Common Dance Injuries

Lindy Hop is an athletic dance by nature, even though the cats need to be ad-dressed delicately as you know they should be.

It started off as a social dance in house rent parties among African American communities before it spilled over to many street corners and sidewalks into swanky wooden-floored ballrooms like the Savoy or the Alhambra. This was back in the 1920s - 1940s when the dance was very popular among young people at the peak of their health spending probably a lot of hours a day practicing dancing for competitions or shows.

So it is rather easy, unfortunately, for us social dancers today, 2022, to rush onto the dance floors and/or dance studios and injure our bodies due to lack of body awareness and self-care.

(For general tips how to behave socially on a social dance floor with Saigon Swing Cats, whether you are new or got already few years dancing, read our dance etiquette.)

Our simple takeaways for you social cats that happen to get here and actually love to (try) dance the Lindy Hop:

1. Eat well and stay hydrated before, during and after your dance session

2. Warm up your knees, arms, necks, backs and all them joints before and after your dance session

3. Wear the right type of shoes for your dance type (check out our Shoes page)

4. Dance on semi-slidable wooden sprung floors to ease that friction between you and the earth

5. Get enough rest and learn to listen better to your body

6. Exercise or practice some other sports / physical activities often to improve your fitness

7. Do not attempt any physically demanding moves without consent, esp. on the social dance floors