Consider This: “Huh-huh-huh-HO!”

Whitey’s Lindy Hopper Anne Johnson, next to Herbert “Whitey” himself, at the edge of a jam circle.

Several years ago a trend arose in jam circles where dancers started shouting “huh-huh-huh-ho!” to usher in the next couple jamming. This trend probably arose from very good intentions — it is a sign of encouragement and support to dancers entering. It warns jam dancers in the circle that a new couple is coming out, possibly with an air-step that would land where they are currently dancing. It helps emphasize the structure of the swing phrase as it is coming to an end for those jam dancers who are unsure of when they should go in. It has a sense of community to it.

The last few years have also seen another trend in the swing scene — a strong appreciation for incredible, live musicianship. A great musician says quite a lot when they take a solo, and many dancers enjoy listening to that and reacting to it. And something we should all realize is that a loud “huh-huh-huh-ho” covers up what musicians are trying to say, especially at the end of a phrase, a rich time in the music of conclusion, rhythm, and transition. In fact, a “huh-huh-huh-ho” not only covers it up, it literally replaces it with a generic phrase ending.

Ironically, our basic understanding of jazz music and structure, which most dancers have in the modern scene, has arguably caused us to lose perspective of some of the looseness of jazz and self-expression. For instance, who says a dancer has to enter a jam circle on the start of a phrase or be done by the end of a phrase? Are these particularly good times to do so? Sure, but they aren’t the only times.

For instance, look no further than the scene’s greatest heroes, the Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, who very rarely lined up their jams with the perfect length of phrases — instead, they seemed to dance til the end of ideas, movement or musical.

Now, just because the Whitey’s did it, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily better. But I do think their example demonstrates some important things about how the inventors of our dances used to interact with the music. If we think of a musical phrase as a paragraph composed of sentences, original dancers would go out and dance to sentences, and didn’t necessarily care about beginning and ending with the paragraph.

The flow of such dancing is a part of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers’ flow — it’s part of how their dancing looks, and I think its unpredictability in that regard gives it an organic and exciting look that creates different energy than the modern jam, with its predictably phrased time-tables.

Speaking of energy, one of the biggest reasons people seem to argue for saying “huh-huh-huh-ho!” is that they like the enthusiastic energy it gives the jam circle. Energy comes in many flavors, some of them very subtle, and if we’re always pushing for ENERGY! then we’re missing the opportunity to enjoy the wide variety of energies that swing music has to offer.

A group of a hundred people standing close together experiencing something is already a lot of potential energy. When a jam circle is more organic — people entering and leaving when they feel inspired, and people setting the mood of how they want to dance, not to mention letting the musicians and how they’re ending the phrases help shape that — then we’ll have a richer experience.

(Also, if a jam is going to have great energy, all it needs are some great swing-outs.)

That is why I argue that we as a scene should move on from “huh-huh-huh-ho.” However, we should still keep the good of it. By all means, encourage people to get into jam circles, shout them on with joy, and yell when they do something that inspires you, on your own terms. Doing so will make you part of the experience, part of the community of that jam circle.

But let the music tell them when to begin.

By the way, the jam circle — the act of a community standing in a circle while people take turns dancing — has historical roots that are a lot more complex than most people realize. The jam circle goes back thousands and thousands of years of African history (often with the purpose of worship) and then hundreds of years of (often tragic) African-American history involving slavery and cultural destruction, before it became, not coincidentally, one of the foundations of jazz music and jazz dance.

This perhaps doesn’t have much bearing on the question of whether we should shout “huh-huh-huh-ho!” or not; Or perhaps it does — regardless, we think it’s important for modern dancers to reflect on that. A jam circle is a sacred thing.

 

Special thanks to Joey Shelley and Michael Quisao (and their FB game) for bringing up the conversation. And as always, editor Chelsea Lee.