Swing Goth

I’ve been to Swing Goth 3 or 4 times, and each time has been a lot of fun. The thing I really liked was that Brian, the instructor, was very patient in teaching me how to dance the steps. Not only am I a beginner-​level dancer, but I am also rhythmically challenged, so I really appreciated that. A lot of people who are way better dancers seem to have a great time here too, but I just wanted to note that for us beginners, this is a good place to develop some dance skills.

I’ve been itching for something to write about today, and here it is! Brian G. just created the Unilocal event, so this my 2^nd plug for the upcoming Blackbeard’s Ball! Come out and dance the night away with me!
Dresing up is heavily encouraged, but not necessary.

I am a professional swing dancer and have been doing it since I was 12. Yes, if you are on the same level as I am this class may seem rudimentary. However, if you are brand new to dance this is a great place for you. The people are supportive and I assure you YOU WILL LEARN STANDARD EAST COAST MOVES PROPERLY! I can’t believe people are writing reviews saying that it is in no way «swing». It totally is. It is, however, in no way pretentious so maybe that’s what their problem is.
The teacher, Brian, is incredibly thorough with what he teaches. If you’re ready to listen and learn he’s ready to teach you. Swing Goth emphasizes fun and individuality. What’s the point of dancing if you can’t let loose and be yourself? Everyone I have ever met there is incredibly genuine and fun to be around.
And of course, if you want to be a serious dancer, check out other venues as well. Swing Goth is a place to be a little bit different when you feel like taking that risk. But I understand, going against the norm can be really hard for people…

ummm… I felt like I entered the twilight zone… and not in a good way! I have been swing dancing for over ten years now. I have traveled and danced all over California, Nevada, Seattle and recently in Honolulu, HI. I currently have a friend visiting me and we decided to be a bit adventurous tonight and not go to the Verdi Club as usual. We walked in to the bar and found the Swing Goth area… wow. Just wow. I don’t know what kind of «dance» those people were doing, but it definitely is NOT swing in any shape or form! Not lindy… not east coast… not jitterbug… not shag or balboa… couldn’t even be classified as blues! Instead it was a bunch of off beat rhythmless people frolicking on the dance floor.
I’m all for dancing to modern music, having fun and being adventurous… but this is not that. This is a small group of friends who find pleasure in dancing poorly to goth music. I am glad that they are having a good time, but this event should not be advertised as a «swing» venue, as it is far from anything even remotely close to swing dancing!
Bottom line:
If you are rythemless and are looking for a fun time «dancing» to goth music… this is your kind of place. (btw, there were only around six people there!)
BUT…If you do not enjoy dancing with random men who poorly execute lifts and dips within the first few minutes of the FIRST song they have EVER danced with you… AND you are actually interested in swing dancing… skip Swing Goth and head to the Verdi Club instead. Or try the 9:20 on Thursday nights… or the Rock it Room on Sunday nights.

Short story: Fun. Playful. Friendly group. Good for people that want to dance and have fun, while maybe catching a show and some time to chat.
Medium story: Sing Goth (once upon a time «Sinister Swing») is a kick back group that looks at dancing as more about being a connection with the person your dancing with than a series of steps. Spend enough time and you will get the move to dance to any tone.
Longer story:
About three years ago, Brian found me in a Irish folk dancing class in Berkeley. After the class was done he whisked me out to SF where we danced «Swing» to «Goth» music.
I started going to his classes off and on and I have made some good friends and gotten confident enough that I can often be found at clubs and concerts asking girls and guys alike if they would like to dance.
If you are like myself and can’t keep your toes from tapping when you hear a beat but don’t know where to start — this is the place.
I hear/​read negative reviews here and else where and I have to say they seem to be taking things a bit seriously: Dancing was made to have a connection with someone and to have a good time. If your not having a good time — your doing it wrong ;)
Come out and dance the night away.

Swing Goth puts the *dance dance* in my *pants pants* (wait, that sounds wrong…). Where else can a girl go to swing to amazing music? It’s like «wheee!»
They also have theme nights, such as when they brought in my favorite steampunk band, Abney Park, to the bay area, for us to dance to. SWEETNESS. Apparently they have different theme nights every few weeks. I’ve been to several and have always had fun, and seen something new (including a comic book themed burlesque show!)
Brian, one of the instructors, is incredibly fun to dance with, and really takes his time to ensure that you know the steps, especially if you ask him for one on one time. I’m not the world’s best swing dancer, but my confidence goes up when I dance with him.
Wheee! *dance dance* See you there!

