How to basic swing dance
Learn Basic Swing Steps
Swing is a lively, non-progressive partner dance that can be danced to a wide variety of music, from blues to rock & roll. Non-progressive means it's mostly performed in one spot, so it's very convenient on a crowded dance floor.
- Basic steps
- Instructions & Diagrams
- Video
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Quick intro
Swing is one of the most versatile partner dances you can learn - very social and beginner friendly. Easily adaptable to a wide range of tempos, it involves movements with lots of swinging, spinning and rhythmic, creative footwork.
There are many different styles of swing, the term actually refers to a group of dances that developed from the swing style of jazz music in the first half of the last century. There's Lindy Hop, Boogie-Woogie, Jitterbug, Shag, Charleston, West Coast and East Coast Swing, just to name a few. Each of these dances has its own distinct flavor.
One of the most popular and very suitable for beginners is the East Coast Swing. It's a bit more social and relaxed than other versions. It's also a formal ballroom dance and the easiest to learn. Perfect for beginners, which is why we'll focus on this version here. It will create a good foundation and is the base for other more complex versions.
East Coast Swing can be danced to a variety of music styles. If it's written in 4/4 time and has a tempo between 135-170 beats per minute, you can swing it.
To dance swing you'll need a partner, a sense of humor, and a bit of endurance. It may seem a bit intimidating at first, especially if you're watching those who really mastered it. But as with all things, you have to start with the basics. And the basics are easy. Once you learn the fundamentals, you'll be swinging in no time. Always remember, wear comfortable shoes. Now let's go swinging.
Basic steps (East Coast Swing)
Beginners usually start with East Coast Swing, because it is the easiest of all swing styles.
Here we will show you the basic 6 count step for East Coast Swing.
East Coast Swing has a basic count of 1&2, 3&4, 5,6. It's known as a triple step swing. The basic pattern is triple step, triple step, and a rock step.
When you're starting out you can replace the triple step with a single step. In that case the pattern would be step, step, rock step or rock step, step, step, depending on how you start counting. The overall progression is, of course, the same.
The triple step is really not that difficult to master, it is performed in a chasse-like manner - side step, together, side step.
Instructions & Diagrams:
Basic Steps For Men: The man starts with his left foot.
- 1&2: Triple step (chasse) to the left (left-right-left)
- 3&4: Triple step to the right (right-left-right)
- 5: Step backward with your left foot
- 6: Weight shifts to your right foot
Basic Steps For Women:
The woman starts with her right foot.
- 1&2: Triple step (chasse) to the right (right-left-right)
- 3&4: Triple step to the left (left-right-left)
- 5: Step backward with your right foot
- 6: Weight shifts to your left foot
Remember, keep the steps small.
Video
Leon and Kim will show you the basic steps, how to turn, and more:
more videos »
Now let's have some more fun, let's do some kicking:
Where to go next?
When you're ready for more fun, check out our recommended video lessons.
Video is a great way to learn dancing.
How To Swing Dance For Beginners (Step By Step Guide)
Table Of Contents:
Swing Dance History & Character
How To Count In Swing
Swing Basic Step #1 – Video
Swing Basic Step #2 – Video
Learning how to Swing dance isn’t rocket science…
Like all Ballroom dances, Swing dancing is based on specific basic steps that once mastered can be applied to all kinds of turns, hand swaps and spins. Below you will learn the 2 main basics steps of Swing.
What is Swing Dancing?
This style of Swing is East Coast Swing which originates from Lindy Hop. It is a Stationary partner dance that doesn’t travel much – Meaning it is pretty much danced on the same spot – As opposed to a traveling Ballroom dance like Waltz. The character of this dance is playful and lively. There are a lot of turns and spins that make this dance really fun for couples.
Swing Songs To Practice To:
* Many of the popular songs played on the radio fit this dance including:
Zac Brown Band – Loving You Easy – Slow Tempo
Michael Bublé – Haven’t Met You Yet – Faster Tempo
How To Count The Swing
Beginner Way of Counting the Swing:
Rock Step, Triple Step, Triple Step.
The Count using numbers:
1,2 (Rock Step), 3 a 4 (Triple Step), 5 a 6 (Triple Step).
* We strongly recommend that you count in the beginner way for a while. However, it is important to understand that the rocks step has two full weight changes to 2 beats of music. And the triple steps (3 a 4 Or 5 a 6) have three weight changes to only 2 beats of music. This makes the triple steps faster.
