Aarhus Lindy Hoppers is an association (Danish: folkeoplysende forening), organizing swing dance in and around Aarhus. Our main focus is Lindy Hop, but we also entertain Collegiate Shag, Charleston, Authentic Jazz, Blues Dance, Balboa, and everything that’s “got that swing“.

Lindy Hop

Lindy Hop is a swing dance that was born in the African-American communities in Harlem, New York City, in the 1920-ies and has evolved greatly since then. It was a fusion of many dances that were prevalent at the time, but is mainly based on jazz, tap, breakaway, and Charleston. Lindy Hop is an energetic dance, using both 6 and 8 counts. There is both partnered and solo dancing. The contact in the partnered dance is mainly by hand-to-hand contact, with hand-to-hip, and hand-to-shoulder variations, much different than the close body-contact style, which is typical of Salsa or Tango.

Our Association

Currently, our association organizes weekly classes on three different levels each semester: Level 1 (beginners), Level 2 (Improvers) and Level 3 (Intermediate). Besides classes, we have a range of events: weekly Monday Social Practice, monthly Swingin’ Parties on Fridays or Saturdays’ evenings with live bands, ‘Swinging By The Sea’ during the summer, occasional weekend workshops, our annual, international Why Not Aarhus Lindy Hop Exchange, and more….

We are a non-profit organization that is based on the work of volunteers. Income from classes, workshops etc. is used to pay for live bands, parties, rooms for practice, and workshop instructors invited from the outside. Annual Membership of the association is automatically included in the class fees.

If you do not take classes but would like to be a member of the Aarhus Lindy Hoppers association, you will need to pay an annual membership fee of DKK 50. Please make your payment using the link at the top of this page.

As a member, you support your favorite association, and you can take part in all our events, not least the annual general assembly. Danish law requires that membership in a “folkeoplysende“ association is subject to an annual fee. The membership is active for the whole calendar year and until the first coming general assembly.

The General Assembly takes place during the first quarter of each year. Here we discuss and plan the focal points for the association. At the general assembly, a board of five people is elected to represent and run the association.

The Aarhus Lindy Hoppers Board

All of ALH is built on members volunteering for the Board, as teachers, in the event team and in the why not team. Without volunteers our ALH could not function, and without a board ALH would not be a legally approved association.

The board is the official representative of the association, and is elected each General Assembly for a period of one year. The board is very important in a healthy association, and it is important that it consists of motivated people who are willing to work to create an association where we can dance. The primary work of the board is to ensure that the association is run in a responsible manner, and in a way that benefits the entire community, to help it thrive and grow. 

The main tasks for the board are:

  • The daily running of the association, and overall responsible for ALH.

  • Monthly board meetings.

  • Managing the economy, including approving expenses for events and similar.

  • Being the main “public face” of the association and in close contact with the event team, Why Not team and the teachers.

  • Planning of classes during the semesters, including teacher coordination and venue booking.

  • Registration activities for all classes and events, except Why Not Lindy Exchange.

  • Keeping the website updated.

  • Host the general assembly once a year.

  • Handling inquiries from ALH members or external persons. This can be regarding anything from  problems in our association, to new initiatives that will make it even more fun dancing lindy hop.

In addition, the board deals with a number of smaller tasks.

Board members 2024

  • Chairman: Stine Mejsner Bjørke

  • Vice chairman and secretary: Kamilla Appelquist

  • Cashier: Shy Van Alma

  • Member: Anders Thygesen

  • Member: Karsten Juel Bunch

You are welcome to contact the board on our email: aarhuslindyhoppers@gmail.com

EVENT TEAM

The Event Team is a group of volunteers that helps out planning workshops, parties with live bands, social dancing, and many other events. If you are interested in joining the Event Team or can take on single tasks once in a while, please contact us on the email listed below. Likewise, if you have questions or suggestions regarding specific events, please send us an email. We will respond to your inquiry as soon as we can.

Event Team E-mail: aarhuslindyhoppersevent@gmail.com.

teachers’ committee

The teachers’ committee is a small group of the Aarhus Lindy Hoppers’ teachers who look for upcoming and potential teachers, and make suggestions to improve teaching quality and structure. If you have any inquiries or questions or would be interested in teaching Lindy Hop, reach out teachers’ committee at this email address: alhteachers@gmail.com.

alh sWING DJ group

We also have ALH Swing DJs group, where we share tips & tricks for playing music at swing dance events. Join the Facebook group, if you would like to help us with DJ tasks on a volunteer basis.
ALH Swing DJs

WHY NOT AARHUS LINDY EXCHANGE GROUP

For our early Why Not Aarhus Lindy Exchange we have volunteer organisers group. Some organisers take responsibility every year and some organisers come to help once - the group is dynamic from year to year. But if you are interested to contribute to one of our biggest yearly events in Aarhus, send an email to whynotlindyhop@gmail.com.

Community chat on Facebook Messenger

If you would like to join a massive community chat, use this link. You can join the chat or leave whenever you want.

current regulations

A “folkeoplysende“ association is also required to have a set of regulations. You can read Aarhus Lindy Hoppers’ current regulations here.