a City for You

Hadeel grew up in Libya, in North Africa, where people dance whenever there is music, whenever there is a celebration. However, the dance there is often gender-separated. Even if you dance together, you do not touch each other. How does coming from this culture affect Hadeel in her partner dancing? Well, listen in to find out ;) In this episode, I talk with Hadeel during Minor Swing , in the middl...

What if dancing is not about impressing, but about listening? In this episode, I chat with Giovanni Ligorio and Shieva Norusian during Minor Swing. They are dancers and teachers who care deeply about connection and how we show up with each other. We talk about: ​Why teaching brings them more joy than performing ​Dancing as a way to communicate and listen ​Being introverted in a very social dance w...

When was the last time you let yourself be bad at something… and enjoy it? Jenn Lee is a swing dancer and teacher based in the US, and we recorded this episode together during Minor Swing Festival in Sweden. This conversation is about learning, letting go, and remembering why we dance in the first place. We talk about: ​Starting dance later in life and being a student for a long‑time (not giving u...

What makes you stay in one dance style or move to another? In this episode, I talk with Oscar during Minor Swing in Gothenburg. We record in the middle of the festival, between classes, music, and small moments of rest. We talk about: - why he started dancing - how he moved from competitions to social dancing- how different dance styles connect and influence each other - a dance memory shaped by c...

What makes a dance event feel safe, warm, and easy to enter? In this episode, I talk with Stina and Karin from Minor Swing in Gothenburg. We speak right in the middle of the festival, while music is playing, classes are happening, and everyone is running on very little sleep and a lot of heart. This conversation is about more than organising an event. It is about building a space where people can...

Some people spend their whole life wondering what they are here to do. Nicolle knew when she was five. In this episode, Nicolle shares what it feels like to live with a clear calling. Not as pressure. But as freedom. We talk about singing as a way to move emotion through the body. Why having many voices can be a strength, not a flaw. And how singing for dancers creates a different kind of safety a...

What happens when music stops being a performance and becomes a conversation? In this episode, Sia sits down with a Swedish alto saxophone player and composer who has spent years playing both for concert audiences and for swing dancers. We talk about what changes when musicians really listen to the dance floor. Amanda reflects on how learning to dance Lindy Hop changed the way she would play for t...

In this episode, I am talking with Daniel Larsson , swing and modern jazz dancer, tap dancer, teacher, and all-in-all jazz lover based in Stockholm. Daniel shares how he started dancing as a child, discovered Lindy Hop and jazz, and grew up learning directly from the roots of the dance, taking his classes from Frankie Manning at Herräng. He reflects on rhythm, presence, and what happens when we st...

Tobias started dancing at six, guided by parents who also danced. Dance became his way to connect with music and express himself. In this episode, he shares how he moves between two sides. Dancing with a partner and dancing alone. Growing up, he was bullied for dancing, yet dance gave him strength and confidence that supported him in other sports. Tobias also talks about how dimmed lighting helps...

What happens when dance is something you cannot live without? In this episode, I talk with Gio - a dancer who has been dancing since childhood. - From Sardinia to Sweden. - From joy to responsibility. - From dancing all night until the sun goes up to taking it a little easier. We talk about identity, learning without losing yourself. ​ Subscribe & review the podcast to help me grow 🌟 ​ Connec...

In this episode, I talk with a jazz musician Erik Tengholm who plays trumpet and piano. His favourite gigs are those when he gets to play for dancers. Tune in to find out why ;) We talk about: - what changes when musicians play for dancers - why groove matters more than details - and how dancers listen in different ways We also talk about lighting, of course, and about money. And why full‑time cre...

What if dance is not about the music? What if it is about the person in front of you? In this episode, Stefan shares his take on social dancing through the lens of an improvisation. We talk about: ​Why does the partner matter more than the song to him? ​How lighting changes the feeling of a dance space ​Competing without losing joy ​The hard economics of lindy hop teaching P.S. Stefan did manage t...

In this episode I sit with Sanna, a Balboa dancer from Finland with more than twenty years on the dance floor. We talk about how she began, what kept her in the scene, and what she wants to see more of on the dancefloor. Sanna shares how jazz music shaped her dancing, how community became her safe bubble, and why she wants dancers to believe in their own style. We also talk about lighting, teachin...