How to Swing Dance – Basic Step #1:
Breakdown of the Swing Steps (East Coast)
Men:
Starting with left foot
Rock step – Step back with left and replace on right.
Triple step to left – Side, close, side (left, right, left)
Trip step to right – Side, close, side (right, left, right)
Women:
Starting with right foot
Rocks step – Step back with right and replace on left.
Triple step to right – Side, close, side (right, left, right)
Triple step to left – Side, close, side (left, right, left)
The Lead:
* Connect fwd to each other before starting to dance.
Leaders: Apply pressure fwd using the entire body but mostly the left arm (For the rock step). Make sure to extend the elbow slightly. Now, after the rock step, using your body weight and right arm connection, lead the followers to triple side steps in both directions. Ladies, don’t anticipate the lead – Simply connect forward to your partner to feel his lead.
Basic #2: Swing Outside Turn (Right Underarm):
Breakdown of Outside Turn (Above)
Men:
Starting with left foot
Rock step – Step back with left and replace on right.
Triple step to left – Side, close, side (left, right, left)
PIVOT 1/4 to left (On left foot)
Trip step to right – Side, close, side (right, left, right)
Women:
Starting with right foot
Rocks step – Step back with right and replace on left.
Triple step to right – Side, close, side (right, left, right)
PIVOT 3/4 to right (On right foot)
Triple step to left – Side, close, side (left, right, left)
The Lead:
* Connect fwd to each other before starting to dance.
Leaders: Just like in the most basic step, extend your left arm to the followers to allow her to do her Rock Step. Immediately after, as you do the side triple step to the left – raise the left arm just above the follower’s head (indicating a turn coming up). Now on count “&” circle the left arm over the follower’s head as she turns underarm. Make sure to extend your arm to clear your partner’s head.
Other Swing Moves you should learn:
– The Inside turn
– Changing hands behind back
– The Cuddle turn
– The Stop and Go
– Kicks & Flicks
Check out all our Swing dance lessons
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lessons, prices and reviews of dance studios
Swing - prices and reviews. Comparative table of dance schools in Moscow, where there are services for teaching swing. Groups for beginners and advanced.
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The Dance.Firmika.ru portal contains information about where you can sign up for swing classes in Moscow: addresses and phone numbers of dance schools and dance studios, prices for the most popular destinations, student reviews.
For greater convenience in using the portal and searching for a dance school, we suggest using a convenient filter by districts and metro stations. Visual tables will help you compare the cost of classes and trainings in different dance studios in the city, choosing the best option for the price.
Swing dance is a specific group of dance styles actively developed from the 1920s to the 1940s. Some modern dances formed from them at a later time also belong to the group swing. Almost all forms of dance are characterized by a shortened syncopated rhythm found in jazz and African American music. Swing dance today very common in developed Asian and Western countries.
Swing dance lessons - what dance classes can offer studios?
Swing refers to a number of different dance styles: charleston, lindy hop, jitterbug, balboa, shag, blues. Sometimes this name includes rock and roll, jive, West Coast swing and other dances developed already after the 1940s. For the United States, swing can also mean such social dances like Hand Dancing, East Coast Swing and West Coast Swing are more boogie-woogie and rock and roll are common.
Many swing dancers try to learn several styles at once, thereby developing a technique and preserving the historical relationship between directions. Traditionally, one can distinguish "street swing" and "ballroom swing". Ballroom styles include the American style, danced on competitions and having a certain figure and a series of related movements. Street swing is more free, it is subject to a variety of interpretations and interpretations.
The end of the 1920s was characterized by playful and energetic music, just not allowing to sit still! In an effort to visualize it, the dancers performed intricate jumps and tricks, kicks and turns, in improvisation creating swing dances. In particular, it is famous for this lindy hop conquering with its joy and energy. He rendered a noticeable influence on the formation of such dances as balboa, boogie-woogie and similar. For balboa characteristic close contact between dancing partners, active footwork and fast jazz music.
The modern balboa dance is danced to the blues in a slower pace. More free dance boogie woogie , suggesting immersion in complete improvisation and lack of order dance moves. It is performed at a moderately fast pace.
Swing dancing is recharging with energy and positive, a splash of emotions, allowing you to chat in a pleasant company and relax from the usual everyday life. Simple movements and ease of execution allows you to dance swing regardless of age and complexion.
