Courses - Swing Busters

Learn swing dance

Come dance with us

We’re a group of people passionate about dancing. We love to swing, and we want you to enjoy it as much as possible. Suppose you feel like taking up swing dance classes. In that case, there is nothing easier than signing up for one of our classes or attending one of the open classes that we run every week (except holidays, e.g. summer – but don´t worry, there are many other tasters and parties and workshops instead:).

We open the registration four times a year, and the following quarters begin this year on 11.9.2023 (autumn), 20.11.2023 (winter), 5.2.2024 (spring) and 15.4.2024 (summer). One course has nine lessons, and the price is 2100 CZK. You can find more information in our Pricelist. Rules are making the world go around, so even our classes have some; check our terms & conditions here. If you have questions about our courses, please read FAQ first.
We have prepared special courses; please check the Schedule below to see the details (after clicking on the class).

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Registration

Register and welcome aboard!

Registration is needed for all our courses except for the Open classes. You have to register in advance. That way we can control the balance of leaders/followers and see what classes can be open. Registration opens four times a year and is available from one month to one week before a new term starts. That means you have to register four times in one year. You will find the registration form here when the registration is open.

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Schedule

Registration for the summer term is closed.

SUMMER TERM STARTS on 15/04/2024 and ENDS on 14/06/2024.
ATTENTION: Wednesday classes with Ania and Pavel and with Káťa and Martin will pause for bank holidays 01/05 and 08/05 and finish two weeks later.

Schedule for the summer break will be ready by the end of May.

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Workshops

Choose the one for you!

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Pricelist

Regular classes

2100 / course - 9 weeks

Open classes//Guided Practica

250 / class

Practica

100 / term (usually 1-2h)

PRIVATE CLASSES

750 / 1-2 students - 1 teacher (1h)

1.250 / 2 students - 2 teachers (1h)

All prices are in CZK; VAT is included and valid for one person except privates per hour; the price list is valid from January 1, 2024.

DISCOUNTS

Quantity Discount – 20% off for the 2nd and every other following course.
Student Discount – students under 26 years of age (need to provide a copy of any student certification)

All discounts are calculated from the total price and accumulated, so first discount no.1 is deducted, minus discount No.2. The deals are always applicable in one particular term.

Discounts are calculated gradually according to your placement in courses. When you get into your first course, you will pay the total price (of that particular course). If you subsequently get into the other (e.g. you were on a waiting list in this course before), you pay the total price for two courses minus already paid fee minus discounts (e.g. 20% off discount). Each class is a single payment with its variable symbol.

METHOD OF PAYMENT

OPEN CLASS is the only class to be paid in cash directly at the lesson (excluding subscriptions to these lessons).
SUBSCRIPTION to the course is ideal by clicking on Pay the course button in Registration confirming email from Swing Busters. By clicking on it, you enter the ComGate and you can choose the ideal method you prefer. If anything goes wrong, just make a bank transfer to the account: 2800926222/2010 (Fio banka, a.s.), IBAN: CZ1020100000002800926222, BIC/SWIFT: FIOBCZPPXXX, by the end of the first week of the course, for identification of the payment, please specify Variable symbol and we recommend to use the immediate payment.
Variable symbol – each payment is identified by a unique variable symbol (number), generated automatically and sent in the confirmation mail. For easier identification, please use this symbol, which helps us recognize your payment automatically OR a Note (zpráva pro příjemce)– for a manual check (if you didn’t get the e-mail with payment info). Please write in that payment note which course you are paying for and your name – e.g. LH1.1, Tue 19:35 – Jan Novák

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Dance styles

Lindy hop

LINDY HOP - is swing dance, which originated in the 1920s Harlem, New York. It was created by mixing several styles that include jazz dance, tap dance, Breakaway and Charleston. At a time of strict racial segregation in America, it was a dance that connected both the "black" and "white" residents of New York.

Charleston

CHARLESTON - An American dance that became a symbol of the 1920s. It is the basis for Lindy Hop and is characterized by fast leg turns and large arm movements. The style originates probably from Trinidad, Nigeria and Ghana. It can be a solo dance but you can also dance it in a couple or in groups. Its signature movement is swiveling the feet. It evolved into Flying (or Lindy) Charleston which is a big and important part of the Lindy hop.

Collegiate Shag

COLLEGIATE SHAG or the so called student dance, was popular in the United States during the 1920s and 1940s. It is characterized by faster pace of swing and jazz songs. It is a dynamic dance with a signature posture, where partners keep their holding hands in the air. Its roots probably extend to the African American community in Carolina.

St. Louis Shag

St. Louis Shag - The style probably evolved from Charleston and maybe other swing dances, though it looks quite different. As the name suggests, the dance has its origins in St. Louis, Missouri. It is danced mostly in closed possession at a faster pace.

Balboa

BALBOA - This style comes from 1920´s Southern California. It evolved in response to crowded ballrooms, which demanded conservation of space. It is characterized by full embrace, expressive rhythmic shifts and partnership of both dancers. If you long for a style that will keep your feet busy, Balboa is the right style for you!

Solo Jazz

Solo Jazz is a general and one of the terms for almost anything that can be described as a solo dance done to jazz music. In the swing world of course, it means mainly the time range from the early 20th century to its middle and is an important part of the whole Afro-American dance culture. It has its own choreographies such Shim Sham Shimmy, Big Apple, Tranky Doo, Trickeration and so on or can be, of course (it is jazz!) improvised.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

HOW DOES THE REGISTRATION SYSTEM WORK?

