Pretty early into our college dancing years, we would drive out to Lancaster to dance in some random church/community center if there was live music and we needed somewhere to dance during our need-to-dance-every-possible-second phase. Over those years the event Swing Aus has grown alongside us. I returned this past October to dance in Lancaster for the first time since before the pandemic.
I always love dancing at the Iris Club, it is such a warm and welcoming place. As one of the country's oldest women's clubs, you can tell you are in a space designed for comfort and community. Over the years one thing that remains amusingly true is when you find yourself in the ladies' room surrounded by floral wallpaper, a good mirror, and a collection of other people touching up their hair and makeup you also find yourself in a compact conversation of compliments. Without fail whenever I return to the Iris club I always seem to make a new friend or connect with someone else as they put some bobby pins in their hair or are washing their hands after many many dances.
This year they had two competitions and some great performances. The West Philly Swingers had the entire room engaged in their choreography and there were now two levels of Mix and Match. I made it to the finals for the Mix and Match. I decided to wear a dress my grandmother made for me to swing dance in. My grandmother has always made clothes and enjoys sewing. When my mom started dancing in the 90's she made my mother a dress from an identical pattern (with a different fabric). I also wore my denim jacket with an Amish quilt patch sewn on the back that my mother made as part of a pattern for my sister's baby quilt. I stayed and visited with my mother's family while in Lancaster so it felt right to honor them in my dress for the finals. A little good luck token, to be held by the women in my family, for it is their handiwork that has gotten me to where I am and will take me where I am going. Which turned out to be third place and the prize to return again next year!
I had a wonderful time at Swing Aus. It was great to see the organizers doing their thing and putting on a really welcoming event. I went back into the archives to find the last time I made finals at Swing Aus in 2018 and it was awesome to see how many of those dancers are still around and how much our dancing has changed!
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