What is Swing?
Swing is a group of related street dances that developed in the 1920's - 40's
in an African American vernacular dance tradition. Swing is partner dance,
where the couple consists of a leader and follower, who share a connection. Following are
the styles of swing dance that you are most likely to see here at Messiah.
- East Coast Swing - Closely related to Jitterbug and Jive, East Coast Swing
is a six count style that could be considered a subset of Lindy Hop. East Coast
is a fairly simple style of swing and we teach it to our beginners first.
- Charleston - One of the earliest styles of swing, Charleston is an eight
count style that we often use in East Coast or Lindy Hop. Charleston became
popular in the 1920's and can be danced both alone and with a partner.
- Lindy Hop - Among the most popular styles of swing, Lindy Hop evolved in
the late 1920's to early 1930's in New York. It incorperates jazz, tap, and
charleston steps, as well as other styles.
See
Wikipedia for more info.