Lennart Westerlund, the founder of Herräng Dance Camp, tells his story about the camp and also gives intricate insights about differences within the swing dance community now and then.
Daniel remembers when he lived in a cold storage under sweaty stage clothes while Åsa talks about when she was flown to Las Vegas for a one-night show. They also talk about how it feels when people continue to wonder when they are going to get a "real job” and how they made it possible to continue to dance and travel the world with children. A recurring topic throughout this episode is passion and how you should continue to do what you love and also "what you cultivate, will also grow".
In this weeks episode we talk to Lennart Westerlund about important persons that he met throughout the years. Dancers he met or/and worked with like Mr Albert Minns, Frankie Manning and Billy Ricker (dancers from the “Whiteys Lindy hoppers”- considered as the best Lindy Hop dance troupe of all times), Harold and Fayard Nicholas from the famous tap duo “The Nicholas Brothers” and also Leonard Reed (who created the famous choreography “The Shim Sham”). He talks about his role models, how the dance has been a 100% of his life up until very recently. We ask him how he feels about this new situation and what he thinks about the future.
Episode guest - Lennart Westerlund; founder of the world famous dance troupe The Rhythm Hot Shots, founder and organizer of Herräng Dance Camp (world’s largest swing-dance camp) for more than 40 years. He has won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater (NYC), choregraphed for both big and small productions. He is famous for his talk shows and has been called “A Swedish David Letterman”. He is an historian and is a frequently hired and appreciated dance teacher and lecturer in old-school American swing dance and show business history.
In this episode Daniel talks about how criticism is not dragging him down but rather gives him motivation to move forward. Åsa talks about how she first was hesitant towards getting a new dance partner.
Other than that they also discuss things like; if dance-technique actually is that important and how a perfect Swingout can lead to marriage, children and a life-long relation… and much more.
Tasters from this episode:
Daniel remembers when he, after many years of dancing, got to know that Lindy hop is a dance originating from Harlem, New York and what his first idols in Lindy Hop meant to him as a teenager. We also get to hear his experience coming to Herräng Dance Camp.
Åsa talks about how she leaves school at the age of 16 to dedicate the rest of her life to Lindy Hop, how she fell in love the first year in Herräng and what it means to do something "full on".
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