Melbourne comedian Damian Callinan was in Paris a few years ago when a mob of swing dancers “came out of the woodwork” around him and he was halfway between “seething jealousy and admiration”.
The extraordinary moment spawned a new fascination with the early-20th century era of dance.
With a comedian’s lifestyle, however, rocking up to neighbourhood swing classes at a fixed time once a week was not feasible so he set himself the task of incorporating his education into a new show for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
In his show Swing Man Callinan shares rites of passage stories from his youth as he learns new swing steps, culminating in a full Charleston routine.
Through learning the moves from an entirely foreign era, Callinan discovered people were “all stuck in the dance style of our teenager era”.
He said one of the private swing dancing teachers in the show said to him that even when he was swing dancing he had “’80s hips and shoulders”.
Dancing to an audience is no new feat for Callinan, who built a reputation at high school parties for acting out the film clips for pop hits.
“They would clear the rumpus room and make me dance, which culminated with me being dragged into the parents’ parlour at this party in Christmas Eve up in Belgrave,” Callinan said.
For a painful grand finale to Planet Earth by Duran Duran, Callinan fell off the table, breaking his nose to an audience of drunk parents.
At school, Callinan said he had the girls lining up for his hand at ballroom dancing when they realised he wouldn’t trip them over.
Bush dances had a “renaissance” in the ’80s, yet the gatherings in the thousands attracted local gangs like “moths to a flame” outside.
He recalls a particular dance at La Trobe University.
“Negotiating getting home became almost [an] World War II escape scenario,” Callinan said.
Callinan said Swing Man was fun and relatable to outsiders to the “weird and wonderful world of swing dancing”, yet had “a few Easter eggs” for the diehards.
Swing Man will be on at Latrobe Performing Arts Centre, Traralgon on Wednesday, August 15 at 7.30pm.
Phone the box office for tickets on 5176 3333 or visit latrobe.vic.gov.au.
