My love affair with dance began in the balcony of Sokol ballroom in Omaha, NE. My mother brought me to the auditorium for a mother daughter outing, not knowing that when I looked down on that dance floor to see all those people joyously swing dancing, it would be the moment that made me want to devote my life to swing. Seventeen years later, I am no longer on the balcony watching—I am the one on the dance floor either teaching or dancing with my favorite partner, my husband, Brian Langbehn. Because Lindy Hop began as a street dance, it wasn’t originally taught in ballrooms. In the spirit of capturing and passing on the stories and choreography of Lindy Hop, I’ve traveled all over the US to be taught by not only by top dancers but also by original Lindy Hoppers. There are not many original swing dancers from the 1930’s with us any longer, but those legends that are still with us are still practicing and passing down the original art form; through my teaching in Omaha and beyond, I’ve become an ambassador of Lindy Hop myself, working to keep this vibrant and energetic art form alive.
JOSEPHINE LANGBEHN 