Movers and Shakers - Tim Korkuc, Orlando

Movers and Shakers is a new series highlighting some of the people behind the growing Lindy Hop scenes throughout Florida.

This week we interviewed Tim Korkuc from Orlando.

How are you currently active in your scene and what have you done over the last year to grow Lindy Hop in your area? What have you learned from your work?

Currently I run lesson series' through my organization Dancers Hideout on Tuesday nights (this month’s series’ are the Tranky Do, and Balboa 202), I DJ pretty regularly at the local dances (Swing Knights Friday night dance, and Orlando Swing dance’s Bi-monthly Saturday night dances, and of course the famous Dancers Hideout modern nights).

I’m the Faculty Advisor to the Swing Knights (which is the Student run organization at UCF). I teach private lessons, and have in the past filled in for instructors when they’re out of town. Oh and I guess I almost forgot, I also am on the committee for ORLX, and City Girl Swing Out (which happens this August 9-11th. ;D )

I’ve learned that it’s impossible to grow a scene by yourself, unless maybe if that was your only job. You need teachers, DJ’s, organizers, promotion, and volunteers. And while I guess it’s possible to do all of the things, you’ll stay sane much longer if you have the support and help of a bunch of other people who also want “what’s best for the scene.” I put that in quotes because everyone has a slightly different idea, and having other people with other ideas also helps keep some balance to the scene so that it’s not dominated by one person or another.

I’ve learned that traveling can be great for your individual dancing and your scene, but your home scene can really miss you if you start spending a lot of time out of state. Traveling is vital for bringing back the new ideas that people are bringing to the dance that we so love. It’s also great for letting others know about your home scene, because if they don’t know there is one, and that there are awesome people there to dance with, how would they know to come visit?

Tell us a short story about your dance history. When did you start swing dancing, Lindy Hopping, other styles? What initially drew you to Lindy Hop?

Girls. 

I know it’s Cliché but that’s exactly what brought 14yr old Tim to Swing Dancing (yes I’ve been swing dancing since I was 14). I was sitting bored in world history, and a friend of mine asked me what I was doing on Saturday night. The town I lived in was quite small so my response was “nothing”. He invited me swing dancing, and I initially scoffed at the idea. “Dancing?!” I said back to him. To which he responded with something along the lines of “there will be tons of girls there, you should really check it out”, and so I did.

Before I could even sit down, I was asked to dance. I wish I could say it was my devilish good looks, but that’s definitely not the case. There were probably 6 girls to every guy in the room, my friend had been dancing for some time at that point and had a reputation for being pretty good, so it was likely assumed that because I walked in with him (after my mom dropped us off, because we couldn’t drive yet) that I might be good too.

I couldn’t dance at all! Despite being a drummer and having a decent sense of rhythm, and being a wrestler with a decent awareness of how to move my body, I couldn’t seem to put them together. The first time I “lead” an underarm turn, I asked the girl I was dancing with to help me by lifting my arm when I was supposed to! But I was hooked, the music was fun, the girls were cute, and there was this new movement that I really wanted to be good at.

Years later I can definitely say that I dance because I truly love it and the music, but at first it was definitely all of the cute (and very patient) girls that I got to dance with every Saturday night.

What do you love about this dance? What keeps you dancing?

I love the music; I love the physical aspects of getting out and interacting with the music with my body; and I love learning and challenging myself to do new things within the dance. And even though it’s not one of main reasons I go dancing anymore, follows are still one of my favorite things about this dance. And, let’s be clear, there are plenty of places to go meet and hang out with girls, but you’ll never find a place with so many that are as awesome as swing dancers. You get to interact with another person without talking (of course you can do that too) dancing to the music and finding out how the person you’re dancing with interprets the song while you make your own way through.

What are you currently working on in your dancing right now?

Lots! I’ve been learning a lot of Balboa, I’ve been practicing and teaching Aerials, and I’m always tinkering with my Swingout in one way or another.

I’ve really been trying to embrace the concept of less leading my partner and more dancing with them. Oh and I’m really fighting hard to stop looking at the floor when I think I’m doing a cool solo move. :D

Who is a major inspiration to your dancing? Can you link us to a favorite video of this person? If you can’t pick just one, then post a few!

Peter Strom!

Nick Williams!

Mike and Laura!

What was the catalyst that pushed you to become personally invested in building your scene?

Simply put: more dancing, more people to dance with, more people to learn from.

If you could request only one song to be played at a dance, what would it be?

Seriously? Only one song? I’ve re written this answer a dozen times now… and I might have settled on Boilermaker’s… no Gordon’s… no Basie’s…. AHHHH!!!

Can I skip this one? It’s killin’ me… there are just so many songs I love it’s really hard to pick one.

Shiny Stockings! I’ve settled. This song is basically always awesome, but for a specific version the one be Ella Live at Juan-Les-Pins, the one where she goes “awwww, count basie!” :D that makes me so happy, also the “play pretty for the people roy!"

That video has the right song, also some awesome dancing by Thomas and Alice!

What events do you always attend? Which ones inspire you the most?

ORLX, Lindy Focus, and Swing into Spring. These are the ones I always attend. I feel like it’s super easy to be inspired by focus, but it’s still awesome, and inspiring!

ORLX is a favorite because I don’t have to leave my bed, and so many of my awesome friends come into town.

Swing Into Spring is just an amazing event, if you haven’t been, you should fix that ASAP (which will be February 2014 in Colombia SC).

