A WSDC Registered West Coast Swing Event in Gräsmyr
Welcome to Umeå’s hottest summer event: Rock the Barn! Four days at Gräsmyr loge filled with West Coast Swing workshops, social dancing until early mornings, Jack&Jill competitions, and Shows. Rock the Barn is a sanctioned WSDC event!
Rock the Barn is sold out!*
Chuck is one of our Rock the Barn veterans and 2019 will be his 6th time with us. Chuck has been dancing West Coast Swing for over 20 years and won competitions in the USA before most of us even knew this dance existed. He is our chief judge and will share his knowledge with us in his workshops.
Sonya has been with us since the start in 2014 and it will also be her 6th time at Rock the Barn. Sonya has studied modern dance in Montreal, but soon discovered that West Coast Swing is her dance. Her mission is to help everyone to find their own way to express themselves in their dancing.
Maxime & Torri are with us at Rock the Barn for the 3rd time. Torri is originally from the USA where she won the Showcase division at the US Open with Benji Schwimmer several times. Maxime has an education in contemporary dance and was the first European to place among the top 5 at the US Open in the Classic division.
It’s the first time for Semion and Maria at Rock the Barn in 2019. Both of them have a background in other social couple dances, but they fell in love with West Coast Swing. They were the first couple from Russia that made it to the finals in the Classic division at the US Open. Semion and Maria are known for their musicality and connection and they will share their knowledge with us.
Zee and Dalena are coming all the way from Singapore and it’s their first time teaching in Sweden and at Rock the Barn. They are actively driving the growth of the West Coast Swing scene in Asia. Zee is also the first Champion level dancer in Asia.
Rock the Barn is approved by the World Swing Dance Council as a points registry event. We offer Jack&Jill competitions at the following levels:
Newcomer
If you have never competed before you should enter this division.
Novice
If you have competed before and have less then 16 novice points.
Intermediate
You have at least 16 novice points and less than 30 intermediate points
Advanced/Allstar
For those with at least 30 intermediate points. Depending on the number of participants we may even run separate Advanced and All-Star divisions.
What is Jack&Jill?
In a Jack&Jill contest you do not register with a partner, and it’s the luck of the draw that determines which partner you get to dance with. In the preliminary rounds you rotate and dance with different partners, everyone is judged indivually. In the finals you are paired up with a partner and judged as a couple.
Jack&Jill competitions are easy going, relaxed competitions that do not require you to dress in formal attire. We are very happy to be the first event in Northern Sweden that has been given the opportunity to run a wsdc-event, and we encourage everyone to take the chance to compete, so we will be able to keep our wsdc-status for many years to come.
Registration for competitions can be done in advance when registering for the Weekend Pass, or on spot up to 2 hours before the competition. But we encourage you to register in advance to make the the preparations easier.
One of the charms of Rock the Barn is that it is located on the countryside outside of Umeå in a traditional Swedish dance barn. There is a big space where you can camp with your own tent or caravan.
If you prefer to sleep on a more solid ground, you can bring your sleeping bag and grab a spot in the nearby school building or gymnastics hall.
NOTE: we are still working on the details for the school building and can’t confirm that we can use the same place as in the previous years because there are renovations planned for the summer. But we will figure out a solution and let you know as soon as we know more.
If you come by car, then it may even be an option to stay at Hotel Vännäs which is a drive of about 20km away.
| Own tent | FREE |
| School building | 150 SEK / weekend |
| 400 SEK / weekend |
Food packages are sold out!
If you want to buy some food, you can go to the nearby ICA store which is just a 5-minute walk away. You can also register for one of our food packages so you don’t have to worry about food. And don’t worry about getting hungry in the night, there will be burgers you can buy.
This year we offer gluten-free, lactose-free, vegetarian, and vegan options for all meals. Please leave a comment in your registration if you would like to order one of those variants. Unfortunately, we can’t offer any other options than those. If you have other allergies and want to make sure you can eat all the food, please refer to the menu below (Swedish only).
| Friday | Lunch | Dinner | |
| Saturday | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
| Sunday | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
| Friday | Lunch | Dinner | |
| Saturday | Lunch | Dinner | |
| Sunday | Lunch | Dinner |
| Friday | Dinner | ||
| Saturday | Dinner | ||
| Sunday | Dinner |
Rock the Barn is sold out!
| Swedish | International | |
| 1300 SEK | 1100 SEK | |
| 1500 SEK | 1300 SEK | |
| 600 SEK | 600 SEK |
*We may release more party passes and social passes for individual nights (couples only) closer to the event.
Free Passes
If you have won a free pass at another event or if you are an an Advanced or All-Star level dancer, please leave a comment in your registration. You will get an automated email with the regular price but we will adjust the price and send you a new confirmation.
Please note that we aim to maintain a good leader/follower balance for Rock the Barn. This means we can accept your registration right away if you register with a partner, but you may end up on a waiting list if you register alone. This also applies if you qualify for a free pass.