Bringing Lindy Hop to New England since 1995!

Hop to the Beat

Lindy Hop originated in the dance halls of Harlem in the late 1920s and evolved with the hot Jazz and jumpin’ Blues music. It’s an exuberant style of Swing, mixing uptempo Charleston with slow groovin’ and everything in between! Influenced by other dance styles and changes in popular music, Lindy Hop thrives today as an incredibly fun, creative partner dance mixing classic with new. Join in the fun and become part of the friendly Lindy Hop community! There are classes for all levels. Beginners are very welcome as well as singles and couples.

Year-End Message

By Hop to the Beat on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 1:02am

Ready or not, another year has come to an end. It is not possible for me (Aurelie) to reflect on it without the one overriding feature of losing my Dad in May. I and the rest of my family miss him very much. He was the focal point, so there is a big gap to fill. We are learning to find our way as we move forward. Thankfully I come from a large family and we have each other.

2011 did bring many wonderful moments and here are a few of our biggest highlights:

  • Not only did we hold our 15th Beantown Camp, we received many comments of “best ever” and we think we agree. A gathering of many wonderful people for a week full of joy, tons of positive energy and just so much fun!
  • Hop to the Beat had its 16th anniversary this September, something we find pretty amazing.smiley
  • Passing our 1 year mark in our Monday night Boston location. It is always a big challenge to start something new and we have really enjoyed our classes and the people we have gotten to know from them.
  • Skye Humphries and Naomi Uyama performing at Uptown Swing Dance with the Gordon Webster BandA truly phenomenal Uptown Swing dance with Gordon Webster during the Skye and Naomi weekend. The house was absolutely packed, however, what made it exceptional was how the room was on fire! Gordon surpassed himself, Naomi was incredible, she and Skye entertained and inspired us, and everyone present contributed to such an awesome, happy night. We couldn’t have ended our HTTB year any better.
  • Izzy and LunaA non-dance highlight was adopting our two rescue kitties, Izzy and Luna, in August. They have brought much cuteness to our home.smiley

Something that continues to be a major force are all the fabulous people who have touched our lives through our classes, dances, camp and other activities. We are very grateful for the opportunity to be a part of your life and there is nothing that makes us happier than seeing new friendships made, smiling faces and everyone having a good time. We caught the Lindy Hop bug back in our early days and are thrilled if we can help pass that on to someone else. Neither of us could ever have imagined back when we each started dancing what it would become in our lives. It has brought us each other and so much more.

So here’s to a new year which we hope will give you all much joy, happiness and of course plenty of excellent moments dancing!

Our best to you,
Aurelie & Tony

Skye Humphries & Naomi Uyama: Uptown Swing Dance with the Gordon Webster Band

By Hop to the Beat on Thu, 12/29/2011 - 10:50pm
See video

Skye Humphries and Naomi Uyama performing at Uptown Swing Dance with the Gordon Webster Band on Saturday, December 3, 2011.

New Session Lindy Hop/Swing Classes

By Hop to the Beat on Thu, 12/29/2011 - 8:06pm

Lindy Hop Swing Dance ClassOur first 6 week session of 2012 starts on Sunday, January 8 in Newton Lower Falls and on Monday, January 9 in Boston. Both locations include a class in Beginner Swing/Intro to Lindy Hop Level 1, appropriate for anyone starting out as well as those with some experience who are working on building a solid foundation of dance skills. Six count basics will be covered along with a variety of fun steps to build your repertoire and get you out on the dance floor!

Lindy Hop Level 2 is also offered in both locations. This class is for more intermediate level Swing dancers, although no prior Lindy Hop experience is required. Eight and six count basics will be mixed along with a variety of classic Lindy Hop, newer variations, and a focus on partnering, technique and style.

For intermediate to advanced Lindy Hoppers, in Newton on Sundays we have a new class, Partner Charleston, Flashy Variations and Transitions. It will include some cool variations on classic Charleston while also focusing on some fancy transitions. These classes will be challenging, energetic and of course a ton of fun!

If you have any friends interested in getting into dancing, lessons are a great way to get started. Please pass on the info!

If you are planning to take class, please submit your registration.

Registration is open—Complete class information and registration.

Solomon Douglas Quintet at January's Uptown Swing Dance

By Hop to the Beat on Thu, 12/29/2011 - 7:49pm

Solomon DouglasOur next dance will be on Saturday, January 21 with the Solomon Douglas Quintet featuring Alison Dreyfuss on vocals.  Solomon is also a dancer and he knows how to Swing! He has been providing awesome music for many years and some of you may even remember your first introduction to Gordon Webster back when he and Solomon teamed up as a duo Back Pocket. With Solomon settled in Seattle these days, we don’t see him too much in our area, so this will be a special treat to have him play for us. It promises to be another fun night at Uptown Swing to kick off 2012!

Uptown Swing Dance information.

Skye & Naomi Weekend Thanks

By Hop to the Beat on Thu, 12/22/2011 - 5:43am

Skye Humphies & Naomi Uyama Workshop AlbumLast weekend was a blast - fun, challenging, inspirational and full of awesomeness! Good thing there are high ceilings at Brookline Tai Chi or we would have blown the roof off the joint at Uptown Swing on Saturday night! Gordon Webster, Naomi Uyama, Jesse Selengut, Adrian Cunningham, Cassidy Holden and Jeremy Noller were on fire! So much fun and great energy which pushed them to keep playing past 1:00am. It was a packed house full of beaming faces. Very special thanks to those who stuck around until after the music finally ended to help us pack and clean up.

