Name
Emily Callahan
Location:
Torrance, CA, United States
Hometown:
Torrance, CA, United States |
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My Story:
I've always been moved by big band/swing music, but never really knew why. In high school, I played in the jazz band and sang in a jazz choir. I found myself loving my grandma's music. My friends and I had talked about learning to swing dance when we were in high school (late 90s), but never got around to actually doing it. One of my friends joined the swing dancing club when she went to USC and started taking lessons. She took me out to Satin Ballroom on one of its last nights. I loved it, even though I didn't really dance because I had no idea what I was doing. This same friend introduced me to a friend of hers that she met through Lindy Hop who had an annual pass to Disneyland. While we were at Disneyland, this friend of hers tried to talk me into learning how to Lindy Hop. He actually taught me the basic while we were standing in line for food. Well, being the klutz that I am, I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to do it. So that was that. Then, a few years later in 2005, my friend and I were talking to another friend and the subject of Lindy Hop came up. So we finally decided to take lessons. She didn't continue, but I was completely bitten by the bug -- the jitterbug, as it were -- and continued on to be the several nights a week Lindy Hopper that I am. It has been and continues to be an amazingly fun journey and I have made some fantastic friends that I know I will have for the rest of my life.
Additional Questions
When/where did you first start doing Lindy Hop?
September 2005
Why did you first start doing Lindy Hop?
See "My Story"
What is the size of your local Lindy community?
It's LA -- everything's huge here!!
How often do you go out dancing or take lessons?
Anywhere from 1 to 7 nights a week. The more often, the better!!
What is your favorite thing about Lindy Hop (both as an activity and as a community)?
The huge spectrum of people I've met. All ages, races, religions meet and set it all aside for 3 minutes on the dance floor -- beautiful!
What do you do for a living?
I work in finance....not nearly as exciting as everyone else I've met!
Male/Female:
Female
Year you were born?
1980
What bit of non-swing info about you would the Lindy community find interesting?
I met one of my very best friends Lindy Hopping. Through conversation, we discovered that we had performed in the same group in the same performance at Carnegie Hall only 6 months before we became friends -- and we didn't know each other then!
How has Lindy Hop changed your life?
It was such a leap outside of my comfort zone. I was once painfully shy and I'm now much more outgoing. It's given me self confidence that I could have only dreamed of before.
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