Swing Dancing

Swing dancing is a group of dances that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s-1950s. While the majority of swing dances began in African American communities as vernacular African American dancees, some swing dances, (Balboa, for example) developed in white communities.

Swing dance is characterized by lots of swinging, flipping and throwing of dancers.

Many musicians say that there is no such thing as swing music, there is only music that “swings.” Swing dance music is as varied as the many styles of swing dance. The development of swing dance styles was heavily influenced by the popular music of the time. Swing music may include styles such as jazz, hip-hop, blues, rock-n-roll, ragtime, R&B;, funk and pop. The chosen music style typically determines which swing dance should be danced. Swing dancers enjoy dancing to many different rhythms, as slower beats allow them to have a break from the fast-paced swinging.

• Balboa – The shuffle dance
• Boogie Woogie – European East Coast Swing
• Ceroc – Blend of Latin, Salsa and a two-step jive
• Charleston – A step and swing dance from the 1920s
• East Coast Swing – The base for all swing dances
• Jitterbug – An umbrella term generally referring to swing dancing
• Jive – A fast-paced variation of the Jitterbug
• Lindy Hop – Most popular swing dance that originated in Harlem
• Modern Jive – Blend of Latin, Salsa and a two-step jive
• Swing – Collection of dances that developed with the swing of jazz music
• Swing Jive – Blend of Swing and Jive
• West Coast Swing – A slotted dance in which the follower travels back and forth along a rectangle, or slot