Swing Thursdays @ Belfrey Hall

Want to Learn to Swing Dance?

York Lindy welcomes you to our weekly Lindy Hop classes in the centre of York! Our Beginners class is the perfect place to start - you don’t need a partner or any previous dance experience. This is followed by either a social dance (first Thursday of the month), or our Improvers class (all other Thursdays).

Beginners Swing Dance (7:30 - 8:30pm) - every Thursday

Our beginners class is the perfect place to start your journey with Swing Dancing. We’ll introduce you to dances from the 1920s, 30s and 40s, including Lindy Hop and Charleston! You don’t need a partner or any previous dance experience. Just sign up and our experienced teachers will break down the footwork and rhythms, and get you dancing! 

The class costs £8 for the hour (£6 concession, available to students, pensioners and those on benefits). On the first Thursday of the month, your entry includes the mini-social afterwards for free. We advise booking before turning up, as we do not take payment on the door.

Improvers Swing Dance (8:45 - 9:45pm) - except the first Thursday

Our Improvers class runs on every Thursday - except the first of the month, when we run our mini-social.

The Improvers class gives you confidence to social dance! It is suitable for anyone wanting to learn more about either lead or follow technique, and who feels ready to tackle some more challenging moves, variations or footwork. 

Our expectation is that you are comfortable with the three main footwork patterns, including 6 count, 8 count and 1930s Charleston you learnt in beginners, as we will build upon these - we do not recap the footwork in the Improvers class.

We recommend covering the three main footworks (8 count, 6 count, 1930s Charleston)  in Beginners before moving up (roughly 3 months experience), although feel free to talk to our teaching team if you feel ready to try out Improvers earlier!

Dancers that are new to the Improvers classes are encouraged to attend the Beginners class in the previous hour to solidify the basic footwork. It’s a great habit for dancers of all levels to work on their dancing fundamentals.

Take Both Classes for a Discount

Individual classes cost £8 for the hour (£6 concession, available to students, pensioners and those on benefits). We advise booking before turning up, as we do not take payment on the door.

We offer a discount if you are signing up for both classes in the same week - £12 for both classes (£9 concessions).

Mini-Social (8:30 - 10:00pm) - first Thursday

On the first Thursday of the month, we have our mini-social after our beginners class. This is a perfect time to practice what you've learnt in classes. It is open to dancers of all levels.

The mini-social is free for all. We advise booking even though it is free, so that we know who is attending and can manage capacity.

Dancing Roles

Classes are split up into leads and follows. You are welcome to try either! 

Leaders typically initiate moves on the social dance floor, whilst followers interpret and respond. Many of us enjoy dancing both roles with different opportunities to be creative, and of course the chance to dance with everyone else in the room! 

Your dancing role is completely your choice, and leading/following is not restricted to gender. We only ask that you stick with one role for the duration of the class. 

Other Information

We recommend you purchase your ticket online in advance. We do not take payment on the door. If you arrive without a ticket you will be asked to purchase one online via your smartphone.

We rotate partners in our classes - this is a great way to meet new people and improve your dancing! If you prefer not to rotate partners, we fully support your decision, but ask that you sign-up with a partner you are comfortable dancing with.

You can find our refund and cancellation policy on our website: https://www.yorklindy.co.uk/lessons/swing-dancing-courses

Got any questions or queries about any of our events? Feel free to drop us a message via our contact form.