• 14th-17th MARCH 2024
    WARSAW, POLAND

     

     

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  • In March, Warsaw will once again transform into the swing capital as we celebrate our 10th edition! Join us for a fantastic celebration of Lindy Hop in the heart of Poland. Get ready for inspiring classes with top-notch instructors, unforgettable late-night swing parties, contests, shows, and all the memories we’ll create together ❤️ Dedicated to the best live jazz, Retro Weekend promises an extraordinary musical experience. For the first time ever, we’re hosting a big band on our main stage! That’s the way to celebrate the 10th anniversary – we guarantee you won’t want to miss it! 😉

PARTIES

 

  • Thursday

    • Welcome party!
    • Live music by the Jazz Dreamers
  • Friday

    • Live music by the Morning Call Jazz Band & The Juke Records Big Band
    • Open Mix & Match Competition
    • Solo Jazz Competition
  • Saturday

    • Live music by the Morning Call Jazz Band & Juke Records Big Band
    • Mix & Match Advanced Competition
    • performances
  • Sunday

    • Live music by Reverent Juke
    • Strictly Lindy Competition
    • After Party
For details check schedule.

You won't be able to buy ticket at the door.

SCHEDULE

Thursday



THURSDAY
21:00 – 22:00 Taster: Arturas i Egle – Jazz it up (yes, even more!)
22:00:00 Welcome Party starts!

Friday



FRIDAY
10:00 – 13:00 Extra Track with Alex McCormack (at Solec Studio)
Solec Studio Solec Studio Tango Milonga Tango Milonga
14:00 – 15:00 Modern Afro Dance (Manzi) House (Julia) Popping (Shiney) Authentic Jazz (Genia)
15:20 – 16:20 Amaraba (Manzi) Hiphop (Julia) Authentic Jazz (Shiney) Blues Solo (Genia)
17:00 – 18:00 Marketing Swing Dance. What growing swing dance schools are doing right? Talk z Martynasem Stonysem (at Tango Milonga)
20:00 registration for Open Mix & Match & Solo Jazz Competitions
20:30 – 21:30 taster with Cesar & Paola
21:30 – 22:15 Open Mix & Match Prelims
22:15 – 22:30 Solo Jazz Prelims
22:30:00 Party starts
23:45:00 Solo Jazz Finals
01:00:00 Open Mix & Match Finals

Saturday



SATURDAY

Tango Milonga (ul. Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 21A)
NOT (ul. Czackiego 3/5) Solec Studio – Big room (ul. Solec 38) Solec Studio – Small room (ul. Solec 38)
LH INT – ADV LH INT – ADV + LH ADV LH ADV +
10:00 – 10:45 Level check
(Peter & Elze, Daniel & Frida)
11:00 – 12:30 Peter & Elze Alex & Jill Daniel & Frida Sep & Helena
12:50 – 14:20 Sep & Helena Peter & Elze Alex & Jill Daniel & Frida
14:20 – 15:00 Lunch break
Tango Milonga (ul. Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 21A)
NOT (ul. Czackiego 3/5) Solec Studio – Big room (ul. Solec 38) Solec Studio – Small room (ul. Solec 38)
SOLO INT – ADV B SOLO ADV A SOLO ADV B SOLO INT – ADV A
15:00 – 16:00 Elze Frida Daniel Alex
16:00 – 17:00 Elze Frida Daniel Alex
20:00 registration for Advanced Mix & Match
20:30-21:30 taster
21:30 – 22:30 Advanced Mix & Match Prelims
22:30 Party starts
23:45 Advanced Mix & Match Finals

Sunday



SUNDAY
Tango Milonga (ul. Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 21A) NOT (ul. Czackiego 3/5) Solec Studio – Big room (ul. Solec 38) Solec Studio – Small room (ul. Solec 38)
SOLO INT – ADV B
SOLO ADV A
SOLO ADV B
SOLO INT – ADV A
11:00 – 12:00 Daniel Alex Helena Elze
12:00 – 13:00 Daniel Alex Helena Elze
13:00 – 13:40 Lunch break
Tango Milonga (ul. Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 21A)
NOT (ul. Czackiego 3/5) Solec Studio – Big room (ul. Solec 38) Solec Studio – Small room (ul. Solec 38)
LH INT – ADV LH INT – ADV + LH ADV LH ADV +
13:40 -15:10 Daniel & Frida Sep & Helena Peter & Elze Alex & Jill
15:30 – 17:00 Alex & Jill Daniel & Frida Sep & Helena Peter & Elze
20:00 registration for Strictly Lindy Competition
20:00 – 21:00 panel talk with Sep & Dorota: 5 Important moments 4 The Lindy Hop and Jazz.
21:00 – 22:00 taster with Cesar & Paola
22:00 – 22:30 Strictly Lindy Prelims
22:30 Party starts!
23:00 – 23:15 Strictly Lindy Quaterfinals
00:15 – 00:30 Strictly Lindy Finals
03:00 Afterparty starts
This is a preliminary schedule which still can be a subject to small changes.

