The Perth Swing Dance Society (PSDS) is a non-profit organisation, committed to actively promoting swing dancing, its music and culture in Western Australia.
Announcements
Hullabaloo 2023!
Social dancing is back!
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Buy a drink! Venues have been hit hard by COVID so show them your support!
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Buy a ticket and music! Musicians and bands have been hit super hard by COVID, so support them by buying tickets to gigs and buying their music.
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Hygiene is still important- wash your hands frequently (you know the drill), bring hand sanitiser, a sweat towel and spare t-shirts.
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Not everyone is ready to dance. Some people might just want to dance with their partner or some might just want to listen to the music. Let’s be respectful of what everyone wants to do.
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And MOST importantly- if you’re unwell, please stay home! We love you but you can keep your germs to yourself.
Your PSDS Committee
Covid-19 Announcement
Sadly, due to the Covid-19 outbreak all upcoming events have been removed from the PSDS online calendar for the time being.
We want to ensure that our community is safe and that our actions support the efforts to flatten the curve and overcome this Covid-19 pandemic.
While regular classes, swing dancing events and activities are on hold for now, we hope to keep our community connected, even during times of social distancing. Keep in touch with others in the Perth swing dance community via our Facebook page and through the pages of the schools you attend. You can also support swing schools by attending their classes online.
Please continue to support the community and one other. Stay safe and In times like these, we need to be patient and kind. This includes being kind to yourself.
Perth Swing Dance Society Committee
Hullabaloo 2019 – Workshop Map
Call out for Expressions of Interest for the 2019 Hullabaloo Committee
Hullabaloo is looking for 5 people to complete our committee and take on some very important roles as part of the festival. If you have an interest in being part of the organisational team and feel you can bring energy and initiative to the 2019 Hullabaloo festival in any of these 5 positions please email Crystle at challingercrystle@gmail.com indicating which position you would be interested in and any skills/prior experience you can bring to the role.
Festival Coordinator
Looking for someone who is organised, confident, outgoing and wants to really take control of the working cogs of Hullabaloo. Position will involve overseeing the Hulla working team; will be the point person throughout the festival. You will work closely with the Hulla coordinators coming up to the event and be in charge of final decisions during the festival weekend. Qualities required: fair and unbiased, able to delegate and show initiative. This is a paid position.
Venue Coordinator
Looking for someone to work closely with the festival coordinator with the specific role of managing the operational aspects of each venue including but not limited to: keys collections, catering, alcohol licencing, security etc. This is a paid position.
Band Contact/Stage Manager/Sound
Liaises with venue coordinator, festival coordinator and bands. Must have a prior understanding and/or experience in working directly with musicians and stage coordination. Must be available to setup and pack down stages/backline.
Volunteer Coordinator
Must be a people person and good with schedules and organising people. We’re looking for someone who is willing to be available throughout the Hullabaloo weekend to organise the volunteers at events.
Workshop Coordinator
This role entails liaising with the venue, key collection, sound and timely bump in and bump out of venues and general well being of teachers.
For more information about Hullabaloo 2019, go to our website at hulla.org.
Hullabaloo 2019: The Teachers
We’re very excited to present your Hullabaloo 2019 teaching line up:
Elze Visnevskyte & Peter Kertz
Elze and Peter are maybe just the right amount of crazy you’ve been looking for. She comes from Lithuania, while he comes from Los Angeles and together, they have this Euro-American style that’s all about fun and connectedness. Their musicality, playfulness and creativity are not just parts of their light-hearted personalities as dancers, but also as instructors. For them, Lindy Hop is much more than only leading and following… it’s dancing… trying to feel your partner… and in the meantime having a freaking great time! Their energy is contagious and their class material is stimulating.
Be prepared for loud laughs, crazy fun, and exciting new moves!
Georgia Brooks & Kieran Yee
Heralding from Victoria both Georgia and Kieran are extraordinarily accomplished Australian dancers. Living, dancing and singing in Melbourne, Georgia is a talented vocalist and singing teacher with a bad lindy hop habit. While Kieran is a veteran of the Australian swing dancing scene with an enthusiasm and energy that is as inspiring as it is unpredictable.
