Wei Dai: The Engineer & The Lindy Hopper
Hi! My name is Wei and I am a mechanical engineer who currently works in the wind turbine industry in Texas. When I heard that Demi was putting Encounters together, I was stoked for an opportunity to show off my favorite dance, the Lindy Hop. Just like Demi, I felt an artistic calling from outside of my 9 to 5 engineering career; this swing dance hobby has since four years ago nurtured my personal and musical growth.
When I was growing up, I always had an interest in music. Trained to play the accordion, the 9 year old me obtained incredible memories associated with musical expression. However, as I stopped maintaining practices, I realized I wasn’t going to be professional at playing music. The “go big or go home” mentality put a pause on my artistic interests.
Fast forward to 2010, when I was still burying my face in mathematics, physics, and chemistry as an engineering student, I realized there was a much more pleasurable goal for myself in having artistic expression. It was not so that I would gain fame or recognition, instead, I discovered art as an outlet; a way for me to ignore other’s judgement and to enjoy time on my own. I started warming up my accordion skills with small bands and performing at school gigs and I immediately realized that the greatest gift of creating art is the art itself.
Finally able to rest on the journey to seek happiness in my art, I reaffirmed my desire to create art once again. The only question I had was: How?
Q: When did you start doing your art? How did you get into your art?
A: When I went to graduate school in 2011, I immediately realized that the world outside of academia would be limited if I did not explore my non-engineering talents and interests. The problem was that I did not know where I could go to release my energy and develop my creative self-expression. Frustrated, I decided that dance classes may be a good place to start.
Although I signed up for salsa classes, I ended up at a swing dance event by mistake instead! What I saw at the swing class was beyond my imagination; I was amazed at how two strangers become partners to engage in a single dance and how they are able to execute complex movement without preparing ahead of time. Even more amazing to me was the lack of any verbal communication during the dance. It simply blew my mind that partner dance can exist without set forms or moves.
I was hooked immediately. Time flew by so fast since my discovery because I became fully immersed in the swing dance community. Looking back, it was easy to see the attractiveness of this art form to me: Lindy Hop was the canvas and the sport that I needed to balance my day to day routines and chores. With this dance, I gained the confidence to live my life with hope and I look forward to self-expression through this art form.
Q: How do you balance doing your art with your job and other responsibilities?
A: I feel grateful that I have now developed a rather easy balancing act with Lindy Hop and my 9 to 5. Lindy Hop is very physical but requires very little mental focus unlike my job. Lindy Hop relies on being in the moment and avoiding overthinking. “Letting loose” is the only way to let my musicality do its work. If anything, dancing helps me relax from work because it undoes the knots I made during the day. Besides, I can’t complain about the exercise since I can get in shape while having fun!
It took some time to fine tune the balancing act. During the first few years, I struggled with getting enough sleep and sometimes dancing late would take a toll on my work. I would also sometimes let a heavy work load at my job get in the way of me making time for my art. At this point, though, I have found a comfortable balance that works for me where I am able to do my 9 to 5 and attend weekly dances and even yearly cross-country conventions.
Q: Why did you specifically choose this piece to share with the Encounters community? What does it mean to you?
A: Lindy Hop is really different compared to other partnered dances because it demands not the aesthetics of ballroom, but the practicality of a sport. Therefore, I wanted to share a piece that demonstrates both the freedom and the utility with the dance moves. I like this performance because I was in the moment and having fun. I was dancing with Grace Durant, one of my favorite follows in Texas, who was able to keep our wordless communication channel wide open. The result was an incredibly fun dance that was improvised on the spot, never the same as another Lindy Hop expression.
It’s an understatement to say that the different arts are very different and I love what Encounters has to offer when it comes to focus and passion. Lindy Hop represents something slightly different: freedom and change. To participate in this dance is to have no plans at all – no directions written in stone. I hope the Encounters community will find something new and inspiring in this fantastic hobby of mine.