1940’s Dancing
"Swing dance" is most commonly known as a group of dances that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s-1950s, although the earliest of these dances predate "swing era" music. Los Angeles had its own form of what they called "Swing dance" which came from Charleston, Fox Trot, and Jig Trot influenced footwork. In Chicago and in the south they had their own Style of Swing, which was more Two-step based, and most of these Regional Swing dances gave way to various influences, such as other dance forms of dance but also the decline of Dance Bands, and partner dancing after WW2. Lindy Hop was so named after Charles Lindbergh's flight to Paris in 1927, when the newspaper headline read: "LINDY HOPS THE ATLANTIC". The dance has no "hop" in it. On the contrary, it is smooth and solid, and while there is a constant rhythmic 8-count "pulse" that you feel in your bones, there is no hopping, bopping, or prancing in the dance. Lindy Hop, also known as Jitterbug, is the authentic Afro-Euro-American Swing dance. It is an unabashedly joyful dance, with a solid, flowing style that closely reflects its music from the late 20's hot Jazz to the early 40's Big Bands. The original Balboa is a hybrid of the Charleston, Jig Trot, Swing and appropriated steps from the Collegiate Shag. Later, many dancers started to add steps and twist and kicks back into the dance at Balboa Island in Newport Beach, California (Balboa Pier), with a new Balboa being born out of this Shag, Jig Trot/Walks, Charleston and Swing mixture, as well as very tight dance space and a chance to catch your breath (Jockeying) while dancing fast. It had finally come full circle and was getting very popular with the swing dancers in Southern California. The Jive is a dance of International Style Ballroom dancing. It initially was based on Eastern swing taken to England by American Troops in World War II and evolved before becoming the now standardized form of today. Push and Whip are Texas...