I’ve only been to Swing Goth once, but I’ll say that in one class I came out learning more than in the four classes I took at Cheryl Burke Dance. It only took one hour of instruction and the whole room was dancing — I’d say that’s quite an accomplishment!
Now there seems to be some debate on this page as to the «purity» of the style of dance that Brian is teaching. Here’s what I’ll say: if you’re looking to learn some fun dance moves, have a good time and meet some really nice people, this is the place to be.
If your interest is in more formalized dance instruction, then I would recommend going to a dance studio where you’ll be instructed on the specifics. Personally, I’m more interested in learning some basic moves and having fun, so Swing Goth totally fit the bill.

Swing Goth, I love Swing Goth, and look forward to coming every other week.
A lot of the critisism seems to come from the people that are all… BAWWWWWWW… THEY DON’T DANCE THE SAME LIKE I DO!!! THEY DON’T DO LINDY, THAT’S NOT REAL SWING!!!
Yeah, what I say to those people is to bite me.
What is taught here is East Coast Jitterbug. There is NO SUCH THING AS 6 COUNT LINDY. Jitterbug doesn’t have swing outs. This is a different style of dancing, which has it’s origins in the 40’s, but was popularized by the kids in the 1950’s dancing to Bill Haley and the Comets.
Now that I got that out of the way…
Swing Goth is where you go if you want to Have fun dancing with your partner to the music. Having fun is the key here. No one is going to make fun of you or look down on you if you don’t know what you are doing. In fact, everyone is quite helpful and supportive, unlike a lot of the other swing venues in the city. No egos here, just good people having fun dancing.
And to the person that says that you’ll be ashamed trying to use your dancing that you learn here at other venues… well… I’ve danced at Le Colonial, Hubba Hubba Review, Ashkenaz, and the Verdi Club, as well as rockabilly shows up and down California using what I learned here at Swing Goth, and NEVER felt embarrased or ashamed!

First review but I feel this one is long over due.
I’ve been going to Swing Goth off and on for a little while now.
No matter what your skill level the whole point of this class is not to learn ‘true classic hard core swing dancing’ which seems to be a huge complaint of those who didn’t love it in the other reviews.
The point is to have fun!
To enjoy dancing with a partner. No matter if your better or they’re better. Just have fun and dance to some songs you’ve probably heard before.
Actually there have been times in the free dancing where I just grabbed a guys hand and said, «I have to dance to this song it’s one of my favs!» and we tore up the floor bumbling and bouncing trying to figure out what the other was doing and just laughing the whole time.
No pretension. Just dance how you want to.
The classes teach you basic steps and if you show up early some harder ones. Brian always makes sure that if you need help you got it. Just raise your hand and say, «uhhhh what you just do?» he will show you again and even do it a couple times with you til you are comfy with it.
If you aren’t a super serious dancer who just wants to enjoy the moment and have a great night come on down!
I recommend this event to any of my friends who are in town when it happens.

