Liesel Hop

1st to 3rd of June 2018 will be the premiere of the Göttingen Lindy Exchange. 130 dancers, 4 parties, 3 tasters, 2 bands and the one and only Lennart Westerlund await you in one of the oldest student towns, right in the center of Germany. The social program includes a hike through the beautiful forest, concert hopping at the Göttingen Night of Culture and a relaxed vegetarian brunch.

Göttingen

Göttingen is known for its centuries-old university, its richly ornamented, half-timbered houses and its rich student scene. Located right in the center of Germany, south of Hannover and at the edge of the Harz uplands, Göttingen is never far away. Although small with 134.000 inhabitants, the city has a vivid cultural life. During the Liesel Hop, you will experience one of the highlights: the Night of Culture with numerous concerts all through the old town.

Liesel

The Gänseliesel is the most kissed girl of Göttingen - and the landmark, that the Liesel Hop is named after. She is a fountain figure of a young maid taking care of geese. It is a tradition that doctoral students, after their graduation, climb up the fountain, bring the Gänseliesel flowers and earn the once-in-a-lifetime-honor to kiss her.

Liesel-Hop-2018_Gaenseliesel

Lennart Westerlund

Lennart is one of the pacesetter of the Swing Revival in the 1980’s. In 1983 he came across the Lindy Hop through books and old film clips, and in May the following year he travelled to New York on the look-out for the roots of the dance form. He soon met, studied and started to spend time with old-timers including Al Minns, Frankie Manning and Norma Miller. He co-founded the highly recognized Swedish dance company The Rhythm Hot Shots (now Harlem Hot Shots) in the mid 1980’s. A few years later, the company was in the forefront of the first steps of the revival of the Lindy Hop, and in 1989 they took over the complete administration of the Herräng Dance Camp, and invited legendary swing dancer Frankie Manning to visit his first major international swing dance camp.

Lennart is today still a most active dancer, instructor, lecturer, judge and administrator. He divides his time between the Herräng Dance Camp, the Chicago swing dance studio, and traveling around teaching and giving lectures. After some 35 revival and renaissance years of the Lindy Hop, Lennart is one of very few of the pioneers that are still active in the scene. His background and dedicated interest in the Harlem roots of vernacular jazz dancing has positioned him as an important link between the past and the present.

AppenDixie

AppenDixie is a band that driven by the Prague swing dance scene combines the elements of the early swing and traditional jazz with a slight touch of craziness. The band plays at big dance events and is a regular part of the Prague Swing festivals. Along with that, AppenDixie has played for the lindy hop scene of Brno, Dresden, Pilsen and Vienna. The swing musicians regularly organize dance parties themselves and raid the existing ones with their powerful live music. This time the AppenDixie will be playing in a slightly more powerful assembly.

Clara Montocchio

Clara is an Austrian-South African singer, dancer and actress. Since completing her Musical Theatre degree at the Performing Academy in Vienna she has performed on a great many wonderful stages across Europe and South Africa (such as Porgy & Bess, Jazzland, ORF Radiokulturhaus, Oude Libertas Stellenbosch, Brucknerhaus Linz and the Musikverein, to name a few). She sings regularly with various big bands and combos, has starred in several Film and TV productions and also works as a tap dance, authentic jazz dance and singing teacher. Clara is a passionate lindy hop dancer and particularly loves singing for dancers!

Moonika Saar

Moonika is originally from Estonia and has been active in the international swing dance scene for more than 20 years. It all began at the tender age of 11. Mere two years later, she was already taking part in the "World Cup Lindy Hop" in Sweden. She has been participating in tons of international dance camps and competitions ever since, winning numerous prizes. Since 2007, she has been teaching regularly and with her skill and sense of humour she can get anyone to swing, regardless of whether they are 5 or 70 years old. Moonika has been living in Göttingen since 2014 and helping build the local swing dance scene.

Philip Makedonski

Philip is originally from Bulgaria but has spent the last 12 years in Göttingen. He has been active in the European swing dance scene for the past 5 years. His first encounter with swing was more than 10 years ago, but in the meantime he spent a while focusing on modern street dances, such as House and Locking, which can be considered as natural successors of authentic solo jazz. He rediscovered his love for swing music and swing dancing while attending jazz concerts and festivals. Ever since, it was back to the original street dances - Lindy Hop, Charleston, Solo Jazz. He has been attending international dance workshops and events on a regular basis, developing his dancing, teaching, and organisational skills even further.

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