Lindy Hop

This is the original swing dance and our main dance style. Originating in the 1920's and 1930's, Lindy Hop is the convergence of swinging jazz music with a number of popular dance styles at the time including, Charleston, the Breakaway and the Texas Tommy. The center of the Lindy Hop universe with the Savoy Ballroom in New York City.

Lindy Hop has always been danced socially, for competition and for performance. It was part of New York's Harvest Moon Ball, appear in several films from the Marx Brothers "A Day at the Races" to "Malcom X". It has been featured in Music videos by Christina Agulera and Missy Elliott and even on television dance competition "So You Think You Can Dance".

Lindy Hop is the ultimate dance to express excitment, joy and creativity. Yeah Man!

West Coast Swing

Following World War II, culture and technology changed and big band swing music became harder to find but many of the dancers, particularly in California continued to dance to the music that was available. The dance that was originally wild and slowed down and smoothed out to become West Coast Swing.

Originally danced to Blues, Rhythm and Blues and some jazz, West Coast Swing as continued to follow musical trends over the years and is danced to anything from blues to disco to hip hop. While the style and trends change with the music, West Coast Swing has become the most versatile of the swing dances.

Variations of West Coast Swing are danced by Ballroom, Country and Swing dancers.

Charleston

There are 2 main flavors of Charleston; 1920's style and 1930's style, we dance both. Both have partnered or individual/solo variations, with the main difference being the kind of music they are danced to. The 20's partnered version would go on to inspire the break-away and eventually Lindy Hop.

1920's Charleston became popular in an era for ragtime music and hot Jazz from Chicago and New Orleans. In the 20's, nearly everyone knew the Charleston. 1930's Charleston adapted the dance to the sweeter, swinging big band sound of the 30's and 40's.

Jitterbug-Jive

The term Jitterbug-Jive was first used to refer to the Lindy Hop Contest at the Harvest Moon Ball an the early 40's. The individual terms have been overloaded and now refer to several different dance styles. Both Jitterbug and Jive are still used to refer to variations of Lindy Hop today

To the old timers who danced at the Savoy Ballroom, the term Jitterbug was used to refer to someone who can't dance very well. International Style Ballroom Dancers (DanceSport) often use Jive as an abbreviation of "Ballroom Jive" which is part of the Latin syllabus and bears little resemblence to the original Jitterbug-Jive from which it was derived.

East Coast Swing

This is just West Coast Swing danced backward, ... well, not really.

While the Lindy Hoppers on the West Coast were busy creating what would become West Coast Swing, in the East, the kids were dancing to Rock and Roll msuic. This new music based on amped up Rhythm and Blues inspired a new high energy dance style.

Variations of East Coast Swing are danced by Ballroom, Country and Swing dancers.

Authentic Jazz Dance

Sometimes called Vernacular Jazz Dance is not to be confused with it's contemporary studio style 2nd cousin. Inspired by Jazz music in the 20's and 30's this raw, high energy dance style expresses the excitement, joy and craziness of the music when you didn't have to go to a studio to learn to dance. We dance a number of choreographed routines common at the Savoy Ballroom such as the Shim Sham as well as a few of our own creations.

Swing Walk/One Step

This is a group of dances, similar to ballroom Foxtrot or Quickstep where couples travel around the floor with walking steps. Unlike the ballroom cousins, these dances are very relaxed, improvisational and do not rely on a predefined collection of patterns.

Slow Drag/Blues

When the lights are low and the music is slow, this is where it's at. There is no "basic" as such, movements are improvised to the music, relying on clear connection with your partner. This dance require extreme control over your own movements, clear connection with your partner and an ear for the music. This style with roots in jook joints and rent parties is usually danced to blues or slower jazz music.