Hepcat Swing

Juke Joint Blues
2024-09-16 18:30 - 19:30, 2024-09-09 18:30 - 19:30 (America/Toronto) | Hepcat Swing Studio, 42 Erb St. E., Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 1L6, Canada
6 weeks of classes (Every Monday Sept. 9 – Oct. 21)
6:30-7:30pm
No dance experience necessary! Although this is a partner dance, you do not need to bring your own partner.
This class welcomes new dancers into the simple joys of juke-joint blues, a gritty and intensely rhythmic genre of dance, grand-daddy to later styles like funk, hip-hop and even swing. In Juke Joint Blues students will be introduced to fundamentals of jukin’ blues including pulse, posture and partnership. We’ll then build on these fundamentals by adding flavour with classic blues “grooves” like funky butt, scratch, low downs, mess around, and rhythmic turns. Students will also explore ways to dance with partners in a variety of positions including closed, open, and breakaway. Tie your shoes on tight cuz this class is fixin’ to knock your socks off! We’ll also discuss the history of the dance.

Teachers: Connie and Dylan

Yoga for Dancers
2024-09-11 20:30 - 21:30 | Hepcat Swing Studio, 42 Erb St. E., Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 1L6, Canada
6 Weeks of Classes (Every Wednesday Sept 11 – Oct 16)
An approachable, beginner friendly yoga class designed specifically for dancers. Come to this class to develop strength, balance, flexibility, and control – skills that will directly improve your dancing.
Alicia teaches accessible, safe, slow flow/Hatha yoga. Poses are not about how flexible we are, but a tool to safely explore and expand our breath and range of motion. There will be a time for relaxation at the end of each class.
Bring your own mat, and 2 yoga blocks.

Solo Jazz
2024-09-11 19:30 - 20:30 | Hepcat Swing Studio, 42 Erb St. E., Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 1L6, Canada
Refine your ability to express yourself through dance – without a partner! In this class, we’ll explore some iconic solo moves from the jazz era that inspired solo choreographies and partner dancing alike.

Lindy Hop 1
2024-09-11 18:30 - 19:30 | Hepcat Swing Studio, 42 Erb St. E., Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 1L6, Canada
6 weeks of classes (Every Wednesday Sept 11 – Oct 16)
6:30-7:30pm
No dance experience necessary! Although this is a partner dance, you do not need to bring your own partner.
This is a great class to get started with partnered swing dancing and social dancing in general! We will go from the very basics of Lindy Hop and work through enough material to get you dancing comfortably. We will also learn some history of the Lindy Hop and why we are still dancing it today. Taking this class would be a great opportunity for experienced dancers who’d like to refresh their basics or learn a new role.

Teachers: Megan and Dylan

Lindy Hop 5A
2024-09-10 20:30 - 21:30 | Hepcat Swing Studio, 42 Erb St. E., Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 1L6, Canada
6 weeks of classes (Every Tuesday Sept. 10 – Oct. 15)
8:30-8:30pm
Prerequisite is Lindy Hop 4, or permission from the teacher.
(Our Lindy Hop 5 series will consist of several topics all at the same level. They will be taught on a rotating basis, so please read the title carefully to see if it is a different version of the course than you have taken in the past.) This class will build on the techniques you learned in Lindy Hop 4, teaching you how to use them to create fancy footwork, play around with timing and musicality in order to spice up your dancing and create a personal style. This will be done by mastering isolations so you don’t affect your partner style.

Teachers: Jeff and Amy

Lindy Hop 4A
2024-09-10 19:30 - 20:30 | Hepcat Swing Studio, 42 Erb St. E., Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 1L6, Canada
6 weeks of classes (Every Tuesday Sept 10 – Oct 15)
7:30-8:30pm
Prerequisite is Lindy Hop 3 or you permission from the teacher.
Drills for Skills! This class is focused on high quality connection, movement and Lead/Follow skills. It is not a move based class, but drills based. It will help you develop into a top-notch dancer, one who is smooth on the dance floor, has the capabilities of improvising and adding musicality to their dance, who looks graceful or funky. This is a great class for those continuing their Lindy Hop journey as well as experienced dancers who may not have taken lessons for years, but would like to clean up their moves.

Teachers: Jeff and Sarah Kate

Lindy Hop 2
2024-09-10 18:30 - 19:30 | Hepcat Swing Studio, 42 Erb St. E., Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 1L6, Canada
6 weeks of classes (Every Tuesday Sept 10 – Oct 15)
6:30-7:30pm

Prerequisite is Lindy Hop 1 or the ability to comfortably do a swing out from open and closed. No partner necessary.
This class will teach you several new variations on swing outs and fancy new moves. It will also continue to teach the history of Lindy Hop dancing, as well as musicality and connection techniques. This is a great class for experienced dancers who would like to refresh their dance vocabulary or brush up on their technique.

