Swing Dancing dates back to the 1920’s when clubs such as the Savoy Ballroom in New York provided a venue for the best and brightest of dancers and musicians in the New York region. The huge dance floor and double bandstand invited jazz musicians to come and strut their stuff while also encouraging dancers to show off theirs. Dances such as the Lindy Hop and the Charleston were just the beginning of what we call Swing Dancing, which has crossed all manner of cultural barriers, racial barriers, and is now a sensation for those who walk all manners of walks around this world.

The Jitterbug, which was a tune by Cab Calloway provided a new beat and a new dance during the 1930’s. The Jitterbug, along with the Lindy Hop were wildly popular inviting more great jazz or swing music and many more variations on the Swing Dancing style. When Benny Goodman came along dancers quickly began mixing tap and jazz steps into their swing dancing moves.

What began in Harlem quickly spread across the United States. In the years between 1941 and 1960 it was clear that white dancers as far away as California were also wild about the Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, and Swing dancing. Swing dancing during this time was a term that was used to encompass the Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug. These other terms also included swing dancing. In other words, they were generic terms that at this period in time referred to the same style of dancing.

Because many felt that swing dancing would be a short lived phenomenon it wasn’t taught in dance studios until well into the 1940’s when its wild popularity could no longer be ignored by those offering lessons at even the best known dance institutes. Once these styles of dance began being taught in various studios throughout the US it was quickly discovered that there were different styles of Swing Dancing according to geography rather than a unified method of swing dancing.

The different style of swing dancing being taught in California became known as Western Swing. With music evolving over the course of the last century Swing Dancing has also evolved with various geographical regions showcasing their own unique styles of Swing Dancing. Imperial Swing, the Carolina Shag, D. C. Hand Dancing, The Houston Push, and the Dallas Whip are just the tip of the ice burg.

In order to conform to a more unified standard of teaching swing dancing ballroom instructors in the US have developed two watered down versions for teaching the basics. They are known as East Coast Swing and West Coast Swing in the world of ballroom dancing and the more adept students become at the basic steps the more variations, flourishes, and personal touches that can be added to make it their own.

Common swing dancing styles include: Jive (which is the generally accepted international form of swing dancing for the sake of competitive ballroom dancing), Pony Swing, Cajun Swing, Ballroom West Coast Swing, Ballroom East Coast Swing, Country-Western Swing, Supreme Swing, Imperial Swing, Carolina Swing, Push, Whip, Savoy Swing, West Coast Swing, and Lindy—just to name a few. Watching the videos of various styles of swing dancing is a fun and exciting way to learn a little more about this fascinating style of dance. If you have not had the opportunity to do a little swing dancing of your own there is no better day than today to get started. The music is great and the moves are spectacular. See for yourself why swing dancing is so widely popular not just in the United States but also around the world and try it today.