One of the easiest ways is to experiment with ‘variations’ on your basic swingout. Firstly, I think that the more you learn about the physics of dancing and the mechanics of connection, the more you see opportunities to play with what you’re feeling. So it’s always good to work on basic stuff regularly – do as Bill suggests and make your basic a choice, rather than a habit. For me, this means becoming aware of what you’re doing. Once you’re more aware of how you’re moving, which muscles do what, how your partner responds to what, you begin to understand how changes you make affect the swingout.

Hence the appeal of ‘variations’. For me, variations can mean either adding in specific ‘steps’, or experimenting with the basic structure of the swingout – so changing speed and/or momentum, ‘asking’ for more support for your partner, etc etc etc. In the case of adding in specific steps, you’re really thinking ‘ok, what can I do with the connection I have with my partner here?’ and then adding in steps that suit the music, the connection, your mood, etc.

At this point you need to go suss out your jazz step repertoire. What sort of solo steps do you know? Start with favourites like shorty george, swivels (I do like to think of swivels as a variation on your swingout, rather than an essential element), kick-ball-changes, etc etc. experiment with changing the speed/timing of these. I’d experiment on your own first, so you can understand how your own balance works, and perhaps play around with your own body…so to speak. The shim sham is your friend: some of the most excellent steps are in that routine. The jitterbug stroll also involves some neat jazz steps.

Then add them into your swingout. There are two general schools of thought about how you should do this (as a follow, especially): should you communicate what you’re doing to your partner, via your connected hands?; or should you keep the hands neutral so you don’t ‘interrupt’ your partner? Personally, I like to do both. As a lead, I like to feel what my partner’s doing – so I like to feel them change the connection to let me know what’s going down. That way I also have a chance of contributing to my partner’s movements and really make it work as a team. But sometimes it’s nice to just throw things in as a follow and really work it on your own. It’s a personal choice, dependent on mood, context, music, etc.

So when do you do all this? The swingout is the most excellent step in lindy hop, if not all of partner dancing. It revolutionised partner dancing in the 30s, drawing on a popular dance called the ‘breakaway’. The swingout incorporated ‘open’ position into a closed ‘embrace’, which allowed partners to improvise individually, while still staying connected. Very much like jazz music itself: improvisation within a familiar structure. The swingout gives you a whole lot of time in open position: 1, 2, 3 and then 5, 6, 7 and 8. To make all this work, of course, you need the lead to pay attention to the follow and to stop thinking ‘ok, I have to get us through this swingout as quickly as possibly’. You both need to think ‘ok, we’re a team, making these 8 counts (or 10 or 6 or whatever) work as well as we can. So we need to know what our partner’s doing all the time’. This means that the lead needs to be ‘listening’ to the follow as much as the follow listens to them. It’s not a matter of the lead being ‘the boss’ and the follow just following. You can do it this way (and sometimes it’s nice to vague out and just plain old follow), but it’s definitely more challenging and interesting for both partners to get active.

Which means paying attention to your partner. For follows, rather than simply ‘hijacking’ time in a swingout to slot in your variations, it’s more satisfying to make your variations fit into the structure of the swingout offered by the lead. Having said that, if your lead isn’t paying attention to you, sometimes the follow really does need to hijack. Breaking away and doing some solo stuff – like some boogie backs, fishtails, whatever – will make them pay attention to you. Same goes for the follow: if you want your follow to pay attention, do something unexpected. But gently!

Your best friend in lindy hop is your bounce – the ‘swing’ in your steps. It gives you more time (or feels like more time) because you’re not ‘rushing’ to stay on the beat. Your other best friend is your ‘footwork’. That means taking every step ‘properly’, and not fudging your way through. By taking ‘proper’ steps, and actually committing your weight to each step, you make it easier for your partner (whether you’re leading or following) to ‘feel’ where you are. This makes for fewer injuries, more interesting dances and more ‘connection’. It also helps your partner understand how to ‘lead’ or ‘follow’: to make your follow move, leads, you need first to move yourself. To shift and commit your own weight. To make your lead really lead you, follows, you need to really commit your weight properly, so they don’t get lazy and assume you’ll just run in when you feel them ‘yank’. It’s a relationship: you both want commitment.

Ok, so if you’re both bouncing/pulsing, you’re both committing your weight, neither of you is rushing, you’re both paying attention, what happens next? This sounds like my ideal dance, for a start. But after that, with this sort of stuff going on, you really have a better chance of playing with the basic structure of your swingout: you can communicate clearly to your partner that you need time to do stuff. Or that you’d like them to join in. And variations aren’t just for follows – leads can play too.

So you can slot in your jazz steps during that open time in the swingout. You can ‘ask’ for an increase or decrease in ‘connection’ – ie maybe you need some counterbalance to do some crazy touch-the-floor thing. Or you need them to lighten up so you can jiggle about like a fool. Whatever. But it always works best if you’re both on the same page. Then you can do fun things like pass the variation back and forth (ie call and response where one does the variation and the other repeats it on the next/same swingout), etc etc etc.

Enough!