Swing dancing evolved in the United States in response to the swing music that became popular from the late 1920s through into the 1940s. In ballrooms up and down the country, dancers started to invent new ways of moving to the music of Chick Webb, Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and many more.

Swing Dancing is actually an umbrella term for many related, but distinct, dance styles including Charleston, Lindy Hop, Balboa, and various forms of Shag. Close relatives of swing dancing include Jive and Rock & Roll. The different styles of swing dancing emerged because people in different regions of the country developed different dance styles in response to the same music that they would hear broadcast on the radio, distributed on shellac records and, of course, played live in the ballrooms by travelling big bands. Most of the swing dances have their origins in the 1920s craze for Charleston, but they are also influenced by other ragtime dances such as the Jig Trot and the Texas Tommy.

Like the jazz music culture in which it evolved, swing dancing has a basic structure that also places high value on improvisation.

The best way to understand what swing dancing is like is to see it for yourself, so please take some time to browse our gallery of videos or – better yet – come along and try it for yourself in one of our dance classes!