Schedule description

Open class – Friday’s classes only for Full Pass (Lindy Hop or Solo) owners. We’ve prepared for you in total 8 classes on various topics, so take a look at the schedule and decide which ones suit you the best. IMPORTANT: We’re aiming for a smooth open class experience this year, so we have implemented a limit on the number of participants allowed in each class, based on a first-come, first-served basis. If one room fills up, our volunteers will direct the the remaining interested participants to another open class.No stress, with four classes going on at once, everyone’s got a spot!

Taster class – A lesson just before the party. We invite all the Festival’s participants (both Lindy /Solo and Party Pass owners) to join a taster class!

Extra Track – On Friday morning we invite you to join our special extra track! This Solo Masterclass will take place on Friday (15.03) from 10:00 am to 1 pm. For this extra class there is a separate registration open (link below). You don’t have to be a holder of any pass to take part in Extra Track.

  • Blues, Bebop and Self Expression wit Alexandre McCormack
    During this Authentic Jazz masterclass Alex will share with you his take on different aspects of jazz music and dance. The class will be divided into two 1,5 h blocks: “Shuffling, Rolling & Jivin : some principles in Blues & Bebop dancing” and “Jamming, Musicality & Self Expression. Tapping into your personality and creativity”.

Level check – audition which applies for Lindy Hop Advanced and Advanced+ levels only. During the audition you will be asked to dance a little with various partners to various tempo. Based on your performance, our teachers will assign you to a proper group. Every group will have its individual colored wristband – please, wear it on your wrist during the whole festival, as it allows you to participate in parties and classes.

venues

This year, all classes will take place at three locations:

  1. Studio Solec, ul. Solec 38, ground floor, entrance next to “The Cool Cat” restaurant.
  2. Tango Milonga, ul. Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 21A.
  3. Dom Technika NOT, ul. Czackiego 3/5.

All parties and activities after 7pm (taster classes, competitions, panel talk on Sunday) will take place at Dom Technika NOT, ul. Czackiego 3/5.

Both the party and class venues are conveniently located next to M2 metro line stations – we recommend booking accommodation near stops along this line.

City Tour with Tytus

Dear Dancers,

My name’s Sebastian „Tytus” Suski and I’m Warsaw tour guide. On Saturday 16.03.2024 I will take you to the walk around historic Warsaw city centre.

During the walk I will introduce you to the brief bistory of Warsaw, how it was found, and circumstances of how Warsaw became The Polish Capital. I will tell you stories about turmoil of history that took place in our city, but also about ordinary folks, their lives, work, and free time. I plan to show you cool places, that you won’t read about in guide books.

But first of all, we will focus on the topic, that may be interesting the most (for us, swing dancers). We will take a look at the places where folks of Warsaw went to dance in 1920s and 1930s (to American Jazz!).

Starting Point: Royal Castle Square (right beside the Zygmunt III Waza Column)

16.03.2024 14.00

The walk will last about 2 hours.

Code of Conduct

Retro Weekend Festival is dedicated to providing a welcoming and safe atmosphere for everyone, regardless of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, physical appearance, dance experience or role.
Therefore all participants, teachers, artists, volunteers and organizers at Retro Weekend Festival are required to comply with the following code of conduct. We are expecting cooperation from all of you to help ensure a safe environment for everybody and we will enforce this code throughout the event.

REGISTRATION

  • Extra Track

    45 €

    • 3 hours of Solo Masterclass
    • Choose your topic
      •  Body Awareness with Genia
      • Digging Deeper with Sep
      • Blues, Bebop and Self Expression with Alex
    • Friday 15.03 10:00 – 13:00

  • Lindy Hop Full Pass

    early bird: 170 euros
    late bird: 200 euros

    • 6h Lindy Hop Classes
    • 2h Open Classes
    • 4 tasters
    • 4 parties with live music

  • Solo Jazz Full Pass

    early bird: 150€
    late bird: 170€

    • 4h Solo Jazz Classes
    • 2h Open Classes
    • 4 tasters
    • 4 parties with live music

  • Party Pass

    130€

    • 4 tasters
    • 4 parties with live music

Levels

Lindy Hop Track:

