As the swing dance community becomes more aware of unconscious bias and works to become more welcoming and inclusive of all forms of diversity, I want to talk about age as a factor. I’ve been dancing since about 2007, and over the years I feel like I’m becoming increasingly invisible to people I don’t know.

How welcoming is the swing dance scene to same-sex dancers and members of the LGBT community? In this post, we'll explore both the positives about partner dancing outside of traditional gender roles and the ways in which our communities can still improve.