Things for Which I'm Thankful III
Last night, I shared time and table for Thanksgiving with Hiromi and some of her friends from swing dancing. Mike Hibarger of Five Guys Named Mike hosted, and there were five of us total. Mike used to play guitar in a self-described Stooges-like punk band called the Takers. He also used to run the local label Sonic Bubblegum. So conversation focused primarily on the local lindy-hop scene -- I was the only non-swing dancer in attendance -- and its parallels with the local indie-rock scene. I was fascinated. The national swing dancing scene is much more tightly knit than the national punk-rock scene, perhaps because of the various exchanges and camps, and I was impressed by how many people at Thanksgiving dinner had mutual friends from different parts of the country. I also learned a lot about various styles of swing dancing, their "purity" -- whether people learned from actual dancers from way back when or from Hollywood screen renditions of rougher forms of dance. All in all, a pleasant holiday -- and good eatin'! -- thanks to Mike and the Boston-area lindy hoppers for welcoming me into their home... and their subculture.