Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Hibarger.
Michael, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I used to watch a lot of old movies as a kid, I always thought swing dancing looked cool. I had no idea how cool it would turn out to be. I thought I needed a partner to do it (you don’t). I was afraid at first, but someone dragged me out swing dancing, which leads me to the Lindy Hop, which took me all over the place.
I eventually started DJing and then teaching, which lead to a group of local dancers forming Boston Swing Central. A long strange and wonderful journey ensued… from becoming a non-profit, to leasing and running our own dance studio in Charlestown (which unfortunately closed in 2014).
If we could have made a reality show of this journey, it would be filled with drama, visits to City Hall, Inspectional Services Division at 1010 Mass Ave. Lots of dancing in beautiful venues, lots of incredible musicians and bands, and wonderful people rolled into our every expanding snowball over the years.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
But ISD was a challenge and getting zoning and licensing, and then arbitration with our neighbors in Charlestown with a member of the city council as a mediator. Super fascinating, but also super stressful. Then the struggles with keeping venues, which is always difficult for dances to maintain. There is an incredible amount of real estate pressure in Cambridge/Somerville, not only for housing but also for creative businesses.
All the landlords are hoping to land biotech startups and charge them a fortune for rent.
Many warehouse spaces are getting torn down and/or converted to condos. It’s a definite struggle. We’ve seen spaces with live music like Johnny D’s and Ryles disappear in the last couple of years. And that trend continues. This puts things like swing dancing just-out-of-reach for most prospective dancers, because if it’s too far away, then the overhead in taking public transportation is too much to travel to bear.
Going swing dancing is an activity that is somewhere in between going to the gym and going out to a nightclub. It’s something you want in close proximity to where you live because you need and want to do it regularly, but it doesn’t have to be quite as close to you as the gym is. If it’s really far away or a long commute, then it becomes something you might do once a while. If it diminishes to that frequency, then it’s hard to get good at it and really get to the point where you can enjoy it to its full potential.
Please tell us about Boston Swing Central.
We are a non-profit dedicated to the preservation of the Lindy Hop and related swing dances. We are most proud of our inclusive community which welcomes people of all ages, races, cultural backgrounds, etc. What sets us apart from other types of activities is that we really have a lot of different ways to plug into our community…it’s creative, fun, and there’s a lot to learn. All, while meeting some amazing people, listening to some incredible music, and you barely even notice that you’re getting a lot of exercise in the process…most people leave dancing with a huge smile on their face.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
There is not a lot I think we would do differently. We did learn a lot and the mistakes we’ve made, we probably couldn’t have avoided.
Pricing:
- Our dance varies in price, but typically it’s $16 general admission, $13 students/seniors when there is a band and $10/$8 when it’s a djed night.
Contact Info:
- Address: 26 New St Cambridge, Ma
- Website: bostonswingcentral.org
- Phone: 9788847690
- Email: mike@bostonswingcentral.org
- Instagram: @bostonswingcentral
- Facebook: facebook.com/bostonswingcentral
- Other: Boston Swing Central, Inc.
Image Credit:
Tom Haggar
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