Swing dance training in Moscow
Not all dance schools in Moscow are ready to offer swing dancing lessons. To make your search easier, we collected on our portal dance studios, which present classes in swing dance styles: lindy hop, boogie-woogie and other styles. AT The tables contain the cost of a one-time swing dancing lesson and the price of subscriptions. Separately, reviews of students of dance schools and their impressions of conducted lessons.
Swing questions
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Hello! I am 61 years old. Do we have in...
St. Petersburg
2020-09-18 08:30:09 2100
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Hello! I am 61 years old. Are there any schools in our city where it is not fashionable to learn SEG swing? read more
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Which dance school in Chelyabinsk teaches...
Lera Ivanova Chelyabinsk
2020-06-24 18:57:52 2283
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Which dance school in Chelyabinsk teaches Lindy Hop? After quarantine I would like to sign up.
Thanks in advance! :) read more
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SWING Dancing - Dmitry (mitjaj) Martirosov
SWING DANCE is a common name for a group of modern dance styles that emerged and developed in the first half of the 20th century in America. The name of the dances comes from the name of the musical direction.
The entire history of this social phenomenon can be divided into three parts.
Swing era
In the early 1930s dance music split into sweet music and hot swing. The incredible popularity of hot swing in the mid 30s marked the beginning of the SWING ERA, which officially ended in the mid 40s. But various forms of swing dancing continued to be popular until the late 50s.
Swing revival
At the end of the last century, more precisely in the mid-80s, interest in swing dances returned again, when people who did not know each other in different cities and countries began to learn how to dance swing, which they even called differently at that moment.
Today
You can come to almost any city in the world and find a place where you can dance swing. There are different styles and directions in swing dances, united by the fact that they are danced to music that has swing.
Let's talk a little more about each swing dance
FAQ
This is often asked by those who are planning to start or have recently started learning to dance.
Dance styles
SWING DANCE is the common name of a group of dance styles, let's talk about each separately
Dance shoes
The choice of dance shoes is even more important and difficult than the choice of clothes! Where to get? How to choose?
Swing Clothing
What to wear? A very important question for a dancer! Depends where you're going...
Where you can dance
Of course, at the party, which are many, it remains to find them.
Dance events or camps
These events come in a variety of formats and durations: competitions, camps, workshops, weekends, and so on, from one day to a month.
They take place all over the world, and not a single event can do without at least a small party for a couple of hours, so you can...
Party at the bar
Sometimes a school or an individual teacher holds a party outside of their studio. Sometimes a good band plays in a bar and invites dancers to a concert. You can just get together with friends and go without an invitation to a concert of your favorite band - they are usually only happy. On...
Regular school parties
In Moscow, each of the swing dances has at least 1 party per week. Each dance school holds parties in its halls with varying degrees of regularity. In summer, all this is transferred to the parks - Open Air parties. We do not yet have a common information resource, ...
Endless Argument - Naphthalene vs Straights
What better conveys the spirit of the Lindy Hop - grandmother's dresses or ripped jeans?
A little more about the blues
When the blues (Bluesdance) went on a commercial footing, they began to refuse sex, as well as the evening dress code!
Subtleties of style in clothes
Usually dancers from the West Coast Swing parties say that they dance in the most ordinary clothes, but there are still subtleties here.
Once, I went to a party in wide trousers, sewn according to the pattern of the 40s ready and the most ordinary shirt. I was standing at the entrance when I entered the hall...
Shoe selection
I took it in Auchan! If you know how, it doesn’t matter what, but Michael Grimm came to class with a backpack of shoes
Looking good is not vanity, but politeness!
The way your clothes look affects your dance more than you think.
Clothing can restrict movement over the head
Clothing must be comfortable - do not hinder movement! The most common advice. But what does this mean? For example, are slates or flip flops comfortable shoes? Well, everything is relative! I saw people dancing in them on the beach, but something else is better on the parquet. Oddly enough, but ...
Dress up for class
I usually advise you to change clothes for classes, because this simple "ritual" allows you to stop "being yourself" - get out of the image in which you were at work and enter a new image.
They say it helps to tune in to...
When is it time for a party?
The sooner the better! The fact is that at the first, and sometimes even the second and third, party, you will be scared to go dancing. It is necessary to go through some "acclimatization" - to get used to the new environment. Therefore, it is worth going to a party after your first lesson. It's...
Lindy Hop Costume Reconstruction
Clothing and dancing are certainly related, but Swingdance is not a reenactment. The dance itself has long ceased to copy old films, all the more there is no point in striving for vintage clothes if you are not a fan of vintage clothes and do not understand the history of the costume - focus on ...
