A culture all my own

"What is the traditional food of O-hi-o?"
"Um...corn?"
"What is the traditional dance of O-hi-o?"
"Uh...does Hang on Sloopy count?"

These are just some of the tricky questions I face from my students or other curious Indonesians on a daily basis. Indonesia is like America in that it is a giant mix of different cultures and people groups; however, it is very different in the way that each of those different cultures holds tightly to their customs, language, clothing, food, dance, and even architecture. Going from one island to the next can feel like your entering an entirely new world. It would be like traveling from Ohio to Pennsylvania and having to switch languages - (which some would argue is a reality if you're going to Pittsburgh, but this is a little different). Therefore, every area is known for the special foods they cook and the special dances they dance, among other things. In fact, it is very common to bring back a sampling of at least the food for your coworkers and friends if you happen to travel to a new area. It is common-place to see people in the airport with a cardboard box full of oleh-oleh - special treats - to take back to their home towns.

Americans can claim a few foods, I guess: hamburgers, hotdogs, apple pie, Twinkies...but I always struggle to pinpoint a particular food that screams Ohio (although, I do try to bring buckeye candy back from time to time). Dancing is even worse. The Electric Slide and the chicken dance are wedding favorites, but they don't really match up to the costumes and stories involved in a traditional Indonesian dance. As a self-proclaimed dancer, I felt a little ashamed to come up empty-handed when asked about traditional dances from America/Ohio. There is a dance that can stand up to all of that, however, and it is a dance that grew up in America and can be claimed by everyone in the states: Swing.

I'd dabbled with the idea of teaching swing dance to Indonesians during my first round in Indonesia. Lo and I even did a small, two-hour workshop with some high school students when he came to visit. But I still wasn't satisfied; swing dancing has so much more to offer. It encapsulates an entire generation and spans so many huge moments in American history. So, I decided to buckle down, do some homework, and do a presentation worthy of this larger-than-life dance form.

I went through the progression of jazz music and swing dancing from its roots in slavery to the Charleston of the Roaring Twenties and on into the Lindy Hop (jitterbug) of the Harlem Renaissance. I was mostly worried about talking way above the heads of my audience, mostly high school students, but I was able to weave in lots of visuals and demonstrations to keep things hoppin'. With my Madonna-esq microphone headset and a super cool ipad to control my prezi (just discovered this presentation software from some colleagues...amazing!), I bounced through the different hallmarks of swing dance. A woman from the Jakarta Globe, one of the English language newspapers in Jakarta, wrote this article which nicely sums up the history lesson and presentation: American Dancer Brings Swing Dancing to Jakarta, or if you need to kill 2 hours, you can watch the whole presentation here: AtAmerica.

Having been unsuccessful at finding anyone in Jakarta who knew about swing dancing, I stressed quite a bit about how to properly demonstrate a partner dance. I should have known better to worry. God stepped in, right on time, and provided me with Chris. Chris is an Indonesian salsa dancer who was curious about Lindy hop, so he agreed to meet up once to see what he could pick up.Within a week of our meeting, Chris had introduced me to an entire arts ministry from a church in Jakarta. These great folks have dabbled in many styles of dance, but never swing. Undaunted, they agreed to meet for four Mondays before the presentation and take a crash course in the dance. They were fantastic.

Introducing the Jakarta Jitterbugs: L-R, Leo, Claudia (and son), Heni, me, and Chris

We rounded off the evening of Swing by teaching the audience a popular swing line dance called, The Jitterbug Stroll. This is a goofy dance with a lot of signature swing moves from the golden era of Big Bands and Lindy Hop. My heart swelled when the audience wouldn't be satisfied with just two rounds through the dance.

Some movers and shakers interested in Swing classes!

I'm not an expert on the history of swing dancing, so I'm almost positive I screwed up somewhere, somehow with all the facts and timeline. And, my mind went blank on some of the names of the popular swing tricks. Then there was the issue of going too fast...I had to suppress a minor panic attack when I realized I was finished with 2/3s of my presentation but still had half the time spare. But, despite all of these problems it far exceeded my expectations. I was unprepared for the questions about where people could go to learn more about swing dancing, and when would I be starting lessons in Jakarta. Both really good problems to have! I gave out my email address with high hopes of some day starting a regular class.

If you're listening State Department, the People want Swing Dancing! If you can send a modern dance troupe from NYC all over the globe as cultural ambassadors, surely, swing dancing - with all of its history, glitz, and glory - can do just as much to answer that nagging question: What is American Culture? I know some people you can call.