And probably the most inspiring event for me is ILHC, I’m pretty competitive by nature so this comp weekend really gets me worked up to go and work on my dancing! I can’t say I always go cause I’ve only been once, I just know the effect it had on me was extremely strong!

What do you envision for your scene in the next year? Next 3 years?

Bigger scene, better dancing. That’s the goal.

If you could share one bit of wisdom that you’d like everyone to know, what would it be?

Doing things that are easy will only make you good at doing easy things.


Thanks, Tim!

Movers and Shakers - Leah Herman, South Florida

Movers and Shakers is a new series highlighting some of the people behind the growing Lindy Hop scenes throughout Florida.

This week we interviewed Leah Herman from Swing Out South Florida.  Check out their website and facebook page for more info.

How are you currently active in your scene and what have you done over the last year to grow Lindy Hop in your area? What have you learned from your work?

I’m super active! I’m currently an organizer for Swing Out South Florida, a swing organization I co-founded in January 2011. Since founding SOSF, we’ve grown from 15 dancers a week to 30-40 dancers a week, with a solid group of amazing intermediate dancers who are starting to travel outside of South Florida. And, of course, we’re still trying to grow. 

Most of the things I’ve learned from this are life skills rather than dance skills, however – I’ve learned a lot about leadership, about creating and marketing events, and about how incredibly important it is to reach out to people and connect with them in a meaningful way.

Tell us a short story about your dance history. When did you start swing dancing, Lindy Hopping, other styles? What initially drew you to Lindy Hop?

A friend of mine just happened to have an extra ticket to “Burn the Floor,” a variety dance show that featured all kinds of partner dancing. After the show, I was so excited about dancing in general that I would have tried anything – but my friend was a Lindy Hopper, and she invited me out to swing. (I also remember very clearly that she was not impressed with the lindy hop portion of the partner dancing show – they weren’t doing any triples.)

She only came to one or two dances with me since she was graduating, but I immediately fell in love with the energy. I was completely unafraid – I still remember going to Southern Belle after only 3 months of dancing and running up to anyone, no matter how good they were, to ask them to dance with me. Total lindy junkie from the get-go.

What do you love about this dance? What keeps you dancing?

What I love most is the complete exhilaration you feel when having a great dance with someone. When I feel truly connected with my partner, when we’re perfectly matched, perfectly goofy or soulful or crazy (whatever the music calls for), and when we’re smiling together – that’s when I feel the deepest love for lindy.

What are you currently working on in your dancing right now?

Although I have good musicality, I sometimes sacrifice connection for it and allow too much noise into my movement. I’m working on learning new ways to express myself so I can style more effectively. I’m also working on my stretch at the end of a swingout and learning to dance faster.

Who is a major inspiration to your dancing? Can you link us to a favorite video of this person? If you can’t pick just one, then post a few!

There are so many dancers I admire! One of the current dancers I admire most is Laura Glaess – she has a silliness to her sometimes that I totally get, and she has beautiful connection. Frida I admire for her fearlessness to contribute to the dance and alter leads she’s given (but who doesn’t admire her?). As for historical dancers, I think Jean Veloz is amazing. There’s a great video of her still dancing at 88 – I can only hope to be as active a dancer when I’m old.

What was the catalyst that pushed you to become personally invested in building your scene?

Actually, the responsibility dropped right into my lap. When the person who started Monday Night Swing, Tamar, left for Orlando, it was up to a couple of us to continue the dance. At the time, there was no Wednesday or Friday night swing – it was to lindy or not to lindy. If we hadn’t decided to continue, there would have been no swing dancing in South Florida.

If you could request only one song to be played at a dance, what would it be?

Oh, this is a tough one too… Breezing Along with the Breeze by Johnny Marvin, even though the recording quality is terrible. I have a faster version on my computer with a stronger beat, but the below link was all I could find.

What events do you always attend? Which ones inspire you the most?

I was out for a year and a half with an injury, so I’d say that there isn’t any event I’ve attended regularly in a while. However, I have very fond memories of Lindy Focus and I’m really looking forward to going this year. The Hop Shop is also one of my very favorite events – they have had a really unique workshop format and great teachers every year.

What do you envision for your scene in the next year? Next 3 years?

I really want to grow our scene more – I’d love to grow it to 60 dancers and find a big, beautiful venue to fit them all in. I’d also like to expand the scope of our teaching. Right now, we’re just at the point where we’re starting to get people very interested in progressive lessons, but we don’t have a lot of dancers above intermediate level. Over the next few years, it would be nice to develop some more advanced dancers who would be able and willing to spread their knowledge to the rest of the scene.

If you could share one bit of wisdom that you’d like everyone to know, what would it be?

Be kind to yourself and to the beginners. A lot of dancers get really frustrated with the level they’re at, or with who will or won’t dance with them in their scenes. The truth is that you need to put yourself out there if you want to be part of things. Be brave and ask people to dance. And don’t take it personally when someone doesn’t enjoy their dance with you – just like in life, in dancing, people don’t always mix.

As for the beginners, I’ve heard some dancers complain about them, and seen plenty of advanced dancers who just don’t dance with them. If you’re part of a big scene, maybe you have that luxury. I think it’s a terrible attitude – the beginners are what keep your scene going. People come into the scene and people leave. It’s a world of constant flux. Not only that, but those beginners may be great in few years. Or maybe they’re great people that you would end up wanting to be friends with, or to date. You’ll never know if you don’t even bother to give them the time of day. Never judge people based on their dancing ability alone.

Thanks, Leah! If you're down in the Ft. Lauderdale area on a Monday night, swing by their dance to say hi.