Every year, there’s one weekend Cape Town Swing dancers look forward to more than any other, and this past November, Swing Camp once again proved why it’s the highlight of the CTS calendar. From 20th–23rd November 2025, we returned to the Fynbos Estate, where the olive groves, big skies, and warm community spirit set the perfect backdrop for a wonderful …
When I first started learning swing dance, I was focused on the steps, the spins, and keeping time (and also on not making a fool of myself!). But as I grew in confidence, relaxed, connected to the music, and tuned into my lead, I noticed something unexpected: a space emerging. A space between the rhythm, the moves, the two people …
The jam circle is a Swing institution. For those who are new to the scene, a partnered or solo jam circle is the place to show off your best moves. It’s where those crazy airsteps that you see in the old movies, forbidden on the social floor, finally get a chance to shine, and it’s where your solo jazz vocabulary …
Having already fallen in love with Lindy Hop in 2022, about a year ago, I started learning West Coast Swing and instantly fell in love with that, too. The two styles feel so different; in fact, when our founding group at West Coast Swing Cape Town first began socials, intended to entice dancers from other dance scenes, we decided to …
“The longing to touch/be touched. I feel gratitude when I touch someone—as well as affection etc. The person has allowed me proof that I have a body—and that there are bodies in the world.” Susan Sontag, from As Consciousness Is Harnessed to Flesh. “Well I was born to dance. It’s a sacred duty, like being in love, and eventually I’ll …
On April 23rd – William Shakespeare’s date of birth and death- school kids and the bookworm adults among us celebrated World Book Day. But why am I talking about this in a Swing blog? Well, a few days later, I discovered that in 1939, Shakespeare met Swing in an epic Broadway show called Swingin’ the Dream. It was an innovative …
Hiya, Muriel here! This little blog post took me by surprise – an outcome of my preparations for the Swing Music workshop that I’m hosting online next week. I’ll tell you, I’ve been swing-obsessed for years now: I fell in love with the dance BECAUSE I already loved the music. And the more I dived into the landscape and history of …
What makes a swing dance floor truly come alive? The answer lies in the music! Of course, we all have different ideas of what makes a great song to dance to, but there are those special nights when everyone seems to be united in a rhythmic trance that can only be cast by a DJ who knows their music. We’ve …
On Saturday, 9th October, Cape Town Swing and La Diosa join forces to bring you an incredible night of swing and salsa. A strange combination, you might think: two different dances with entirely different music from different parts of the world. Nowadays, the swing and salsa scenes appear to attract incompatible crowds, with swing stereotypically thought of as “niche”, “alternative”, …
Before Count Basie and Duke Wellington whipped up dancefloors in Harlem and Lindy Hop swept through America, Sophiatown was already swinging to its own sound. Despite the poverty and resultant violence, Sophiatown became a hub of culture, music, dance and politics, and marabi music emerged in the 1920s as a response to the urbanisation and social changes affecting black South …