First of all, it works automatically so please put an extra care to writing down your (and your partner’s) email without spelling mistakes! The system automatically keeps the equal number of leaders and followers in class. That is why, if you sign up without a partner, you have to wait for a dancer of the opposite role to sign up for the system to let you in. If there isn’t anyone to pair up with you, the system will put you on a waiting list. The waiting list is ordered by time of registration so solo followers/leaders, don’t take too long to think, register fast, it raises your chances to get in!
If you have a partner to sign up with, please fill in his/her email while registering, so the system can recognise you as a couple and accept you into the course. If one of you doesn’t sign up, the other will not be accepted to the course. Remember, your partner has to fill his/her own registration form!
Registration itself works intuitively, you select your desired course or courses by clicking on them. If you have changed your mind and want to unselect it, just click again. You will see a list of your selected courses below the courses table. There you then choose your role and put your partner’s email if you have any.

You can check the status of your registration process in the system. Here you can Log in.

CAN I JOIN WITHOUT REGISTERING

We are happy to see any new comers at our Open Classes such as the Swing Basics for beginners on Wednesdays or everybody at the Solo Jazz on Tuesdays. Other courses are meant to be balanced in numbers of leads & follows, progress and follow certain material so previous registration is needed.

CAN I JOIN CLASSES THAT ARE ALREADY RUNNING?

Yes you can join if it is an Open Class whenever you want. If it is a regular course and it is only the beginning of the term – you missed only 1 class – you can join those classes too if there a place for your role (leader/follower). In that case, you need to write an email to info@swingbusters.cz and we’ll let you know the rest.

CAN I JOIN WITHOUT A PARTNER?

Yes, partner is not conditional for you to come but you would make us happy if you do bring a partner with you (mainly if you are a follower) as we always try to keep the lead & follow ratio balanced for the class. Also, for the regular courses, it gives you a better chance to get into the course as we can put extra followers (or leaders sometimes too) on a waiting list until they or we find a leader/follower for them. It doesn’t mean though that you would have to dance with your partner all the time, the opposite – we change partners in classes.

WHAT IF I CAN’T MAKE IT FOR THE CLASS?

If you can’t make it for your class, don’t panic. You can come to any Open Class which are designed for that, any time during one 9-week term. If you are a beginner then it is Swing Basics on Wednesday, if more advanced or any level, you can enjoy Solo Jazz Open Class on Tuesday.

HOW SOON WILL I BE ABLE TO ROCK THE DANCE FLOOR AT A PARTY?

Rock it now! The best is to start attending dance parties from the beginning of your swing journey. It will help immensely as you will gain leading & following experience quickly. From our observation, those who do classes AND parties regularly move on much quicker than those who come for classes only. No one there wants to judge you, especially if you are a beginner (once we were all beginners), so don’t be afraid and show up. And most importantly, isn’t the dance made for the parties? And at last, the social aspect of Lindy hop, that is something you shouldn’t miss so we’ll be happy to see you on a dance floor soon!

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A LEADER / FOLLOWER?

Well, this isn’t an easy question to answer but in your dance beginnings we try to simplify it, so LEADER is the one who leads, FOLLOWER is the one who follows the leader. Usually leader is a guy, follower a woman although guys also learn how to follow and girls often learn how to lead (it helps their leading & following skills to know the opposite “role”). In higher level, you will discover that leading and following changes spontaneously between both so a follower can also lead the leader whilst he/she is following and then leading something out of the other’s lead….okay, let’s wait with this until you get into Lindy hop more, then it will make more sense ;)… Basically we all dance to one music and inspire each other in the dance and our goal is to teach you how to communicate your idea to your partner whether you are a leader or a follower.

WHAT TO WEAR FOR CLASSES?

Anything that is comfortable for you while dancing. You can get sweaty, you might not…people do what they like, there isn’t a dress code or anything we would expect you to wear. Two things are important for us. One is your ability to move in it freely without pain or fear to rip something. Concerning the shoes, it is important you feel stable in them and nothing hurts you (for those reasons we recommend NO HEALS). Secondly, it is also a good hygiene that makes it a pleasant experience to be around you :). Don’t forget people will be touching you, standing next to you and talking to you. We count on your good judgement when it comes to no perfume/too much perfume, smoking, alcohol etc. but we also like tolerant people. :)

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ROTATING?

We rotate partners in our school. It means you are not going to spend the whole class with only one partner but every few minutes teachers will make you change your partner. We have several good reasons for it. Mainly it relates to our goal – as swing is for us mainly a social dance, we want you to be able to dance with anyone. This means you need to know how to communicate with your partner, and that you can learn only through experience. Dancing with the same person all the time will limit your abilities to lead well and follow properly. Another reason is that our classes are not only about the dance but also about people and while rotating you get to know others so it becomes a nice group activity for all of you. :) If you aren’t comfortable with rotating or the idea scares you, we will respect that won’t force you to do it. In that case, please tell the teachers in advance.

I FEEL LIKE I CAN’T FOLLOW THE CLASS THAT FAST, I AM GETTING BEHIND. WHAT CAN I DO TO FIX THAT?

If you feel like you can’t follow the class so quickly, tell your teachers. They might slow down a bit or they can pay more attention to you during the class when appropriate. Otherwise you can always take up more classes per week as we have plenty to offer, ideally if they are the same or lower level so you can get it under your skin faster. Another option is to take private classes with our teachers who can help you to get friendly with the tough technique. To order a private class, visit our e-shop.

CAN I BUY CLASSES AS A PRESENT TO MY BELOVEDS?

Sure you can! You can purchase a voucher for a course or couple of classes through our e-shop. We will either send you a PDF you can print out for yourself, either give you a printed version at our classes or meeting you elsewhere. The voucher is valid only after it’s paid via bank account.