So You Want to Do Aerials...
You've seen swing dancers perform before, and the most attractive -- or at least show-stopping -- part of swing dancing seems to be the aerials and lifts. We must pause to give a few words of caution regarding aerials:
You must have a strong foundation in Lindy Hop (or any other dance with lifts / aerials) prior to attempting aerials. Sticking aerials into dancing requires musicality, technique, strength, and stamina. If you don't have these characteristics in your dancing, attempting to add aerials to your dancing just looks amateurish and sloppy and is incredibly dangerous.
You must learn aerials from trained professionals. Just because you TIVOed an episode of "Dancing With the Stars" or "So You Think You Can Dance" and are able to play the move over and over does not mean you can figure it out on your own. Again, aerials require a high skill level. Many techniques for executing aerials properly are not noticeable to the untrained eye. DO NOT TRY THESE AT HOME!!! Take a private lesson with a skilled dance instructor.
- You must always use at least two spotters when learning or practicing new aerials. Most aerials are technically challenging and require strength on the part of both the lead and follow. When practicing new aerials, expect the unexpected. Have spotters for your own safety!
- You must promise to never do an aerial on the social dance floor. Aerials, lifts, and tricks are intended for performance purposes only and should never be performed on the social dance floor, even if you think you have a lot of room or only one other couple is dancing. "Trying to be careful" is not enough: you may be able to control your own actions, but you cannot control the actions of others on the floor and cannot predict their movements. For the safety of everyone on the dance floor, save your fancy tricks for jam circles and performance situations.
Never fear: we do have plans to offer aerials classes in the future. However, these classes will have a prerequisite of at least one year active dancing, which includes taking classes and attending social dances on a regular basis. Additionally, these classes will have an informal audition element at the beginning of the class. If we feel that you are not technically prepared to properly execute any of the aerials on our lesson plan, we will ask you to sit out, and we will issue a refund.
Take note: if we see anyone doing aerials or lifts on a social dance floor, we will discuss the matter with the offender immediately, regardless of who is hosting the dance event. We have your safety and the safety of everyone else near you on our minds! Please do not be offended by our evaluation and advice.
Be safe and happy dancing!!