Swing/Jive

 Swing/Jive dancing is a fun and lively style to learn.    

It all began in the 1950’s in the U.S.A. with songs by Chubby Checker, Bill Haley and the Comets, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and many others.     It’s roots stretch back even further to the 1930’s and 1940’s.

Swing evolved from the 1950’s onward into a number of similar forms called The Jitter Bug, Lindy Hop, the Single step Jive, and many more.

These dances continued to evolve even up to today, 2014, giving rise to the 2 most prominent forms called  The Triple Step Jive, and The West Coast Swing.    These are now world renowned dances, especially the Triple Step Jive.   

In the last 15 years or so, the West Coast Swing has evolved further into an alternative form that does not represent Ballroom Dance anymore and has hardly retained the body swing element from Ballroom Dance it once had.   Some dancers object to this and others find it to be an improvement.    On the positive side, the modern West Coast Swing has developed more sophisticated lead and following techniques, which have been adopted from the modern Ballroom and Latin dances (such as elasticity, connection, and exchange of energy).    In addition, it has employed new influences from Jazz and Hip Hop.   It promotes elements of personal expression, creativity, and musical interpretation as a special feature of that dance.

The original forms of Swing, such as Charleston, JitterBug, Lindy Hop, and others have made a come back over the last decade or two, as kind of an ‘underground movement’.    From that change of tide developed a fairly large Retro Swing Dance Community in Vancouver, Toronto, and especially in the U.S.A that we find today, 2014.

You can find Swing/Jive dancing in Toronto, Vancouver, and the United States in its modern forms, as well as it’s retro forms, and everything in between, and more.     It is a fun dance style, full of excitement and worth learning, for sure.

 

 

Tel: 1-855-543-2623               or just simply               1-855-JH-DANCE

Email: info@johnhowardsondance.com