In this cosy and sleepy‑morning conversation, we meet a dancer and biologist from Bergen who loves nature, rhythm, and the quiet joy of moving with another person. We talk about:• why dance brings joy• how different styles share the same roots• what low light does to our attention• how breath can change a whole dance There is a lovely moment about strobe lights at an electronic concert, and how li...

In this gentle and honest conversation, Jenna shares what dancing has meant in her life. She talks about growing up in the U.S., dancing for the first time when someone accidentally has invited her to dance at prom when “Big Bad Voodoo Daddy” song came up, and how it slowly shaped everything from her friendships to the place she now calls home. We explore what it’s like to dance with poor low‑ligh...

Here we are in Stockholm talking with Raya, who is based in Tallinn. We have shared a warm, honest conversation with Raya Bouslah : born in Tunisia, now building a dancing life in Estonia, and finding her way across lindy hop and blues. Raya started right before Covid and never stopped (well, apart from when the Covid was in its bloom). She talks about how dancing helps her stay sane and how socia...

Here we are at Snowball in Stockholm, sitting with Lindsey Ngo and Krystel Chevallier for an opposite of a small-talk. We had an open-hearted conversation about how swing dancing can become a place of belonging. Krystel shares how she began dancing balboa ten years ago in Australia and how the dance community stepped into her life at a moment when she felt alone after her divorce. Dancing became t...

Here we are at Snowball in Stockholm, finally sitting down to record this long-awaited episode with Kristýna Krejzlová. Kristýna is a swing and blues dancer from Brno in the Czech Republic, a growing teacher, and a fresh trombone player who is falling even deeper in love with the music and community around these dances. She shares how discovering Lindy Hop just weeks after being diagnosed with mul...

Here we are having a relaxed chat with Mattias Dahl & Jessica Malmberg — a warm, funny, and honest conversation about how dancing can change a life. Mattias shares how he’d been convinced his whole life that he  couldn’t  dance (because he was a drummer… apparently the Swedish dansband culture has "rules" on that), and Jessica opens up about being very shy — until August 16th, 2009, when they...

Here we are sitting at The Snowball festival in Stockholm, and having a relaxed chat with Jennifer Thompson (from Texas) - a warm and thoughtful chat about why we dance. Jenn shares how she started Lindy Hop in 2014, how dancing became a way to connect with people and cultures without words, and why dancing feels like a universal language even when you don’t share the same mother tongue.​ We also...

Celeste’s story is an international one, allowing us to meet at Herräng Dance Camp. In this conversation, she opens up about how dance became her therapy, the patterns she notices in different dance communities, and why lighting can completely change the way we move. From belly dance to tango to Lindy Hop, her journey is full of rhythm, resilience, and unexpected turns. Subscribe & Review Foll...

Darold Alexander is from New Orleans, Louisiana, and we have met at Herräng. He is a MC and a frontman for a few bands & a very prominent person of Herräng 2024, as you might recall. We talked about dance as escape (from responsibilities, work, dealing with people), about ageism on the dance floor and about drinking a lot on the dancefloor. Enjoy and keep the city dancing!

The first episode of the new season of acityforyou. For the upcoming episodes we will be talking about dance in the city! In this episode #138 we will be exploring BLUES and how this dance is experienced in different cities, partilucarly in Helsinki, where the episode was recorded. Enjoy and keep your city dancing.

We have met with Anastasia Karachristou at Herräng , where we were both volunteering and, of course, dancing. So this episode is with a very sleep deprived version of Anastasia. She is a music teacher and she plays in the children's theatre in Athens. She has been dancing lindy hop and solo jazz for the past 8 years. We talked about: 💡 Athens being alive until very late 💡 Herräng as a camp that...

Lizaveta was born and raised in Belarus, and lived in different European cities in the past years. She is a mathematician and a blues dancer. We have met at the Stockholm Blues Festival and recorded the episode right there. We talked about: 💡 The difference in feeling when going home from a late dance class 💡 Recognising people's faces adding to a feeling of safety 💡 Different aspects of Berlin...