How to Swing Dance: Basic Steps for East Coast Swing

Swing dancing is an upbeat and playful partner dance often set to jazz music. A form of ballroom dance, swing dance encompasses several different dance styles, each adding distinct flavor, including the Charleston, Lindy Hop, Collegiate Shag, Balboa, and others. Swing dance is also known as the Jitterbug.

After World War I, the United States underwent a cultural shift and the Roaring Twenties brought in a spirit of freedom and frivolity.

• Jazz music: Before it referred to the style of dance, swing indicated jazz. This new form of music required a new form of dance, and swing dance became a craze in the Jazz Age dance halls.
• The Roaring Twenties: The 1920s and 1930s marked the dawn of swing dancing, and various forms emerged, including the Lindy hop, Shag, and Balboa.
• Swing era: After the early Jazz Age, the big band and swing era of the 1930s and 1940s gave way to more derivatives of this social dance, popularized across the United States. Some swing dance types included East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, and various types of country swing.
• Legacy: Though swing dancing’s heyday was in the twentieth century, dancers of all ages practice it today. Dance lessons teach different swing dance styles, and competitions or TV shows will often have swing dancers backed by a live band to mimic jazz era social dancing.

While there are many types of swing, each kind can take on characteristics of another to create a flashier, more dynamic dance routine. Types of swing dance include:

1. 1. Lindy Hop: Lindy Hoppers jive to the eight-count swing out—a circular, signature swing dance move. Originating in Harlem, the Lindy Hop is an energetic dance that helped forward other types of swing dancing. Dance historians point to Frankie Manning as a creator of the Lindy Hop, which was often seen at Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom. The Savoy Ballroom was racially integrated, which allowed for dance styles to be adopted and spread throughout various communities.
2. 2. Shag: Sometimes specified as the Collegiate Shag, this form of swing did not originate in New York but instead in North Carolina and South Carolina. The Shag is noted for its quick beat and pulse that keeps swing dancers on the balls of their feet and bouncing to each downbeat of the music. Dancers kick at full extension on offbeats. The Collegiate Shag was popular amongst young, university crowds who put spins on other contemporary dances like the Collegiate Rumba, foxtrot, and one-step.
3. 3. Balboa: Some dance floors prohibited the expressive, libertine moves of the Charleston or Lindy Hop, which led to the Balboa dance. Partners hold each other in a close embrace at the chest and remain still at the torso but move their feet briskly to jazz music played at a quick tempo, sometimes as fast as over 300 beats per minute. Little kicks and frenetic footwork kept close to the floor give unique styling to this form of swing.
4. 4. East Coast Swing: This swing dance is based on the six-count variations of Lindy Hop. Known for its basic steps, East Coast Swing was also a movement evolving out of famed ballroom dancer and businessman Arthur Murray’s dance studios. The East Coast Swing dance was commonly paired with fast-paced boogie-woogie and rock ‘n’ roll.
5. 5. West Coast Swing: The California spin on the Lindy Hop helped christen the term West Coast Swing. In this slotted dance, the follower dances ornamentally around the stationary leader. The West Coast Swing is most often paired with Western music, hip hop, and funk, rather than swing music.
6. 6. Country swing: Sometimes called Western swing, the country swing is danced to jazz-infused western music (complete with steel guitar). This type of country dance can incorporate swing elements and various Latin dances such as salsa, merengue, and bachata.

This energetic, acrobatic dance will often incorporate:

1. 1. Triple steps: The foundation of many swing dances, the triple step is a reset step that offers dance partners the opportunity to close up and open out together. This rocking motion often goes three steps to the left and then three steps to the right.
2. 2. Flips and lifts: More advanced swing dancers will have leaders flipping followers over their arms or back. Similarly, some dance moves like the cradle swap involve dancers being lifted and tossed around to add a bounce and flair to partner dancing.
3. 3. Dips: Many moves are punctuated by dips, in which the follower will dangle from the leader’s body, sometimes hanging off of their shoulder with their legs locked at the back, or being held by the leader with their legs up and their head low to the ground. These moves involve excellent core strength.
4. 4. Playfulness: No matter the moves involved, swing dancing is marked by playfulness. Across the decades, swing dancing endures as a wholesome, energetic, and perky kind of dance.

Different styles of swing necessitate different moves. After learning the basic steps of East Coast Swing, you can rely on improvisation to create a more spirited routine. Follow these steps to learn East Coast Swing:

1. 1. Start with a rock step. The rock step is a fundamental movement of many swing variations. Leaders will rock back with their left foot, putting their weight on the left and then lifting and tapping with the right foot.
2. 2. Do a triple step on the left. The left foot then returns to its starting position, the right foot closes in on the left, and the left steps out. This side-close-side step is called a triple step.
3. 3. Repeat the triple step on the right side. Do another triple step to the right (right foot out, then left closing in, and then right foot out again), and you have a complete and simple rock step. Repeat this to get the six-count swing of this dance, where the counts are “one, two, three-a-four, five-a-six,” with the “one, two” being the initial rock back and forth and the “three-a-four” and “five-a-six” serving as the two sideways triple steps.
4. 4. Add a partner. Once you have the rock step down, try it with a partner. The follower will make the same moves as the leader—including stepping back on the first count—but will perform all the movements with the opposite foot.
5. 5. Place your hands. The leader will place a hand on the follower’s back, the follower will put one on the leader’s shoulder. Hold hands with your free hands.
   
6. 6. Add a turn. Add a turn on each “five-a-six,” the second triple step in a single rock step unit. On that triple step, turn your body 90 degrees to the right (for the leader) and left (for the follower). Repeat this three more times in subsequent rock steps, and you’ll have completed a circle.
7. 7. Move from closed to open position. When you and your partner have your hands on each other’s back and shoulder, you are in a closed position. Many more advanced moves will happen in open positions, which is when you and your partner are at a distance (but in many cases are still tied via your clasped hands). Alternate between closed and open positions on each rock step. Start with your hands clasped and on each other’s shoulder and back. After the first complete rock step, release your hand on your partner’s back or shoulder, and rock backward and outward for the two triple steps, extending your arm to invite an open position. Then, come back together the next time you rock backward on the left (for the leader) and right (for the follower). You can even add a turn once you are comfortable in the open position.

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