Teachers: Antoine and Connie

Weekly Monday Night Dances
2024-09-09 19:30 - 22:00, 2024-09-02 19:30 - 22:00, 2024-08-26 19:30 - 22:00, 2024-08-19 19:30 - 22:00, 2024-08-12 19:30 - 22:00, 2024-08-05 19:30 - 22:00, 2024-07-29 19:30 - 22:00, 2024-07-22 19:30 - 22:00 and 3 more dates | Hepcat Swing Studio, 42 Erb St. E., Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 1L6, Canada
Like many new skills, dancing is best learned by doing! We are doing our best to provide you with opportunities to come out and dance, socialize, and listen to great music.
Almost every Monday night at Hepcat Swing, we feature great swing music to keep you dancing all night! We are a friendly bunch of people who love to see new faces out on a Monday night! The dancing starts at 8:00, with an introductory lesson at 7:30 included in the admission price to get you started (no partner or experience required). Dancing ends around 10:00, depending on how much fun we are having!
Important note: Please use our Facebook or Instagram pages to confirm whether the dance is happening for a given week (it’s faster for us to update our social media than this website, so we often make announcements there first).
Admission
General Admission: $10
Members and Students: $8
*Admission payments will be taken at the door.

2nd Annual Swingin' Summer of Dance
2024-08-27 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-08-20 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-08-13 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-08-06 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-07-30 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-07-23 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-07-09 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-07-02 19:00 - 21:00 | Hepcat Swing Studio, 42 Erb St. E., Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 1L6, Canada
Hello Dancer,

I am very happy to formally invite you to the 2nd Annual Swingin’ Summer of Dance. At some point you have expressed interest in participating and/or I’m very interesting in you attending so I am sending this out to you with all the information about this summer dance lesson series.

Vision:
– Keep interested lesson participants dancing over the summer
– Blend current classes and/or past dancers to further build relationships between dancers within our community (perhaps even out of town dancers as we continue to connect with other communities)
– Continue to offer unique high quality lessons to build skills and enjoyment of dance within the context of summer
– Expand offerings to 2hr/wk to continue building momentum and vibrancy in our community

Lesson Logistics:
– Day = Tuesday nights
– Time = 7:00-8:00pm Lindy-Centric
= 8:00-9:00pm Not So Lindy Sampler
– Dates = July 2 – Aug 27
(this is 9 weeks and up to 18 classes)

Lesson Content:
– Stand alone classes and not progressive from week to week (students can miss classes and be fine to attend next class without falling behind)
– Teachers have been offered an opportunity to develop & teach their own unique classes so expect a variety of voices to learn from

– Lindy-Centric will be all lindy hop all classes all summer
>Continue building on the most popular and most danced style within our community
>Possible classes = connection, swingout variations, breaks slides & other variations, rhythm variations, giving and finding space to style & shine, leading & following 6 count variations, dips & tricks, steals, ???
>Prerequisite = know 8 count rhythm of lindy hop (1st class will not require that)

– Not So Lindy Sampler will be any other dance than lindy hop for 2 classes (so 4 other styles over the summer)
>Lots of feedback to me about not sure I want to sign up for full 6 week classes of a style I don’t know so thought this summer could be a sample of these other styles that lets dancers try them and build basics
>Hopefully builds into the fall to offer these classes during regular weekly series
>Each class for the style will start with basic figures and then finish with different figures
>Prerequisite = none (everything should start from basics)

Lesson Attendance & Costs:

– Can drop in each week or pre-purchase a block of classes (you will receive a small ticket(s) to present at each class attended)
– For member or students…
>18 classes = $190
>15 classes = $180
>12 classes = $160
> 9 classes = $140
> 6 classes = $100
> 3 classes = $55
>Drop-in = $20
– For non-members…

>18 classes = $210
>15 classes = $200
>12 classes = $180
> 9 classes = $160
> 6 classes = $120
> 3 classes = $70
>Drop-in = $25

(if you decide later or end up being able to attend more classes or are between blocks of classes (i.e. 4,8,11,14, etc.), please see me to discuss an improvised cost)

HepCats Membership:
– Makes you a formal member of this non-for-profit group at Hepcat Swing Dance Studio
– Gives you the power to vote and elect board members at the annual general meeting (end of September)
– Your Discount Savings = $10 for class series, $2 for dances, additional saving on unique events (special dances, workshops, live bands, etc.) & class retakes
– Cost = $50 (valid for 1yr from purchase)

For more information or tickets contact Jeff – jrbenoit@rocketmail.com

Hepcat Board Meeting
2024-07-25 20:00 - 22:00 | Barley Works, 59 King St N, Waterloo, ON, N2J 2X2, Canada