  • Intermediate – Advanced
    You’ve been taking regular Lindy Hop classes for at least 12 months and attended a few local workshops already. This even may not be the first international event for you. You feel comfortable with mixing basic rhythms: groove walks, charleston, triple steps and incorporate some swing-out variations to your dancing. You dance to different tempos: 120 – 180 bpm with ease. You wish to learn more fancy patterns but still feel the need of improving your technique.
  • Intermediate – Advanced +
    You’ve been dancing Lindy Hop for minimum 28 months – regular classes, attending socials and some local and international workshops. You dance to various tempos: 110 – 200 bpm incorporating different rhythms, patterns and creating your own variations. You’ve probably also tried some other swing dances, like Balboa, Blues or Shag and still are hungry of knowledge and alternative ideas that may improve your dancing skills.
  • Advanced
    That is the level where you switch the “autopilot” off and become more creative with your dancing. You eventually dance to any tempo – super slow or extra fast – doesn’t matter. You dance many different variations and feel very comfortable with your basics and now are trying to explore the musicality more, changing moves and rhythms with the flow. You feel this is the time to get into your dance technique more – searching for new ways of connection, switching roles, working on the quality more than learning new figures.
  • Advanced +
    You can honestly call yourself a Lindy Hop dancer. You attend international festivals regularly and found all the previous level descriptions as checked. Most probably you teach Lindy Hop locally. You basically can do both: lead or follow and understand different means of getting into nice connection. On one hand you feel very experienced but on the other need to learn swing-out again ;).

Solo Track (Important! Check in the schedule, that signing up for a certain level your signing up also for classes with different teachers – that’s why we have two groups on the Intermediate – Advanced Level and two groups on Advanced level)

  • Intermediate-Advanced
    You’ve been dancing Solo Authentic Jazz / Solo Charleston for at least 12 months (maybe 6, if you had danced Lindy Hop before). You are familiar with Shim Sham Routine and basic Authentic Jazz elements, like Suzzy Q, Opposites, Fall of the Log.
  • Advanced
    You know the most popular solo routines (including Shim Sham, Tranky Doo, Big Apple – at least till the “London Bridge” 😉 ). You feel comfortable with your body and do not need a dance partner to hit the dancefloor during the party. Solo jam circles seem to drag you in and probably you also have joined some solo competitions already. At the same time you feel the need to work on your movement quality and body awareness more and more.



Competitions

Mix & Match – Dancing with a random partner to random music. During the Festival there will be
2 stages of this competition: prelims and finals in two categories – Open and Advanced. During the prelims the judges will value each dancer individually and then will select leaders and followers who get into the finals. This time dancers will be matched in pairs, and from now on will be judged together. The number of participants is limited to 40 leaders and 40 follower

  • Open – If you would like to check yourself in this competition, please join! It’s up to you to decide in which category you prefer to compete – however if you’ve competed many times already and are no stranger to the finals we suggest you to consider joining the advanced division.  To take part in Open M&M, please visit the reception desk between 20:00–20:45, sign up, get your number and pin it on a visible place. Prelims will start at 21:15 during Friday’s party at NOT. Finals will take place at 0:30.
  • Advanced – If you consider yourself to be an Advanced dancer, you’ve already got to some finals or won some Mix & Matchs before, you’re one of the top dancers at your home scene or maybe teach and would like to check yourself in this competition, please join! IMPORTANT: When it comes to competitions, we would love to see the best of the best showcasing their skills on the dance floor. Therefore, in the Mix & Match Advanced competition, we allow teachers from both open and taster classes to participate. If you don’t feel comfortable competing with them, you are welcome to choose the open division of Mix & Match.  Please note that main teachers are not eligible to compete in this category. Prelims will begin at 21:30 during Saturday’s party at NOT. To take part, please visit the reception desk between 20:00–20:45, sign up, get your number and pin it on a visible place. Finals will take place at 23:45.

Solo Jazz Competition – this competition will take place during Friday’s party at NOT. To take part in this competition, visit the reception desk on Saturday after 20:00 to sign yourself up. Prelims will start at 22:15 and finals at 23:45 during Friday’s party at NOT. IMPORTANT: When it comes to competitions, we would love to see the best of the best showcasing their skills on the dance floor. Therefore, in the Solo Jacc competition, we allow teachers from both open and taster classes to participate (main teachers are not allowed to compete).

Strictly Lindy Competition – It’s a competition dedicated to dance couples. So if you’d like to check yourself among others, please join and put the dancefloor on fire. To take part in this competition, visit the reception desk on Sunday after 20:00 to sign yourself up. Prelims will start at 22:00 and finals
at 23:34 during Sunday’s party at NOT.
IMPORTANT: When it comes to competitions, we would love to see the best of the best showcasing their skills on the dance floor. Therefore, in the strictly competition, we allow teachers from both open and taster classes to participate. Please note that main teachers are not eligible to compete in this category.