The story of Austin Swing Syndicate began in early 1999, when you could hear swing music at nearly every club in town. However, as the national swing craze started winding down, Austin swing dancers were running out of live music venues. They needed a consistent place to dance that they could call home.

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At this juncture, our founders Burk McRae and Amanda Matthews came up with the idea to start the Austin Swing Syndicate. They rallied the dancers in town to the cause, getting them involved and excited. Once Burk and Amanda, with the help of many local dance supporters, got the funds together, they hosted their first dance in June 1999. As word spread about the Thursday night dances, more and more people came.

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Later that year, a large group of swing dancers in town went to Swing Out New Hampshire, a week-long dance camp, and came back inspired after seeing how amazing the dancers were around the country. They could see the potential to hold a similar event for Austin’s own swing dance community. That inspiration turned into another Austin tradition, the Austin Lindy Exchange (ALX). In November 2000, the first ALX took place; it was deemed the “72 Degrees Exchange” due to Austin’s mild fall climate. Ironically, a cold front blew in and the temperature was closer to 42!

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Since then, there have been many contributors to the success of the Austin Swing Syndicate and ALX, and we know there will be many more in the future!

 

Founders

Burk McRae & Amanda Matthews