To Be Black and Snatched. Hair --- it's not only a cultural part of Black living, it's also a practical one. You might be surprised all the ways it plays a role in a Black person existing in a mostly Non-Black America, and specifically in a Non-Black swing dancing space. It's only one of the topics we discuss in today's action-packed episode.  In part I of this 2-part conversation, we talk to the renown event emcee, jazz dance instructor, and Lindy Focus meeting co-host MICHELLE STOKES about hair, how she first came into the dance, the swing scene as Michelle saw it through the lenses of being a Black woman, body types, the problems with  most modern swing dance classes, and the nature of swing dancing in the modern scene.  Next week, part II of this interview will cover her philosophy as an Emcee, and what an ideal scene looks like to her. 2:00 The realities of hair, and what it has to do with Black Women, dating, and the swing scene.  14:00 Going to dances searching for romantic partners  21:30 Walking into a swing dance as a Black person  25:00 Lindy Hop Body  33:30 Michelle's heavily-curated dance education  40:00 We naturally look to teachers, and ignore our prior knowledge, when introduced to something new  44:00 On teaching problems in the scene  52:00 Following a bunch of different leaders vs dancing for yourself   58:00 Collaboration and pretending to dance rather than actually dancing  Please donate to help keep us in business:  Patreon: patreoncom/integratedrhythm  PayPal: [email protected]  Venmo: @bobbyswungover  (Where applicable, lease put the note "IR" in it, so that we know it's for the podcast!)