye we should maintain.
Joshua, Sarah Breck has been trained in Lindy by Sylvia Sykes, Frankie Manning , Jennie and Ryan and other greats starting as a child. She has continued Lindy. She is so talented that she can do many dances. She did not do the choreography, but was flown in from the USA to consult. Get your facts straight.
Ray
Hey guys!
So I understand the controversy behind me and benjis routine on the show. The show had specifically asked benji to do a non-traditional lindy routine but with that being said, Benji had asked me (because I have worked with him before) to consult the choreography and add elements of authentic lindy hop. You can see these elements like the drags, shorty george, pecks, the follower flipping the guy into footwork that I saw from vintage clips and in the very begining, the ariel with her landing in the splits is an ariel trend starting with nick and ria at showdown followed by laura and jeremy’s variations. In only a few minute routine I am proud of what me and Benji collaborated on. As far as my qualifications, I started in Lindy Hop and have been doing it for the past 12 years. I can completely understand, Joshua, that since I have also made a prominent reputation for myself as a westcoast swing dancer you would think me not the wisest choice of lindy hoppers but it was because of my versatility that Benji asked me to assist.
Thanks Sarah! I’m glad we got your side of the story.
Sarah, you go girl!
Sarah, Congratulation, I saw you in the movie ‘Love ‘n Dancing” performing Lindy Hop.