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The Orgins of Swing Dancing
Posted by Ghostdancer
8/28/2003  5:40:00 AM
It is generally accepted that swing came from out of Harlem in the 1920's or 30's, but I thought that I read somewhere that it's very beginnings were in the deep south among the African American population who brought it with them during migration to the north to areas such as NYC.

"Dancing is a contact sport; football is a hitting sport" - Vince Lombardi
re: The Orgins of Swing Dancing
Posted by Kevin Laddison
8/29/2003  6:29:00 AM
Originally posted by Wcsdancer:
I have to make a comment on your message regarding "Jive" being danced in clubs. I don't believe "jive' as done in Competitive Ballroom has ever been done by more then a few dancers in U.S. clubs - East coast swing/jitterbug yes, Jive -no. Probaby in Europe but not US.


I agree with your interpretation, I know that European swing dancers do jive, but outside of competitions I've got no experience with it in the US. Of course I wasn't alive in the 50's, so what do I know?
re: The Orgins of Swing Dancing
Posted by Wcsdancer
8/28/2003  2:29:00 PM
I have to make a comment on your message regarding "Jive" being danced in clubs. I don't believe "jive' as done in Competitive Ballroom has ever been done by more then a few dancers in U.S. clubs - East coast swing/jitterbug yes, Jive -no. Probaby in Europe but not US.
re: The Orgins of Swing Dancing
Posted by Kevin Laddison
8/28/2003  9:19:00 AM
I'm fairly certain that Swing developed along with the big-band sound of the 20's. All dance traditions take pieces from other things that have gone before, but swing is an American development.

I found the following information on the Metronome Ballroom's (www.metronomeballroom.com) website a year ago, but I can't locate the specific page again now.

"East & West Coast Swing
The origins of these two popular swing dances go all the way back to the swinging Savoy Ballroom, which opened in Harlem in 1926. With a dance floor that was a block long and a raised stage, the Savoy attracted some of the best bands and dancers in the world during its 32 year history. According to one scholar, the swing dance called the Lindy Hop first saw the light of day at the Savoy. The Lindy was named after Charles Lindbergh, who had become a household name after his solo flight across the Atlantic. This partner dance was characterized by a "breakaway" or solo part, said to have been invented by "Shorty George" Snowden, which allowed the male dancer in particular to strut his stuff. The dance's acrobatic and airborne steps may have caused the association with Lindbergh and his historic flight.

The Lindy was performed mostly by small groups of enthusiasts. But by 1936, it had been refashioned as the Jitterbug, capturing the imagination of young people everywhere. Benny Goodman, the "King of Swing," brought dancers out in droves. Jitterbugging was athletic and vigorous, and it was widely danced to swing music until about the end of World War II. But many people thought jitterbugging was too violent to fit in as a ballroom dance. Accordingly, it was tamed by professional dancers and turned into Jive. The Jive was danced in clubs in the 1950s and is now one of the five standard Latin dances in ballroom competitions. The history of the other modern swing dances is fuzzy; apparently no historian has fully researched their origins. All we know for sure is that East Coast and West Coast Swing both evolved out of earlier versions of Swing. Noted Los Angeles dance teacher Skippy Blair offers one possible explanation: "In the early 40s everything was Jitterbug, but then it got so wild that even drinking patrons were getting hit by dancers. There are several sources that say that west coast came from that: They drew lines on the ground and said you couldn't move out of those lines."

West Coast Swing is danced in a slot and is noted for its syncopated steps. Followers have more freedom than perhaps in any other dance, performing their own syncopations at will. West Coast Swing became the official state dance of California in 1988. East Coast Swing is distinguished by its rock step. Its name was changed from Eastern Swing to East Coast Swing between 1975 and 1980, according to Blair, years after "western" swing had become known as "West Coast" Swing. East Coast Swing was originally danced to big band music. Regional music differences helped determine how the two dances evolved. "Back east they stayed with the big band sound, which you could only do eastern swing to. But here, we didn't have big band places; we had country-western and blues. Dancing in a slot (i.e., West Coast Swing) fit that kind of music better," Blair says."
Re: re: The Orgins of Swing Dancing
Posted by dnice
4/15/2004  6:02:00 AM
There are a number of errors in the metronome's page... Lindy Hop and the breakaway were not created by George Snowden, but he did name it. The breakaway was a step used in the dance Texas Tommy Swing from California, and when combined with the Charleston from South Carolina, and mixed with various jazz steps/dances the dance that would be known as the Lindy Hop was born... The name Jitterbug did not start as any kind of differentiation between ground bound and aerial swing dancing... it was just another name applied to the same dance.
Re: re: The Orgins of Swing Dancing
Posted by bjp22tango
4/28/2004  5:12:00 AM
And from what I have read the term Jitterbug applied to the people who danced and it was originally perjorative, i.e. dancing like someone going through delirium tremens. Over time it lost this conotation and now most people mean Single Time East coast swing when they say Jitterbug.

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