The Jam
Fast Foot Jam is an exciting new event which will happen for the first time in June 2025 in and around Marrickville, Sydney. It is being organised by local dancers passionate about growing the jazz dance community and keeping people dancing when the music gets a little hot.
The aim of Fast Foot Jam is to bring together dancers from across the country to share their love of partner dancing and explore dance styles well suited to fast jazz music such as Collegiate Shag, Balboa and the Lindy Hop. To achieve this, we are organising a healthy balance of workshops, geek out sessions, performances, competitions and of course - social dancing with some of the best swing jazz musicians in Australia.
We will share announcements about the event and provide more information soon. We can’t wait to bring you a safe, inclusive and fun weekender.
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We have a variety of experienced Collegiate Shag, Balboa and Lindy Hop instructors to help you advance your dancing. All instructors are from our local Australian swing dancing community. Read more here.
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We are thrilled to have many of Australia’s best swing jazz musicians in Sydney and keen to play music that will make you want to dance. Artists include Eamon McNellis, Kate Wadey, George Washingmachine, Andrew Scott and more +++
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There will be over 15 hours of Collegiate Shag, Balboa and Fast Lindy Hop workshops over the weekend. There are no beginner level workshops. Our program includes three different types of classes:
Blueprint - This style of class is all about imparting the essence of the dance. They will focus on technique, central vocabulary and taking lessons from the pioneers of the dance.
Explorers - This is about expanding your dancing and finding new perspectives. These classes will be more based around concepts and variations and will deepen your understanding of the dance.
Geek Out - For those who are already in deep, these sessions are about geeking out over the dances we love. It will be focused on experimentation, creation and sharing your own ideas and steps. Suitable for dance-obsessives who want to go even further, these classes will have limited spots and will require you to apply.
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We are thrilled to be hosting this event on Gadigal Land in Marrickville, a new special entertainment precinct. Fast Foot Jam is sponsored by Inner West Council through their Creative Town Halls Initiative. The event will boost the local economy and add to the vibrancy and nightlife of the Inner West. Our venues all have amazing dance floors for you to Jam on, including:
Marrickville Town Hall
Herb Greedy Hall
Marrickville Lawn Tennis Club
The Wriggle Room
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We will be holding an all-in, all-styles Endurance Comp on the Saturday night.
The rules are simple: be the last partnership standing. Simple, but not easy.
Here’s how it will go: first the band will strike up a song and everybody’ll hit the floor with their partner of choice. Once the songs starts all you’ll have to do is keep up. The band, however will speed up progressively until they reach a breakneck pace. All are welcome to retire at any point, but for the keen contenders, the judges will be roaming the floor ready to tap out any couples that aren’t keeping up or throwing down. The winners will be the last partnership standing.
Judgement Criteria:
Dancing on beat
Clean and clear technique
Variety - no endless basics
Throwing down - when all else is equal, the most exciting partnership wins
Tempo Range: 170-300+BPM
It’s going to be spectacular, so start training today!
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Want to show off your stuff? Let us know a bit about you and who you want to perform with when you fill out the RSVP form.
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We are looking for people to help fill our volunteer roles. we ahve big roles like transport and catering, and small roles such as front desk, set up and pack up. All are essetial to make our event a success so if you can help out please get in touch by sending an email to fastfootjam@gmail.com
When the jazz gets fast, we keep dancing.
Collegiate Shag
“In 1937 at the Harvet Moon Ball in New York City, the “Collegiate Shag” was demanded by hundreds of the newly crazed, mostly-student dancers — and when they signed up for the division, they doubled the amount of the applications of the next most popular dance, the Waltz.”
Balboa
“The dance was originally a response to overcrowded ballrooms during the 1930s and 1940s where the Lindy Hop was often difficult, if not actually banned by venues. Balboa is danced primarily in close embrace and can be danced to a wide variety of tempos.”
Lindy Hop
“A Black American social dance originating in the ballrooms of Harlem in the late 1920’s. Lindy Hop grew out of earlier African American vernacular dances but quickly gained its own fame through places like the Savoy Ballroom, dancers in films, performances, competitions, and the professional dance troupe - Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers.”