They are very nice here and the idea of swing goth sounds so fun, but what they want to be «a new, modern take» on swing is actually a butchered, amateur job. All of the regulars (including teacher) don’t know/​or don’t «do» more than the basic six count Lindy (no charleston no swingouts) and what they do know is problematic when they try to dance to off beat tunes or songs that are too slow or too fast for swing based dancing. I have to really repeat that the most of the music played was NOT suitable for most any kind of dancing…
Excuse me… I do understand that they dance east coast swing here (which can be called jitterbug), but They market Swing Goth as a swing venue… which I know is very vague but most of the time includes all kinds of swing (but if the instructor only knows east coast, then I guess that’s it). This does not excuse them from dancing badly however. Also Vu D, THERE IS SUCH A THING AS 6-​COUNT LINDY… look it up ;)
The DJ and dance teacher tries to fill in what he doesn’t know about swing with «lifts and dips» and encourages his beginners to do the same. I danced with a couple of people who tried to impress me with jumbled fast dancing. The leads were very aggressive and forceful and I was afraid one of them would try to lift me or something-​I found myself thrown off balance many times.
One of my partners even claimed I hurt his wrist and made me feel like a total loser. He talked down to me and told me we could continue dancing if I didn’t «do that» again. Oh yeah and btw, he said it was the second time it had happened to him that night… does that tell you anything? The leads were all very inattentive to their follows comfort and skill wise. The follows were… following…they don’t know any better that it’s not okay to be pushed and pulled around like a rag doll.
I know swing goth prides themselves on being different, but how can you dance swing-​based dancing if you can’t even dance basic swing? I’m also talking about rhythm, timing and musicality not just fancy moves. And yes, East Coast Swing Did originate from swing of the early 1900’s.it didn’t just appear suddenly in the 40’s and everyone started to make things up. This felt more like a hang out to pick some girls up while they pretend to know how to dance at this «cool» venue.
If you’re curious about swing, don’t go here. I can tell you you might have fun, but you’ll be embarrassed and ashamed if you go to a different venue and dance what you’ve learned here. Try the Verde club also on tuesdays or the 920 special on thursdays. Also, Lindy in the Park every Sunday is free!
Oh and for the record, most if not all of the swing community/​venues are extremely nice and non judgmental so swing goth doesn’t gain any points there in my book.

So I don’t know where this guy Jared G. was, but it couldn’t have been the same Julie’s supper club I was at. I was at a place where people were having fun, among very free spirited non judgmental people who were just out to have a great time and most of them looked spectacular on the dance floor.
To get an hour of instruction for just 5 bucks seems like a real bargain to me, and I’ve taken a few swing classes before and not learned nearly as much as in his class.
Plus it’s a lot more fun. And the music is a lot less goth than I expected and more of a crazy ensemble of the kind you might find if you hit the random button on my window’s music player. I love hearing Leonard Cohen, then Lost my Lucky ball and Chain by They Might be Giants followed by Dancing with Myself by Billy Idol.
And like Mark said, it doesn’t hurt that all the women there are drop dead gorgeous. And to paraphrase Cat, it would be worth the five bucks just to watch Alexis and Brian do their dance numbers. I’d say it’s worth five bucks just to watch Alexis dance but I don’t want to get all the other drop dead gorgeous women there mad at me ;)

This was the worst swing dancing class I have ever taken.
Furthermore the moves and concepts taught in this class are so fundamentally different from proper swing (of any kind) that a student of this class will find taking professional swing dancing classes more challenging.
This class is not worth -$ 5 let along the $ 5 the class costs.
instead go here
=]

I can’t believe I’m motivated finally to actually writing a damn review, but I’m PO’d.
Seriously, you have to be a mental case if you think this is a classic swing instruction class. «Swing Goth» is just a freaking moniker for partners dancing to modern styles of music.
The lessons are novel and a lot of fun as I experienced when I crashed the event for my birthday party. Everyone had a great time as was witnessed by the laughter and jovial nature of those participating.
If you’ve read the website and show up expecting to learn the Carolina Shag to «It Don’t Mean a Thing», then please do humanity a favor and don’t breed.
kthxbai!

I’ve been going to Swing Goth for the past 5 months. Being a relative newcomer to the SF area, this night was been an absolute godsend to me. Not only did it make me do something I dread (dancing… especially with boys… euwww), but it gave me an excellent opportunity to meet people from all ages and walks of life. Brian (the main instructor) has been great at introducing, mixing and mingling and ensuring that all have a great time. It really gave me a chance to come out of my shell and start rocking out San Francisco. Well a little at least. And Alexis, his co-​instructor… boy that girl can do some things with her body that leave me in awe.
The swing dancing is great. It’s a little mix of various styles and the end result is a fun combination that looks great — and you feel great when dancing. Its an excellent workout as well (well, I am usually sweating buckets by the end so I reckon that counts). It makes me smile when I see other swing-​gothers dancing away in various clubs across town.
Music-​wise, it ticks all the boxes for me in my little music-​nerd world. If I am not up dancing, my toe is a-​tapping away.
I highly recomend you check this night out — if you don’t want to dance, then have a seat in one of the most chilled out bars in town and have a chat with one of the nicest bartenders around. Although… he is leaving, so catch him while he is still there…