The Festival
Edinburgh Queer Lindy Festival
Friday 28th --- Sunday 30th March 2025
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Join us for a weekend of exploration and expression through discussions and dancing
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Early Bird Registrations are open!
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Keep an eye on here, our Facebook page and our Instagram page for updates
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Emily, Lise, Rob & Sarah
Edinburgh Queer Lindy
About
What is queer lindy to us?
Between us, we have danced in many cities and at lots of different events across Europe, and we’ve consistently found that we enjoy ourselves the most when we don’t feel any pressure to conform to any one dance role or social identity.
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The times we’ve felt the most ourselves have been when we were surrounded by queer dancers, in an environment where everyone was allowed and encouraged to take part in this dance in a way that fits who they really are - no judgement of one another, simply being able to express yourself and appreciate others.
The joy and positive energy we’ve experienced in these places has been exceptionally freeing, and in running this event we want to share that feeling of freedom and expression with you.
Code of Conduct
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Anyone is welcome on our dancefloor.
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Any expressions of queerphobia, transphobia, misogyny, ableism, racism and other oppressive views/sentiments are unacceptable.
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Even though this entire event is focused on breaking down misguided preconceptions about dance roles, we still want to explicitly state our position: that dance roles are in no way related to gender.
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Never assume someone’s role based on their appearance. When you invite someone to dance, always make sure you check whether they would like to lead, follow or switch. If you’re keen on a specific role, make sure you let them know.
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We’ve all been there, having to turn down an invite for a dance. It’s not always easy, but it’s important to listen to yourself and to say ‘no’ when you don’t feel like dancing.
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If you invite someone to dance and they decline, that’s ok! It might not have anything to do with you. Simply move on, there’s plenty other people who might love to dance!
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If someone tells you that what you’re doing is making them uncomfortable, or if you sense it, stop. Give them space, and do not demand they tell you what you were doing wrong. They do not owe you an explanation.
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If someone is making you uncomfortable, you have the right to tell them to stop or to walk away. Yes, even in the middle of a dance. You do not owe them an explanation.
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As a general rule: don’t do any moves which take your partner off balance unless you’ve both agreed to it, and even then, ensure that other dancers don’t pose a risk.
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Make sure you keep an eye on where you’re moving, and that you stay in control of your movement. If you do happen to bump into someone, check they’re ok and apologise!
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We’ve never met anyone who could dance all night without breaking a sweat, and as Lindy Hop is a partner dance, please be mindful of your personal care.
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Unless someone specifically asks for feedback or advice, please refrain from critiquing people’s dancing on the social floor. In classes, make sure to ask if someone is interested in feedback, and be considerate in the way you give it.
Our Goals
We want to challenge the implicit idea that all dancers identify as either men or women – an idea that ignores the existence of non-binary/gender-diverse dancers – and that they should dance a particular role according to that identity.
It’s great to see that in many communities it’s becoming more common for dancers of a wide range of genders to choose to lead and follow – or do both! – and for non-heteronormative couples to be seen dancing together. However, we all too often see that the binary is still upheld, both in terms of gender as well as dance roles. To us, Queer Lindy means to not be limited by gendered structures in our choice of role, style of dancing, and who we dance with.
Do you want to follow? Lead? To choose a different role depending on the dance? Or do you and the person you’re dancing with agree to switch roles during the dance? We want you to make the choice for yourself. Part of this is helping bring awareness to the structures – that we sometimes don’t realise are there – that can limit us. We can then each decide how we want to use, or not use, those structures.
One of our further-reaching aims is to use this questioning of structures and hierarchies to examine our place in the Black American culture of dancing and music that we are guests in. As a group of White European dancers, we are very aware that we will always have work to do when it comes to taking part in this culture with appreciation and respect.
This event was inspired by Gothenburg Queer Lindy Festival. Having run our mini-festival since 2019, we want to continue creating this space in Edinburgh where anyone can explore different dance roles and/or switching between them, regardless of their gender, presentation, level of experience, or anything else for that matter. Taking further cues from the wonderful folk at GQLF (who very generously gave us their blessing to use a similar name for our event), we also want to provide a platform for the LBGTQ+ community to be more visible within the Scottish swing dance scene.
In short, Edinburgh Queer Lindy Festival is a space for anyone who doesn’t feel dancing environments should be heteronormative and wants to dance where they are welcome and accepted for who they are.