The Track - E046 - Marie N'diaye

The Track with Ryan Swift

In this episode, I am joined by instructor, performer, and choreographer, Marie N'diaye. Marie has been dancing almost as long as she has been walking, but she fell in love with Lindy Hop and Vernacular Jazz in 2007. Since that time, Marie has taught in her home scenes of Montréal & Stockholm and at workshops & camps around the globe. She has won competitions at ILHC and Snowball, is choreographer and director of the Herräng Dance Camp daily meeting chorus line, and leads her own dance troupe, HotCha Chorus Line.

Marie joined me at ILHC 2019 to talk about her experience growing up in France in an Afro-Caribbean family where music and dance were a part of life, finding her Lindy Hop home at Cat’s Corner while studying biochemistry in Montréal, and how her PhD studies led her to Sweden and the creation of the Herräng Chorus Line.

We also discuss the importance of understanding rhythm instead of simply focusing on patterns, the legacy of colonialism and slavery in the evolution of dance, and the significance that videos of other black dancers played in discovering her connection with Lindy Hop and swing music.