Livin' large

The Reluctant City swings -- and so soon into the craze!

by John O'Neill

Worcester, Massachusetts, that much-maligned hamlet nestled snugly on the banks of lovely I-290, has never been, shall we say, trendsetting. A place where fine dining generally consists of all-you-can-eat fare -- the ultimate benchmark, twin lobsters for $9.99, potato or coleslaw included. A place where the karaoke machine has been embraced with such fervor, that Worcester remains, to this day, one of the last spots in the civilized Western World where you can get up and warble your crummy rendition of Patsy Cline.

But a revolutionary change is in the air in the Worm City -- we're actually getting classy! There has been a recent proliferation of moderately decent to outstanding eateries, where people don't seem to mind forking over more than six bucks for a chicken-based meal. And old pal and harbinger of all-things-cool, the martini, is finally making a comeback. The real capper, however, is the current swing revival, which has finally reached our shores; and it actually seems to be catching on. Don't think this isn't a big deal. Worcester let pass both the surf and rockabilly resurgences of the past five years, and wrinkled its nose at the recent No Depression alt-country. So, why would the Reluctant City take to a form of music that saw popularity 50 years ago?

"I think people are tired of dancing alone," says Stuart Smith while taking a breather at Gilrein's weekly Wednesday-night swing dance. "The other aspect is the style and the clothes. It's a step away from grunge."

Smith, a Rhode Island native, has been swing dancing for about a year and currently travels to Boston and Connecticut (he once even flew to California) to get his swing fix. "The people I [originally] took lessons with, we all run in a pack now.

"What's so great about this is that everyone from 16 to 60 is dancing," he concludes as he glances around Gilrein's floor, checking out the crowd. The company is decidedly mixed as 20 or so couples work on their introductory steps. It's a more structured and tame style of West Coast swing (the acrobatics seen in the Gap ads are East Coast) based on a "slotted" movement in which the dancers lean their weight back and away from each other. The female twirls and steps from one end of this slot to the other and her partner acts as an anchor and sends her back down. But that's strictly theoretical for this beginner class. Tonight, swing's new-found fans are more intent on moving in-time together, not stepping on each other's toes, or crashing into other couples. But from the look and feel of the room, everyone, no matter how adept or inept, is having fun.

"It used to be 15 people was a good class, now it's 40," says Sarah Sloan, who has been conducting free dance classes at Gilrein's this summer and who teaches classes in Providence. "I have three beginner classes, and I'm getting more and more younger [students]. I've had kids as young as 11 and sometimes whole families come!"

Maybe it's trendy, maybe it's timelessness, but there is no denying it, swing has gone from underground to full-fledged sensation and it's only getting stronger. A look at Billboard shows three swing-style bands currently charting; the void left by the death of "alternative" has, for the time being, been filled. Just as suddenly, blues bands are now jump blues bands, jazz orchestras are now swing outfits, and rockabilly revivalists are finding room in their set list for Wynonie Harris and Big Joe Turner. There's plenty of room on the swing ship so hop on board. As to the reasons behind the explosion, they run from the practical -- a natural extension of the Cocktail Nation and a Gen X search for lounge kicks -- to the romantic -- relying on a second body to complete the dance and the physical satisfaction that entails -- to the cynical -- obviously manufactured by the trend-starved record industry -- and to the logical -- if you dance with someone it may result in an increased chance of getting laid, of course. But any way you cut it, there is a certain charm involved with swing that not only hits the nostalgia nerve but also suggests an elegance and refinement that has been missing for far too long. It is not only okay to be a lady or a gentleman, it's actually hip!

So here's to you Worcester -- you're sexy and classy and on your way to bigger things because, finally, you're getting it right. Life is too short for dollar drafts and fast food, so live big and swing, baby, swing!