Today, racism is at the forefront of many discussions. Racism is deeply embedded in modern European culture and permeates all its systems and organisations. To aid in the eradication of racism, we as white Europeans must resolve this issue. The Black community plays a crucial role in educating whites and other non-Blacks about Black history and experience.

African American art forms, such as jazz music and all its derivative dances, including the Lindy Hop, vernacular jazz, Tap, Balboa, and Shag, are deeply rooted in Black culture; therefore, we must take at least one step to reduce the disparity that has been created by institutional racism. The first step on this journey is in recognising white privilege and in recognizing subconscious racist concepts we carry within ourselves.

As a team of white Europeans organizing Leapin’ Lindy, a festival which celebrates African American art forms, we try to educate ourselves about the ways we can honour the cultural context of the dances we love. For us this means that we aspire to invite black people into the spaces they originally established for themselves but are now dominated by white people.

We are very excited to be able to work with Trisha Sewell as our paid mentor to help us make progress towards establishing a welcoming environment. A commitment to anti-racism can be a scary step, since it means questioning our beliefs and our intentions at every step and exposing ourselves to criticism for the path we chose to take. Thus we are very grateful to the guidance Trisha and others have given us.

 

An invitation to all dancers from the African Diaspora

For Leapin Lindy 2024, we are offering six complimentary passes for swing dancers from the African diaspora.  The only requirement to receive these tickets is that you adhere to our code of conduct.

You will be provided with tickets for the entire event, including all workshops and social dances. We will connect you with a swing dancer in Bern who will provide free accommodation and breakfast for a maximum of five nights throughout the festival weekend. Your lunches will be supplied throughout the event, and we will offer you an allowance to help cover the expenses of your evening meals from Friday to Sunday evening. Your travel during the event, from your host to the workshops and to the socials, will also be covered.

You are responsible for paying for your travel costs to and from Bern. Please contact us if you would like help finding cheap traveling options in Switzerland or the adjacent countries.

To request these tickets, please fill out the registration form and send us an email to registration@leapinlindy.ch so we can work out the details. Tickets will be distributed based on a first come first served basis.

 

Resources on anti-racism for dancers

“May we have this dance?” A podcast focusing on the experience of black dancers in the European swing dance scene -> Listen (or read) here.

Beantown 2018 – Q&A with Norma Miller -> Watch here.

“The ****ed up legacy of the arrest of Miles Davis” -> Watch here.

Have you witnessed racist behaviour and wondered how to react? Here are some Swiss resources (English & German & French) -> 
Read here.

Podcast about racism in Switzerland and other topics (Swiss German) -> Listen here.

Various articles about racism in Switzerland (German & French) -> Read here.