On the approach through Leopold Square, Cubana appears similar to the surrounding venues – inviting, warm lighting, and umbrellas outside the tidy facade, beneath which patrons mingle and share in each other’s company. On a Wednesday, I might arrive earlier, pushing through the glass door into the golden glow of the bar hall, waving hello to the bartenders, and flinging my outdoor clothes and worries down onto one of the many leather sofas dotted across the floorboards. I know they’ll be safe there for the night.
As friends and strangers-soon-to-be-friends begin to trickle in, I’ll head over to the glittering wall of over 300 different types of rum and buy a drink from one of the enthusiastic bar staff, many of whom I’ve gotten to know by name. The jazz band is setting up to the side, the charismatic dance teacher has begun to bounce around the room, greeting everyone he sees, and the night is about to begin. What am I doing out on a Wednesday night? Why, I am at The Big Swing!
Whilst pondering how I would describe The Big Swing to a newcomer, I kept hearing that famous line from Cabaret repeating in my head: “In here, life is beautiful.” And it truly is. The Big Swing at Cubana represents something for me that I thought had long since died out. It’s that old-timey partnered dancing for the sheer joy and freedom of it, alongside the mellow, brassy tones of a live jazz band. Nothing compares to the rush of being perfectly in sync with your partner, the bond and excitement you both share. And nothing compares to the liberty of laughing together whilst twirling and bouncing merrily to good music.
I see the lovely Liza Potemkina at Cubana most weeks, and she described the feeling perfectly: “There’s something kind of magical about the connection that you have when you’re dancing with somebody. The first time I experienced it, it was almost like telepathy.” Hopefully you have read Dan Hayes’ stunning piece ‘Love, Life, and Pasteis de Nata’, in which the enigmatic Rosa Rodrigues expressed her love for salsa dancing at Cubana. The Cuban bar is a veritable hub for Sheffield’s South American community, hosting salsa, tango and bachata classes throughout the week, alongside Latin DJ sets and first-class tapas upstairs. For Rosa, Cubana not only strengthens her relationships with other people, but also with her culture.
For me, it’s The Big Swing each Wednesday that owns my heart. Swing dance may not be in my heritage, but I am honoured and grateful to have such an inclusive space within Sheffield to explore this fabulous style, and to meet so many kind people along the way. Swing dance began with African-American communities in Harlem, New York City, in the late 1920s. With the rise of jazz, so too rose swing – an umbrella term for a number of different jazz dance styles, including Lindy Hop, Balboa, Collegiate Shag, and Charleston. How lucky we are that Swing made it across the pond to Yorkshire!
I first heard about Cubana’s swing night as a member of the University of Sheffield Swing Dance Society, and it was made clear to me from the beginning how special this night is. ‘Swing societies in other cities would do anything for a venue like this’ – a phrase I’ve heard repeatedly, and one that has proven to be true. People flood in every week from all over the surrounding area, as far as Leeds, for The Big Swing. There’s simply nothing else like it.
The night kicks off with a free lesson from Edgar Elowman (known affectionately as ‘Egg’) at 8:30pm. I managed to snag Edgar for a few words before the lesson, and he was eager to share his thoughts: “I’ve always felt a sense of friendship and community from it. Everyone’s thrown together in this social dance melting pot, like the old days.” Edgar’s infectious foundation of fun, charisma and humour undoubtedly forms a core pillar of the community feel that comes with The Big Swing.
During the lesson, we exchange partners around the room, which gives everyone a chance to get to know each other and acts as an effective icebreaker before we move on to social dancing later in the night. The first few lessons I attended were punctuated by my wincing with each new face and apologising in advance of stepping on their toes, however it quickly became apparent that the huge range of abilities in attendance made it impossible to be judgemental. As an inclusive and welcoming space, it holds a diversity to be cherished. First time dancers, professionals, locals, students, the old, and the young, boys, girls and others – all enthusiastically share the space.
Edgar was keen to make it clear that The Big Swing is ‘a safe space for people to come and be sociable’, a sentiment that I know is shared. He said: “There’s a complete transparency that, if you’re new, you can just come in. You don’t have to know anything; you can come to just have a wiggle and listen to the music.” The pandemic left many people feeling exceedingly lonely and isolated, and I don’t think anyone has yet fully recovered from this blow. Whilst I can’t speak for everyone, I believe I can attempt to speak for my age group on this matter, and on why places like Cubana are so important.
I asked Harry Glaves, Bar Manager at Cubana, about the loss of deeper interpersonal relations since Covid, and if he felt that dance venues could help to fix it: “I’d say so. I think a lot of younger people particularly have felt that loss, because when they were turning 17, 18, 19, the time you’re supposed to be going out, during Covid, they had to stay in the house. So they never really learned any of those social skills”.
“Having the dance classes here brings a certain togetherness with people – that close, intimate contact.” I have experienced first hand the uncertainty and insecurity of my generation. So many of our most formative social years have been lost to Covid, and lived beneath the pressures of ever-growing media exposure. Relating to each other on a meaningful level is harder than it has ever been, and many of us lack the social maturity to pursue it.
It’s like we’ve forgotten how to have fun. Even in nightclubs, it’s rare to see anyone truly letting loose through dance, and rarer still to see people dancing together. And when I say ‘together’, I don’t mean standing in an awkward circle of the same three people you arrived with, I mean grabbing your friends hands and spinning around the room, or making eye contact with some strangers and ending up in an informal dance-off. I mean being present and involved with the people around you. And I mean physically touching one another.
Having come to university from a very small, tight-knit college, I had quite a shock at the end of my first semester. Months into living with nine other people, I couldn’t remember ever having had any physical contact with some of them – not even a handshake or a pat on the back. We had spent time together, we got on well, and we’d been out together multiple times. But it was only when I convinced one of my roommates to come dancing with me at The Big Swing that I really felt I had a connection with any of them.
Unsurprisingly, there are numerous mental and physical health benefits to dance. These benefits include improved cognitive function and memory, decreased stress and anxiety, and better cardiovascular (and overall) bodily health. Dancing with someone is also proven to make you like each other more. You have to really be attuned to each other’s movements, which means that you both have each other’s undivided attention. How often does that happen in this day and age? When you don’t know what you’re doing and feel completely silly, you laugh together. When you get that moment of synchronicity and hit that perfect beat, you feel exhilarated, invincible, and attractive. In venues such as Cubana, the human and physical connection that so many are sorely missing in our society burns bright and strong.
My splendid friend Tian-Jay Mason, who comes to Cubana every week unless he’s ‘had a terrible accident’ (his own words), had a fair bit to say on the topic himself: “This was one of the things for me that really broke the barrier and got me over my fear of talking to people. It’s had a big impact on my ability to be a social human being”.
“I don’t think I’ve brought a person here who hasn’t been so glad that they came, even if they never come back again.” When the lesson ends and the band comes on, people start inviting each other to the floor for the energetic social dance. There are no gender norms in partnerships, nor any romantic implications, or pressure to give a perfect performance. In good company, we dance for hours, and somehow my energy always keeps up; I feel wide awake and alive. For all I can speculate on what it is, in particular, that makes The Big Swing so unique, I know it’s truly special because I always leave smiling.
