BLM2 Student Resource

SOCIAL DANCE MINI-LECTURE/STUDY HANDOUT SAMPLE SWING DANCE Introduction: Swing dance began as a social dance in night clubs for entertainment but can also be a theatrical dance form. Swing dance is a category of social partner dance that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Swing dance originated within the black community of Harlem, New York and the most popular style of Swing dance is the Lindy Hop. History: Swing dance began during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. The Harlem Renaissance was a time of new creativity and innovation for African American writers, artists and musicians. The creation of Swing dance was in response to trends in popular music. During the 1920s, Swing dance was mainly performed by African Americans at gatherings, parties and celebrations whenever jazz music was being played. While Swing dance originated in New York City, many soldiers learned Swing dances such as the Jive, Jitterbug and Lindy Hop during World War II and would teach it to their wives, friends and families when they returned home. This spread the popularity of Swing dance to middle- class Caucasian people who would travel to Harlem and share in the African American culture. This is especially important because it brought people of different cultural backgrounds together. Styles: Savoy Swing • popular in New York’s Savoy Ballroom • very quick, jumpy and casual

Lindy Hop • smooth looking

West Coast Swing • popular in California • emphasizes nimble feet

Whip • popular in Houston, Texas • emphasizes spins and wave rhythm break

Jive • began as a social dance but is now danced competitively throughout the world

Techniques: It is a triple, triple, double step style of dance, done in partners where the male is usually the lead. There are lots of lifts and jumps in this dance form which makes it very exciting. It is usually improvised socially, unless specific choreography is required for a theatrical performance of Swing.