Blues is a fictional little brother…
At the first Bluesway in Kazan, we went out with one blues teacher to smoke, and he said: — the blues is a fictional dance: if you are good at dancing the Lindy Hop, for example, then you don’t have to learn to dance the blues.
Well! if you REALLY know how to lindy hop - then yes ... Although ...
The main thing is that the suit fits
Looking good is not vanity, but politeness! Obviously, it’s worth trying not just to avoid stale T-shirts and stretched sweatpants. Clothing for training, as well as for competitions, performances and parties, should look decent. At the lesson it can be...
How to start dancing?
Very simple: take a change of shoes, come and don't be afraid to be afraid
Why dance?
Nobody comes to a dance for the sake of dancing! What is dancing really?
Swing music
The choice of dances depends on the music. What is Swing? How would you explain ...
Collegiate Shag
Colidget step - fast dance in a close position, but with more amplitude footwork than balboa. It was popular at the very end of the 30s, and for some reason now too. There are similar destinations, for example, Saint Louis Shag. The dance was popular in the middle of the Swing Era, so.
..
Blues dance
Blues is a slow blues dance. The newest of all swing dances, as an independent dance direction, began to form in 2002. Of course, everyone here says that you can come to the blues in anything, but it's not so simple. Clothing is...
West Coast Swing
VKS is a “lindy hop for whites” to modern music.
Charleston
Charleston - the first of many swing dances, appeared at the very beginning of the last century during the days of ragtime. The peak of popularity came in the roaring 20s (roaring 20'es) - Charleston of the twenties (# 20'es Charleston) - the most popular and characteristic variety,...
Balboa
Balboa is a predominantly very fast dance in a very close position, to classical swing or New Orleans jazz. Appeared in the city of the same name in LA county, at the beginning of the twentieth century. Usually divided into two directions. Purebal. The most authentic version of the dance, almost...
Carolina Shag
Karolina Shag - a vigorous, but not very fast, dance, mainly in an open position, with a variety of interesting footwork. Appeared in South Carolina in the 50s. This music is called Beach Music - actually very light and pop blues. Exactly what they put on Boogie...
Boogie Woogie
Boogie woogie - the same Lindy hop, only with different music, often divided into slow boogie and fast boogie. Appeared at the very beginning of Swing Revival (in the 80s) in Europe, as a collective image of jitterbug and rock and roll. It is often referred to as club or dance rock and roll, as...
Lindy Hop
Lindy hop is the main swing dance - this is swing. It has elements of all other dances, because in its development it absorbed the best of other dance styles. Sometimes slow, but usually quite fast. Appeared in New York, at the end of...
How long to study?
How long does it take to learn to dance? I don't have a short answer to this question.
Any training is an endless process... What is it for you - to learn to dance? I don't know a single really cool dancer who doesn't want to dance better. In...
Dance Lesson Levels
They were invented for greater learning efficiency and your convenience.
5. Buy at dance event
There were a lot of events before the pandemic. In Europe, and sometimes in our country, different manufacturers often sold shoes there. It seems to have been the most popular...
others
remixvintageshoes.com, stacyadams.com and many more.
Aris Allen
(dancestore.com) - I like the price and quality, although the rest of the Lindy Hoppers consider them too plebeian.
Bleyer
The oldest ones: - boogers love them very much, they seem to me not very convenient and expensive, and the production in Vietnam adds fun with sizes and ...
4. Buy online
Now there are many online stores of dance shoes. Here, shoes are most suitable for swing dances, since the owners themselves are dancers.
The problem is only with the fitting, to make sure that this model is right for you. To check your size, you can...
3. Tailor-made
Risky and expensive. The risk is that the lasts for these workshops are rarely developed by orthopedists, and all recommendations for heel height, material stiffness, etc., could be formed under the influence of fashion or ballroom dancing. Almost no one offers selection...
2. General Store and Shoe Repair
You can find shoes in a regular store, and they will be quite slippery and comfortable. For example, shoes with smooth leather soles or hard and smooth plastic ones. Toms espadrille knock-offs are very popular at the WCS, they glide well and are very light. Normal...
1. Dance shoe store
Most of them sell ballroom dancing shoes, here you will be told that it is their shoes that are “good” for feet, but orthopedists are only involved in the development of shoes for sports and fitness, not for dancing.
