Neo Swing and Today's Scene

September's Back to Old Skool Jive Junction was a huge success, and I hope everyone who came out had a good time!

As I was watching the crowd, I got to thinking about what's changed since the Neo-Swing era. And a lot has changed. Here's my perspective.

1. The crowds. It's tempting to think that the crowds today are smaller than what they used to be. That is true to a certain extent, but many of Swing DSM's Jive Junctions have easily the same attendance as Swing Night at the Val Air. (After the Val Air switched to DJ music - live music will obviously attract many listeners, not just dancers.)
2. Obviously, there are not as many bands touring the country, begging to stop in Des Moines.
3. The dancing is a lot better. Even the "good" dancers back then were kind of not so good. Not their fault at all - the dancing of that era was, by and large, characterized by poor lead/follow and poor frame. Few people cared about good technique, most people danced a sloppy east coast.
4. I did not have gray hair.
5. There were lots of posers and trend-jumpers.
   
6. The dancing seems to have mellowed out along with the music. People aren't running, jumping, throwing, and being generally reckless like they were back then.
7. Far more vintage big band is played now, and it is really preferred by the majority of dancers. This was a trend that actually started out in CA and NY back when Des Moines was just starting to get in on the neo-swing stuff.

Which do I prefer? I love today's scene. Fewer people than there were back in the peak of the swing resurgence, but the people who do come out come to dance. And they're good, even those of you saying right now "oh, but I'm not good." Watch Swingers. You're definitely better than that, and those people were in a movie!