Vernacular jazz dance from the swing era
What is solo jazz?
Solo jazz is the vernacular jazz dance that grew up in African American communities alongside the music of the 1920s to the 1940s: the Charleston, the Shim Sham, the Big Apple and the endless steps in between.
You dance on your own, to the music, alongside everyone else. Hotfoot Society is a Cape Town dance space for exploring it through classes, practice and social dancing.
18:15 – 19:15
For beginners and newer dancers
19:15 – 20:15
For experienced dancers and curious obsessives
Six Wednesdays · 11 November – 16 December
Building the toolkit in Foundations; putting it to creative use in the Lab.
The Big Apple wraps up on Wednesday 4 November. Our last class of the year is 16 December.
Foundations 18:15
Over these six weeks, we're filling your toolkit. We'll add classic swing-era steps and variations to your movement vocabulary, and learn how to hear what's going on in swing jazz: how the music is built, where the phrases begin and end, and when the band is setting you up for something.
More steps to play with, and a better ear for when to use them.
The Lab 19:15
We'll explore frameworks for improvisation built on creative constraint. By limiting ourselves to one rhythm, one shape or a handful of steps, we'll find ideas that total freedom rarely turns up.
Then we'll put those ideas to work and make something of our own: a group choreography, built together from scratch, to a song we all love.
Your first class
No. Solo jazz is danced on your own, so just bring yourself.
Absolutely. Foundations is built for complete beginners, and you can drop in on any Wednesday.
Clothes you can move in, and shoes that let you turn on a wooden floor. Avoid grippy trainers if you can.
Use the booking form for a single class or a month. Questions? WhatsApp or email us; details below.
Meet your facilitator
Muriel has been dancing solo jazz and Lindy Hop since 2013 and has taught countless classes since 2015, originally for Boogie Back Dance Co (the first swing dance school in Cape Town) and then for Cape Town Swing, as a co-founder of the community.
She is swing-obsessed and gets a massive kick out of sharing the joy of jazz dance and music.
Hotfoot Society is an independent initiative affiliated with Cape Town Swing, part of the wider Cape Town swing dance community.
Private lessons & events
One-on-one coaching, a first dance that actually swings, or a room full of colleagues learning the Shim Sham. I teach private lessons and bespoke workshops for every kind of person and occasion.
I've been teaching since 2015: partnered swing dances like Lindy Hop and Charleston, solo jazz, and movement more broadly. Whether you're a complete beginner or a seasoned dancer, every session is shaped around who's in the room and what you'd like to get out of it.
One-on-one coaching at your own pace.
Learn to dance together, from scratch or to level up.
Friends, family or your own crew.
Lessons and workshops for learners of all ages.
A joyful, low-pressure way for colleagues to connect.
A lesson to kick off the celebration.
A first dance, or getting the whole party on the floor.
You name it. Let's talk.
Tell me a little about who, what and when, and I'll come back to you with options.