Total Beginners Track

UDF 23 _ total beginners track

An intensive track to move from scratch to catch, for every one who has never danced Lindy Hop before. We’ll get you ready to party, by immersing you in the world of swing dance, music, and its culture. Everything is possible when you go Upside Down!

In the Total Beginner track you will have 9 hours of Lindy Hop classes over 3 days in a small group with great inspirers. They will gently accompany you in your first jazz steps and fire you up with the magic of the African-American culture.

You will learn Lindy Hop according to the ELEF principle: everybody leads, everybody follows. This means you will learn both dance roles. In the class, you will switch roles, as well as dance partners so you will dance with everyone else.

Why ELEF?

  • it is more inclusive and gender-neutral
  • you explore Lindy Hop in its full richness by dancing in both roles
  • you develop a deeper understanding of your dance partner’s experience
  • you can dance and spend time with everyone in the group (it’s a social dance, after all!)
UDF total beginners schedule

Rein Robberecht (she/her)

Johanna Schwerzler (she/her)

Trisha Sewell (she/her)

Ronnie Slide (he/him)

Meet your inspirers

Rein discovered Lindy hop in Sweden, only to find that her home city, Ghent had a very lively jazz music scene which sparks dancers to express themselves in a creative way. She got hooked ever since. The very same lively jazz scene sparked Johanna’s love for Ghent and made her choose to come and live there after discovering Lindy Hop a few years prior in her country of origin, Austria.

Johanna and Rein have been teaching together since 2021. They teach Everybody Leads and Everybody Follows and Switch dancing for beginner and advanced dancers at Crazy Legs Dance School and beyond. They are appreciated for their dynamics and flow in their dancing. In their teaching, they try to transmit the community, expression and communication values of this Black American art form.

Trisha hails from Hertfordshire, UK, and has been teaching since 1997 and on the international scene since 2003. For 10 years she contributed to establishing the first European swing dance brand and the biggest of its time. It’s been said that her teaching style is innovative, dynamic and inspiring. Always engaging and fun, Trisha loves to make people laugh and feel relaxed in her classes. She strives to make the dance look as authentic as it can. Trisha’s ability to communicate complex concepts and patterns clearly means students find themselves easily understanding how movements and steps should look and feel.

Ron, aka Ronnie Slide, is a dancer and performer from the UK.
Around the early 80s, he discovered Swing dancing through a documentary on Mama Lu Parks, and was later on introduced to and taught by Ryan Francois.
Ron has never stopped dancing since then, and is keen to share his story and insights with you at Upside Down Festival. He will also treat us to some fine DJ sets (praised by Frankie Manning himself!).
In Ron’s own words: “I value meeting new people and helping them with their lindy hop, seeing their smile on their face. Having them think “maybe there’s another way of doing it”. It’s good to pick up things from multiple sources of inspiration and adding it into your own flavor.”

Dok Noord, specific location and room yet TBA

This track is part of the Upside Down Festival. If you want to register for this track, you can add it for €117 on top of a pass. Choose between:

✨ “I go Upside Down” Afternoon Pass (€40)

This pass will allow you to join the jazz cafe with live music and the Upside Down Shakes after your classes on December 28th, 29th and 30th. As a special offer, you can join one evening party on the same dates for €25 a night.

✨ “I go Upside Down” Festival Pass (€225)

This pass will allow you to join the jazz cafe with live music and the Upside Down Shakes after your classes on December 28th, 29th and 30th, as well 5 evening parties (December 27th till 31st) + a pre-party & after-party, and cozy @home on December 31st.

Check out the full program to see what is included!

Go to the registration page for more info and access to the registration form.

We still have spots for this track.

If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact us: registration@upsidedownfestival.be