Swing Dance Classes

The Swing brings forth a buoyant, carefree movement & the various speeds of music are excellent training for quick footwork.

Swing history

The Lindy (Swing) picked up where the Charleston left off. It had 'swing-outs', 'break-aways' and 'shine-steps'. With the birth of swing music in the mid 1930's, the Lindy climbed the social ladder. In August of 1935, at the Palomar Ballroom, bandleader Benny Goodman played a Fletcher Henderson arrangement of 'Stompin' at the Savoy' and the rest, as they say... is history. The dance craze swept the nation, and depending on where you lived, it was the Jitterbug, the Lindy Hop or the Swing. Since those days, each successive generation has discovered the fun of Swing.

Swing music

Swing, Jitterbug, Jive, Shag, Lindy Hop etc are normally written in 2/4 or 4/4 time with the musical accents occurring on the second or second and fourth beats of a measure. Swing includes two general rhythms, Swing rhythm - 1, 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6 or its equivalent; and Lindy rhythm - 1, 2, 3 & 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 or its equivalent. Swing may be danced comfortably over a wide range of tempos.

Swing characteristics

A side step or a triple step (shuffle) followed by a rock step done to lively music is the fundamental pattern for this dance.

Watch the Swing!

Arthur Murray Crows Nest students dancing the Swing at our regular Match Competitions.