1. 8 Reason I Swing Dance For Over 1.5 Years And not going to stop any time soon http://www.lindyverse.com

2. Introduction I have been swing dancing (especially Lindy Hopping) for 1 year and 8 months exactly. To celebrate my achievement and desire to dance more, I decided to share the reasons why I dance … a lot. So here they are, 8 reasons I lindy hop for over 1.5 years and not going to stop any time soon. http://www.lindyverse.com

3. 1. Keeps me fit and healthy http://www.lindyverse.com You probably already know that I lost around 20 KGs within the first 8 months since I started dancing. I am not saying I am very fit but I still maintain my 75 KGs or so. I must admit that it definitely helps with balance. My posture has improved like crazy. I was not a big humpback but my back was not straight mostly due to my work environment. I used to work 10 hours in my home office … now I work about 2-3 hours as I am so busy with dancing …

4. 2. Expands my social network Believe me or not but I have many more friends now than I had 2 years ago. When you start meeting people at events, you meet likeminded people and some of them work in the same industry you do. I know there are a lot of lindy hoppers working in marketing industry … not necessarily in digital marketing but still … quite related … although I don’t think I ever talked about marketing with anyone from lindy hop scene … You do not make just friends while you are at the events. Friendships expand into “real life” friends. I mean, people start meeting for BBQs (I’ve done that a few times now), at pubs for a few drinks … and I am sure some business partnerships have started … like opening own dancing school or something. However, there are cons with making many friends as well. God forbid a friend passes away or a friend leaves your local area. Sad but that’s life right? http://www.lindyverse.com

5. 3. A new world opened before my eyes I remember when I started dancing I thought it was like dancing lessons back in school … except that they weren’t forced … and I used to dodge dancing classes in school anyway. I remember my first social in London … or my first social in general where I had 2 dances in the whole evening. It was couple of weeks before my first local and themed (Gt. Gatsby) fidgety feet in Hertfordshire. Then I realised how big lindy hop was back that day … and now it has grown tremendiously. My point is not about the size of lindy hop though. That day I learned about camps and stuff. Then over the next few coming weeks or months as I immersed with lindy hop to a deeper level (started attending more classes and became regular social dancer in London) I learned more and more about camps and more socials. In November 2013 I booked my first camp – DJAM 2014. Now I realise that there are camps and weekenders every weekend. You do not need to go somewhere abroad either – there are plenty of them in UK as well. Then you become aware of who is authority in the community. http://www.lindyverse.com

6. 4. Lindy hop is a lifestyle You know there are 4 types of people – those who are leaders, those who are followers, those who do both and those who do not dance … sorry, I couldn’t resist putting that in which is probably unrelated but anyway, I realise that lindy hop is a lifestyle. If you do not see it that way that means you may not be yet into lindy hop as much as I am. When you become a lindy hopper, shortly, you realise that 80% of facebook friends are lindy hoppers from all over the world, not just your local area or country. You start prioritising dancing friends or dancing in general over your other non-dancing friends which is OK … you dance … right (I mean, it’s fine by me ;) )? :D http://www.lindyverse.com

7. 5. Great work/entertainment balance I remember I used to work 10 hours a day. That was roughly 50-70 hours a week (and yeah, I worked on weekends as well). Now I have a very good work/dancing balance where sometimes I dance for 30 hours over a week and work like … maybe, 15 hours … but then again, digital marketing is my passion, I hardly see it as work … :D but if you are working in the office, social dancing is really great way to blow the steam off. http://www.lindyverse.com

8. 6. Overcoming shyness I have to admit that I was quite … shy … my shyness was on such a massive level that was crazy. I could hardly talk while giving a presentation in fron of class, I could not talk in a group of 3 people or so. Now I can do all those things and my confidence has improved like crazy. I have competed in several competitions which also helps a lot in gaining confidence. http://www.lindyverse.com

9. 7. Sightseeing and stuff When you become international or even nation dancer and you start travelling around the country or continent or world for dancing, you sure get a chance to see other cities right? I mean if you go to Budapest for Lindy Shock, why not take a look around that beautiful city since you are there already? It does not have to apply to international camps. You may go to DJam and decide to explore the Durham … because … why not? http://www.lindyverse.com

10. 8. Having fun … Oh did I mention that I always have fun? You know it’s probably the best reason to dance … you have fun. I used to dance nervously when I started but now I am more relaxed and enjoy dancing. It does not matte who I dance with, I will find awesomeness and fun in every dance … I may not please you with my not-so-fancy or proessional moves or musicality but hey, are you dancing to have fun or to get impressed or to impress your partner? :D http://www.lindyverse.com

11. THANK YOU! Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed and want more, please visit my blog where I blog about my dancing adventures. I normally blog about live band events and dance camps and anything lindy hop related. http://www.lindyverse.com