2nd Annual Swingin' Summer of Dance
2024-07-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Hepcat Swing Studio, 42 Erb St. E., Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 1L6, Canada
Lesson Logistics:
– Time = 7:00-8:00pm Lindy-Centric
= 8:00-9:00pm Not So Lindy Sampler
– Dates = July 2 – Aug 27
(this is 9 weeks and up to 18 classes)

This week’s classes:
Lindy-Centric: Swingin’ Sixes – Expanding Your Lindy Hop Vocabulary

Instructors: Catherine & Jeff
Leads, are regular 8-count moves starting to feel repetitive? Do you want to surprise and delight your follow? Follows, do you want to focus on responding to your lead rather than guessing? Do you want to develop your ability to adapt to different footwork? Then 6-count variations are for you! Through tension, compression, and a solid connection with your partner, the floor, and the music, you don’t even need all 8 beats to dance up something exciting. We will explore a variety of 6-count moves that can be added to your Lindy Hop repertoire and then, for a little extra fun, we’ll explore how they can be turned into 8-count moves too! This will help us gain a deeper feel for connection, stronger listening skills within a dance partnership, and push the bounds of our creativity with the music.”
Prerequisite: 8 beat lindy hop rhythm (swing out)

Not So Lindy Sampler – Class: East Coast Swing (1 of 2)

Instructors: Brad & Catherine
This class will be a (re)introduction to East Coast Swing, beginning with a deeper dive into the basics: feeling the six-count tension, how our connections with the floor and partner changes between rock step and side step, bringing the basic up to tempo. After reviewing these fundamentals, we will build a repertoire of turns and spins that all build on the basic architecture of the inside and outside turns. This will include the belt loop turn, stop turn, and hammerlock.
Prerequisite: None (open to any and all levels – grab non-dance friends and bring them out)

Lesson Attendance & Costs:

– Can drop in each week or pre-purchase a block of classes (you will receive a small ticket(s) to present at each class attended)
– For member or students…
>18 classes = $190
>15 classes = $180
>12 classes = $160
> 9 classes = $140
> 6 classes = $100
> 3 classes = $55
>Drop-in = $20
– For non-members…

>18 classes = $210
>15 classes = $200
>12 classes = $180
> 9 classes = $160
> 6 classes = $120
> 3 classes = $70
>Drop-in = $25

(if you decide later or end up being able to attend more classes or are between blocks of classes (i.e. 4,8,11,14, etc.), please see Jeff Benoit to discuss an improvised cost)

2nd Annual Swingin' Summer of Dance
2024-07-02 19:00 - 21:30 | Hepcat Swing Studio, 42 Erb St. E., Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 1L6, Canada
Lesson Logistics:
– Time = 7:00-8:00pm Lindy-Centric
= 8:00-9:00pm Not So Lindy Sampler
=9:00-9:30pm Practice

– Dates = Wednesdays July 2 – Aug 30
(this is 9 weeks and up to 18 classes)

Lesson Content:
– Stand alone classes and not progressive from week to week (students can miss classes and be fine to attend next class without falling behind)
– Teachers have been offered an opportunity to develop & teach their own unique classes so expect a variety of voices to learn from

– Lindy-Centric will be all lindy hop all classes all summer
>Continue building on the most popular and most danced style within our community
>Possible classes = connection, swingout variations, breaks slides & other variations, rhythm variations, giving and finding space to style & shine, leading & following 6 count variations, dips & tricks, steals, ???
>Prerequisite = know 8 count rhythm of lindy hop (1st class will not require that)

– Not So Lindy Sampler will be any other dance than lindy hop for 2 classes (so 4 other styles over the summer)
>Lots of feedback to me about not sure I want to sign up for full 6 week classes of a style I don’t know so thought this summer could be a sample of these other styles that lets dancers try them and build basics
>Hopefully builds into the fall to offer these classes during regular weekly series
>Each class for the style will start with basic figures and then finish with different figures
>Prerequisite = none (everything should start from basics)

Lesson Attendance & Costs:

– Can drop in each week or pre-purchase a block of classes (you will receive a small ticket(s) to present at each class attended)
– For member or students…
>18 classes = $200
>15 classes = $190
>12 classes = $170
> 9 classes = $150
> 6 classes = $110
> 3 classes = $55
>Drop-in = $20
– For non-members…

>18 classes = $220
>15 classes = $210
>12 classes = $190
> 9 classes = $170
> 6 classes = $130
> 3 classes = $70
>Drop-in = $25

(if you decide later or end up being able to attend more classes or are between blocks of classes (i.e. 4,8,11,14, etc.), please see Jeff Benoit to discuss an improvised cost)
