Getting an extra kick from swing
Lindy Hop Swing Dance
The Beantown Orchestra
Saturday, 9 p.m. to midnight
Dance lessons at 8 p.m.
Performing Arts Center, 51 Walden St., Concord
All ages; no partner required
$15, $10 students
beantownswing.com, 617-272-5730
Frank Hsieh hits a nostalgic note when he recalls the swing dance craze during his days in New York City.
"I went to clubs and swing danced almost every night," said Hsieh, who now lives in Concord. "I started to miss it when it died down a bit."
Though Hsieh sounds like someone from the World War II generation, he in fact belongs to Generation X. Hsieh, 36, wasn't around for the big band era of the '30s and '40s, but he was there for its Big Bad Voodoo Daddy revival in the 1990s.
Putting nostalgia to good use, he formed the 18-piece Beantown Swing Orchestra last year with a goal of exposing the music and dance of the period to younger generations in New England.
"The music we play is geared toward the dancers and what makes them move. I have an idea of what that is, because I was one of those dancers back in the late '90s," he said.
Hsieh says his appreciation for jazz started while he was playing tenor saxophone under the direction of his Lexington High School band director, Jeff Leonard.
"Swing music and early jazz are the roots of American music. It's important that younger people know this history and where the music of today comes from," he said.
Two-thirds of the band's members are still students at the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory. The rest are either recent graduates or professionals like Hsieh, who studied engineering at Cornell University and now co-owns a high-tech company in Marlborough.
The number of young people in the band "really gives the music an extra kick of energy," said Hsieh, a big-band connoisseur. The Beantown Swing Orchestra plays direct transcriptions of classic arrangements, such as those used by Benny Goodman or Glenn Miller.
Incorporating the instrumentation of the swing era, the band has 13 horns (with saxophones separated from the brass), a piano, guitar, acoustic bass, drums, and a female vocalist.
"We stay away from the cheesy stuff. Even if I wanted to go in that direction, the young people in the band wouldn't put up with it," he said. " Neo swing bands are great at getting people interested, but the original music is where it's at, music wise. You can't get that same power and excitement from a neo swing band with a couple of horns."
But getting people on the dance floor requires the right dance instructor, said Hsieh. Enter Elizabeth Miller and Davis Thurber, who will provide a beginner Lindy Hop lesson and a beginner aerials workshop on Saturday.
"My mission in life is to help as many people as possible discover the joy of dancing," Miller said. "People desire this type of communication and this type of experience. There's a sense of belonging that comes with a room full of people reacting to the same music."
Miller has two-stepped with the best, including her idol and unofficial ambassador of the Lindy Hop, Frankie Manning, but she welcomes all levels of ability.
"What's great about swing is it's infinitely accessible. I've taught those who are frail or elderly people in wheelchairs up to the most functional ballerinas and hip-hop dancers," she said.
A licensed mental health counselor as well as a dance instructor, Miller finds dancing to be therapeutic. "Our bodies are a record of our emotions and our thoughts. We can express those feelings in dance," she said. "Having a live band there makes it even more special because it's like having a conversation with the musicians face to face."
Miller also teaches classes at Springstep in Medford and hopes that public dance sessions will help preserve an American art form.
"Swing dancing is an integral part of our cultural history, and it's very important we uphold the tradition," she said. "I hope people are open to the wonder and the joy of swing."