Expect the ridiculous with these two incredible teachers who cherish the opportunity to take risks with new ideas while also being incredibly encouraging and practical in their teaching.
JoYsS
JoYsS is a Jazz, Contemporary, Swing and Hip Hop professional dancer who also took acting classes at the school of art “la Comète” in Paris and is a multi-talented performer, choreographer, music producer and teacher.
As a swing dancer, he won first place in the Solo Jazz Contest at the Paris Jazz Roots Festival 2015 as well as first place in the Solo Charleston Contest at ILHC 2015 in Washington DC (USA). Now he tours and teaches all over the world and is one of the most surprisingly versatile solo dancers you’ll ever see.
In his classes he emphasises improving his students movements by teaching them how to better understand their own bodies which fosters coordination, balance and expression. All of which helps to improve a dancers musicality and capacity for improvisation – skills absolutely crucial for solo and partner dancing.
Hullabaloo 2019!
Social dancing. Live music. Late nights. Good times.
Hullabaloo is a celebration of all things swing dancing in Perth, Western Australia.
It’s a long weekend packed full of streamed workshops with international instructors, live performances, the very best Perth live swing bands as well as the iconic Paul Verevis Mix n’ Match competition.
You may have heard on the grapevine that Hullabaloo is changing a little in 2019?… it sure is, but we guarantee our famous (and cheeky) Hulla spirit is alive and well, it’s just waiting to be unleashed once again!
Thu 25 – Mon 29 April 2019!
Hullabaloo 2018: The Perth Lindy Exchange
Hullabaloo is back for its 15th year! From Friday 20th to Monday 23rd of April, we’ve got four evenings of the liveliest live bands, swinging socials, sensational venues, and the latest late nights for all the dancing you can handle.
We wish to note that due to circumstances beyond our control we are not running workshops this year, which means there’s no need set your alarms for morning class – you can dance all night long.
We appreciate that this is a change to how Hullabaloo has run in the past, but hope that you are as excited as we are about an event jam-packed with all the high-quality socials you’ve come to expect. Our bands will be bringing the floors to life at the Mustang, the Hullabaloo Hop, the Ball, and our traditional Monday farewell, and our Friday, Saturday, and Sunday late nights will run until dawn for that quintessential Hulla experience of deliriously stumbling from the late night into bright sunshine.
We look forward to your continued support – see you on the dance floor this April!
Visit hulla.org for more information
Hullabaloo Hoppers – a farewell
It is with regret that the PSDS announces the adjournment of the Hullabaloo Hoppers.
As the Perth swing dance schools have increasingly taken on the role of offering local dancers the opportunity to perform the dance that they love for others, it is felt that the Hullabaloo Hoppers, in their current form, no longer continue serve the purpose of fulfilling the desire for a scene lead performance troupe. With declining active membership numbers and the increasing cost of maintaining a performance troupe, the PSDS has decided to suspend the activities of the Hullabaloo Hoppers.
The Hullabaloo Hoppers were an integral part of the Perth swing scene for over 15 years, delivering 100s of performances around the city. Team highlights included dancing live on Telethon many times, performing at Oz Concert in front of 30,000 people in the Government House Gardens (broadcast live on SBS), dancing at various charity gigs, appearing as dancing extras in ABC’s mini-series ‘The Shark Net’ and in the movie ‘Swan Swan’ and regularly performing at their namesake, Perth’s Hullabaloo. The entire team even had the honour of performing at the Melbourne Lindy Exchange in 2004 and many of Perth’s long time swing dancers and teachers were part of the team at one time or another over the years.
The PSDS is grateful for all the members, both past and present, who have helped shape the history of swing dance performance in Perth, who have given their time and passion to the scene, and who made the Hullabaloo Hoppers the institution that it is. The PSDS is delighted that we could offer our scene a place to explore the love of our dance, and share it with others. We thank you all, for everything you have given to the Hoppers over the years.
Pic: 2011 – Dabelyn Photography, Hullabaloo
We will be putting a ‘Hullabaloo Hoppers gallery’ together on the PSDS website to archive the many photos and videos of the team and its changing members, from its early beginnings back in 2003 right through to 2017. A great way to preserve some important PSDS history. Stay tuned…