ExploreDance

The New York Swing Dance Society (212-NY-NYSDS or 212-696-9737 and www.nysds.org) put on another well attended event. Their events are normally Lindy Hop and East Coast Swing oriented, but this one featured The San Antones, a Country Western band. People danced a lot of Country Western Two-Step. There was no line dancing that I saw. Some of the songs were also conducive to West Coast Swing. They had a second band that was a Blues band, but I wasn't able to stay for that. The first break between sets featured a performance by the Big Apple Lindy Hoppers, who were in fine form.

I like this event. It features plenty of space to dance, a reasonably central location, good live music, and friendly people. What it does not have is good lighting. The lighting was dim and flat. The alternative, when they turned on the other lights for the show, was bright and flat, which was okay for the show, but too bright for social dancing. This is not a criticism of the New York Swing Dance Society or St. Cyril's because most social dance venues have terrible lighting. I am not a lighting designer, so I could not specify exactly what to do to fix the problem, and it might be expensive, but I know it can be done. Lighting should let people see what is going on around them and make everyone feel special without being too bright.