Swing (dance)

Swing dance is a broad category of social dances that grew alongside swing jazz music during the 1920s through the 1940s, though each individual dance style actually started before the swing era. Hundreds of different swing dance styles emerged, but the ones still practiced today include Charleston, Balboa, Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, and Collegiate Shag. Of these, Lindy Hop is the most famous; it got its start in Harlem in the early 1930s. Most swing dances began as vernacular African-American dances within Black communities, but a few, like Balboa, came from outside those communities. The term "swing dance" wasn't commonly used to describe a group of dances until the latter half of the 1900s. Before that, "swing" referred to the jazz music style that inspired the dances. "Jitterbug" can mean any form of swing dance, but it's often used specifically for the six-count version of Lindy Hop known as East Coast Swing. A person who danced swing was called a swing dancer. "Jitterbug" could also refer to Lindy Hop, Shag, or other swing styles. Bandleader Cab Calloway famously used the term because dancers' fast, bouncy movements made them "look like a bunch of jitterbugs out there on the floor." Today, the term swing dancing often includes West Coast Swing, Carolina Shag, East Coast Swing, Hand Dancing, Jive, Rock and Roll, Modern Jive, and other dances that came along in the 1940s and later. In Europe, a strong tradition of social and competitive boogie woogie and Rock 'n' Roll adds those dances to local swing dance cultures. **Original forms from the 1920s and early 1930s**

Balboa is a very fast eight-count dance done in closed position. Its earliest form, "Pure Balboa," came from the conservative dance halls of southern California, where space was limited and strict rules banned the wild kicks of Charleston and Lindy Hop. Pure Balboa features an upright posture with partners chest to chest. Step variations play with rhythm and style from the knee down, and involve changes in direction. It's often danced to fast jazz, usually 180–320 BPM, though many prefer a slower 170–190 BPM. Most dancers consider both Pure Balboa and Bal-Swing part of the same dance. Bal-Swing developed when original Balboa dancers tried fancier variations that broke the chest-to-chest connection, introducing spins, turns, dips, tricks, and even air steps. Charleston can be danced partnered or solo, often to faster music. It uses several positions: side-by-side, hand-to-hand, and tandem. In "jockey position," the closed position opens so both partners face forward without separating. In side-by-side Charleston, partners open completely, connecting only at touching hips and arms—the leader's right arm touches the follower's back, and the follower's left arm touches the leader's shoulder. Both partners swing their free arms like in solo Charleston. In both jockey and side-by-side, the leader steps back on the left foot, and the follower steps back on the right. In tandem Charleston, one partner stands in front of the other (usually the follower), both face the same direction, and both start by stepping back on the left foot. The partner behind holds the front partner's hands, and their joined arms swing back and forth like in the basic step. Collegiate Shag (or "Shag") is danced mainly to up-tempo swing and sometimes pre-swing jazz (185–200+ BPM). It likely started in the Carolinas in the 1920s and spread across the U.S. during the 1930s. Shag is still danced by swing enthusiasts worldwide and is believed to have been the first and most popular swing dance of the original swing era. Lindy Hop evolved in the early 1930s. It's an African American dance known for its high physical energy. Its eight-count basic, the "swingout," moves from open position through closed position and back. The dance emphasizes improvisation and can include other steps in eight-count and six-count rhythms. The name "Lindy Hop" is often credited to "Shorty" George Snowden, who, when asked by a newspaper writer what dance they were doing, supposedly replied "the Lindy Hop" because Charles Lindbergh had just made his solo flight across the Atlantic. Whether Shorty George actually coined the name is debated, but it stuck. The Savoy Ballroom in Harlem was the home of Lindy Hop. As its popularity grew, professional troupes formed and toured the U.S. and Europe performing versions of it. **Forms from the late 1930s and early 1940s**

Big Apple: A partner dance and a "called" circle dance that began in the African American community in the early 20th century.