“The new 20s”, our theme for the 7th Madrid Lindy Exchange

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This 2020 we inaugurate the new 20s, a hundred years after jazz and swing were born. They were the music and culture that brought lindy hop, balboa, shag and solo jazz to life, and such an accomplishment makes it mandatory that we chose it as the theme for our seventh Madrid Lindy Exchange.

Nowadays, bands of all kinds, big and small, mingle with DJs in ballrooms; dancers of all styles and trends share the dancefloor, and we all together keep swing alive and worship the first ones who developed this new way of expression and changed partner dancing forever.

“The new 20s” is the theme that inspires Berny Art’s poster, which is not only full of references to jazz’s golden age but also to Madrid. A story told in a single image.

Here you have some clues:

Through the window we see the silhouettes of some of the most recognizable buildings in the Gran Vía (the origins of this street date back to the beginning of the 20th century):The Union and the Phoenix, with its original sculpture on its peak, and the building that will become a true skyscraper: the Telefonica Building.
In the band we can find historical jazz musicians: Benny Goodman (we’re sure you recognised him right away), Melba Liston, the first trombonist to play in a big band (in the 1940s!) and Slide Hampton.

There’s also a sentence written on the chulapa’s mantilla that we have danced to so many times.

And, since our Exchange is in Madrid, look at the reference to the seven stars of our flag in the curtains that decorate the large window.

Amongst the people depicted, the dancers in the front show the unmistakable style of a fun couple that’s been in Madrid. And the boy on the side looks exactly like Nejc Zupan.

And who’s applauding on the left? Place your bets!

We have a poster full of stories that leads us directly to what the 7th Madrid Lindy Exchange will be: a walk through yesterday’ and today’s swing, in a city with a lot of things to tell and to enjoy with, and with dancers that will welcome you and share the floor with you.