Huge thanks to Skye and Naomi for the excellent classes, performing for us at the dance and for being your wonderful selves. Thanks to everyone who participated. We really appreciate all the visiting dancers who joined us. Thanks also to everyone who helped with hosting, transporting, running the door and spreading the word, especially Margaret, Betty and Meredith. The vibe all weekend was so positive and full of joy! What more can you ask for?

If you would like to see photos from the workshops, check out the album on Facebook.

January Uptown Swing Dance

By Hop to the Beat on Thu, 12/22/2011 - 5:18am

Solomon DouglasOur next dance will be on Saturday, January 21 with the Solomon Douglas Quintet featuring Alison Dreyfuss on vocals. We don’t see Solomon too much these days in our area so it will be a nice treat to have him play for us. Looking forward to another fun night at Uptown Swing to kick off 2012!

For details on what’s currently scheduled:

Uptown Swing Dance information.

January Lindy Hop/Swing Classes

By Hop to the Beat on Thu, 12/22/2011 - 5:05am

Lindy Hop Swing Dance ClassOur first 6 week session of 2012 starts on Sunday, January 8 in Newton Lower Falls and on Monday, January 9 in Boston. Both locations include classes in Beginner Swing/Intro to Lindy Hop Level 1 and Lindy Hop Level 2.

Also coming up, we have a new class for intermediate to advanced Lindy Hoppers: Partner Charleston, Flashy Variations and Transitions. It will include some cool variations on classic Charleston while also focusing on some fancy transitions. Classes will be challenging, energetic and of course a ton of fun! This class will meet on Sundays in Newton.

If you have any friends interested in getting into dancing, lessons are a great way to get started. Please pass on the info!

Registration is open - Complete class information and registration.

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Sunday, June 9, 2013

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Testimonials

I’d like to thank you both for all the efforts you’ve made to bring some rhythm to our lives. Lindy is the best and you are the best at bringing it to us. Looking forward to all the fun in the coming year.

Larry F
Winchester, MA

I’d like to thank you for the great teaching and the unforgettable Beantown Camp. In my top five of best memories, three are related to Lindy Hop. Thanks for being my first Lindy Hop teachers and I hope to see you some time next year during one of my visits to Boston!

Sophie D.
Belgium

I am still so grateful for the lessons we had with you - you and Tony truly gave us the first dance we dreamed up, and that we (and our guests!) won’t soon forget! Thank you again and looking forward to seeing you soon!

Mary L.
Ashland, MA

A year ago, we were a young couple in (desperate) need of dance lessons for our wedding. Lucky for us, we happened on one of the monthly Uptown Swing events in Brookline, discovered Tony & Aurelie, and now we can’t get enough!

Tony & Aurelie are knowledgeable, fun teachers that deliver well-balanced lessons—always adding new moves to the mix, covering (necessary) technique, and giving personal feedback. Lindy is so much fun and we continue to have a blast learning it together (even after the wedding). We have Tony & Aurelie to thank for our new found addiction that will certainly keep us dancing (and laughing) together for years to come.

Derek H.
Brookline, MA

Aurelie & Tony are such wonderful Lindy Hop teachers.  I absolutely love their classes.  Their fantastic dedication in nurturing their students and in providing a terrific strong supportive Lindy and swing community is a total inspiration.  Uptown Swing—their dynamite monthly dance in Brookline, is not to be missed!  Their most incredibly phenomenal premier Beantown Lindy Hop Camp for the worldwide Lindy community is truly absolutely amazing beyond words.

Connie S.
Boston, MA

It is a pleasure being part of the Swing dance community.  Aurelie & Tony you make everyone enjoy dance in a warm inviting happy way.

Shelly T.
Brookline, MA

I think you consistently have the best dance: great dancers, lots of energy and great bands.

Julie N.
Watertown, MA

We want to express to you our deep gratitude for your participation in making New Year’s Eve a hugely successful event. Your performance was wonderful. We continue to hear compliments from the evening’s attendees.

Jeremy A.
Dance Umbrella, MA

Thank you for doing a tremendous job as DJs and dance teachers at our wedding…We were thrilled to see so much energy on the dance floor…It’s impossible to overstate how instrumental you were in catalyzing that energy…thank you for creating a fantastic wedding.

Julie & James

I have heard nothing but wonderful comments from many Festival patrons and our other performers about your performances at the Milford Oyster Festival. I also appreciate that your group helped to work up the audience to participate…Your dance routines were what I have been looking for for a long time and the period attire only made it more appealing.

Walter S.
Milford Oyster Festival, CT

…just want to thank you for being such wonderful teachers, delightful people, and powerful advocates and supporters of the Swing dance community! It has been terrific participating in your classes; I learned so very much and enjoyed myself all the way.

Laura M.
Waltham, MA

When I think of what it means to be a traveling Lindy Hop instructor, it is always Beantown that comes to mind. For me it has been the model against which the rest of my teaching career has been measured. Every year, Beantown is one my very favorite places to teach. The people have the right attitude for learning, the setting is always great for classes, and the week-long camp provides enough time to really help people to change their dancing for the better. And on top of it all, you will rarely find a nicer crowd of people.

Peter Strom
Minneapolis, MN