THE HANGOVER REPORT – Caleb Teicher’s joyous SW!NG OUT at The Joyce catapults the Lindy Hop into the 21st century

The company of Caleb Teicher’s “SW!NG OUT” at The Joyce Theater (Photo by Jayme Halbritter).

This past week, I had the pleasure of having a terrific good time at SW!NG OUT , which is in the midst of a two-week run at The Joyce Theater (concluding on October 17). The brainchild of choreographer Caleb Teicher – alongside Evita Arce, LaTasha Barnes, Nathan Bugh, Macy Sullivan, and Eyal Vilner – the lovingly danced presentation catapults swing dancing into the 21st Century. In short, it’s pure joy in motion (and sound).

Happily, the high octane, smartly structured show celebrates variety and improvisation, allowing the Lindy Hop (which originated in Harlem during the 1930s) to show off its considerable choreographic range and prove that a single type of social dance can sustain an evening without sagging in places. Indeed, each performance is bound to be different, given that some of the numbers feature randomly chosen dancers. There’s a looseness to Teicher’s conception that invites spontaneity and in-the-moment vitality, qualities that sometimes are not quite as apparent in classical ballet and contemporary dance. After an intermission, the evening fittingly shifts into an interactive social dance segment that invites audience members onstage to partake in the fun, further immersing them into the show’s festive and inclusive atmosphere.

SW!NG OUT features an exhilarating company of dancers who excel idiosyncratically as individual performers, but also meld together brilliantly as an ensemble. It was refreshing to see Teicher represent all types of pairings equally (all but shattering gender norms), thereby dusting any residual cobwebs not just off of the much loved dance form, but dance in general. The sensational live music comes courtesy of Eyal Vilner Big Band (kudos particularly to sensational vocalist Imani Rousselle, who sings up a storm), who are as integral to the experience and as part of the tightly-knit onstage family as Teicher’s eclectic dancers.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

SW!NG OUT
Dance
The Joyce Theater
2 hours, 15 minutes (including an intermission)
Through October 17

Categories: Dance

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