You won’t find the music touted as the next big thing. Yet around Boston, the swing inspired by Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Woody Herman is still doing what it did back in the ’30s and ’40s when it was America’s sound: keeping the dance floors packed.
Today those floors are mostly in church halls, not swanky ballrooms. And swing dance die-hards who grew up with the music have been joined by new generations of spiffily dressed lindy hoppers and jitterbuggers who are as likely to have Bellevue Cadillac pouring through their earbuds as Gnarls Barkley. Like their elders back in the day, these new swing fans are drawn to both the music and the scene.
“There’s nothing better than dancing with a 20-year-old and then dancing with a 70-year-old,” said 30-something Mary Ann Hill of Back Bay, who goes to at least one swing dance event every week. “Where else can you do that?”
Hill and other swing enthusiasts find the action in spots such as St. James Armenian Hall in Watertown, St. Mary’s Orthodox Church in Cambridge and the Swing City event at Dormition Greek Orthodox Church in Somerville.
At those events, live bands often lead the party. Dance lessons are offered beforehand.
“The music is fabulous,” Hill said. “It’s nothing you can turn on the radio and hear.”
Olaf Bleck recently took over Swing City’s Friday-night tradition from founder Dan Mezrich, who had run the weekly event since 1994. At first glance, Bleck is an unlikely successor, being best known as founder of SalsaBoston Entertainment, which hosts salsa events around town.
“As a salsa promoter, I thought they were different but similar,” he said. “What it really boils down to is that when people discover partner dancing they get hooked. Young people get sucked into the whirlpool of partner dancing once they find out how interactive and social it is. Both swing dancing and salsa have that. It’s just fun.”
“I’ve been swing dancing for about two and a half years and I’m loving it,” Hill said. “Rarely do you have different generations coming together like this and having a fun time. I’ve never experienced that anywhere else in my life.”
The Compaq Big Band at Swing City, Friday at 9 at Dormition Greek Orthodox Church, 29 Central St., Somerville. Lessons at 7:30. Tickets: $15; 617-513-9841. Rocco & the Stompers at Boston Swing Central, June 13 at 9 at St. Mary’s Orthodox Church, 8 Inman St., Cambridge. Lessons at 8. Tickets: $12; bostonswingcoop.org. The Blue Suede Bopper, June 14 at 9 at St. James Armenian Church, 465 Mount Auburn St., Watertown. Lessons at 8. Tickets: $15;bostonswingdance.com.
