THE SWING DANCE FAMILY

THE SWING DANCE FAMILY


The swingout (also known as Lindy turn or whip) is the defining dance move of Lindy Hop. The swingout evolved from the breakaway, which in turn evolved from the Texas Tommy. The first documented mention of the swingout pattern that resembles breakaway was in 1911, to describe a "Texas Tommy Swing" show done at the Fairmont hotel in San Francisco, CA, USA . Its variants are used in Jive, East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing and Modern Jive.


The Texas Tommy is said by many to be the first swing dance. The main reason being that during this period (1909), all the dances were done in "closed" position, this was supposedly the first modern dance of the time to include the "break-away" step (dancing in open position) while using the basic 8 count rhythm of swing dance. (The "break-away" step developed into a dance with the same name.) The dance was one of many that originated in the dancehalls of the Barbary Coast redlight district.


The Charleston is a dance named for the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm is a traditional one from West Africa, popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States of America by a 1923 tune called The Charleston by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one of the most popular hits of the decade. While it developed in African-American communities in the USA, the Charleston became a popular dance craze in the wider international community in the 1920s. Despite its black history, Charleston is most frequently associated with white flappers and the speakeasy. Here, these young women would dance alone or together as a way of mocking the "drys," or citizens who supported the Prohibition amendment, as Charleston was then considered quite immoral and provocative.
From 1919 to 1927, Breakaway was a popular swing dance developed from the Texas Tommy and Charleston in Harlem's African American communities. The Breakaway was danced to jazz, and while it often began in closed position, the leader would occasionally swing the follower out into an open position, hence "Breaking away". When in open position the dancers would improvise with Vernacular Jazz Dance moves. Some variations included both dancers completely breaking away from each other to dance 'alone'.


From 1919 to 1927, Breakaway was a popular swing dance developed from the Texas Tommy and Charleston in Harlem's African American communities. The Breakaway was danced to jazz, and while it often began in closed position, the leader would occasionally swing the follower out into an open position, hence "Breaking away". When in open position the dancers would improvise with Vernacular Jazz Dance moves. Some variations included both dancers completely breaking away from each other to dance 'alone'.


JJive is a dance style in 4/4 time that originated among African-Americans in the early 1940s. It is a lively and uninhibited variation of the Jitterbug, i.e., belongs to Swing dances.
In Ballroom dancing, Jive is one of the five International Latin dances. In competition it is danced at a speed of 44 bars per minute, otherwise at between 32 and 40 bpm. Many of its basic patterns are similar to these of the East Coast Swing with the major difference of highly syncopated rhythm of the Triple Steps (Chasses), which use straight eighths in ECS and hard swing in Jive.


Modern Jive, is a generic term sometimes called French Jive. It is a dance style that derives from Swing, Lindy Hop and Rock and Roll and others, the main innovation being to simplify the footwork. The style first developed in the 1980's at three London Based Clubs, 'Ceroc', 'Le Roc' and 'Cosmopolitan Jive'.


West Coast Swing (WCS) is a partner dance derived from Lindy Hop. It is characterised by a distinctive elastic look that results from its basic extension-compression technique of partner connection, and is danced primarily in a slotted area on the dance floor.
Both partners travel, a great deal of the time, in the same direction, and the follower walks into new patterns, traveling forward on counts "1" and "2" of each basic pattern, rather than rocking back. [1] Within the spectrum of partner dances, WCS is one of the most improvisational.


East Coast Swing (ECS) is a social partner dance primarily derived from the Eastern Swing Dance. Eastern Swing, in turn, was evolved from Foxtrot or more specifically its leaping version known as Shag. Furthermore, many aspects of East Coast Swing were, and still are, influenced by Charleston and Lindy Hop.


Jitterbug can be used to refer to a swing dancer or various types of swing dances, e.g., Lindy Hop, Jive and East Coast Swing. This has led to confusion within the dance community since jitterbug can refer to different swing dances. It can also be used to mean someone dancing to swing music or people top-notch jitterbugging, jumping around, cutting loose and going crazy".