What is the difference in swing?

Question

I was wanting to take swing dance lessons and found a good place. They offer West Coast Swing and... something else, I forgot. What is the difference and which one should a beginner try?

Answer 1

There is East Cost Swing and West Coast Swing, and there is also Lindy Hop and Jive and Jitterbug (there is more, actually, but those are the most common).

I'd suggest to start out with East Coast Swing - it is the most basic one of them. It is a good foundation dance for the other types of swing, and it is fun enough by itself. You can see a good short instructional video to remind you the steps here: http://www.ballroomdancers.com I tried searching youtube for a good example of advanced East Coast Swing - didn't find anything. But it looks very much like Jive - trust me.

West Coast Swing has a little more complicated rhythm and patterns at the beginner level. So to speak, there is no simple West Coast Swing. Here is my favorite showcase of West Coast Swing. This is what it looks like when you get really good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C0GzFJGxno

Jive is very similar to East Coast Swing - basic step is the same. It is danced to a faster music and tends to be bouncier. Here is what it looks like when danced by top professionals Slavik Kriklivvy and Karina Smirnoff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxvQ6yNGIes

Lindy Hop is also from this group and is dance to similar music, but it is technically different and has a very different look to it.

Whichever one you take - it's all good! good luck wit it and have fun.

Answer 2

I started ballroom dancing in February of 2006. I started with a university course in Beginners Ballroom dance which included East Coast Swing with Cha Cha, Rhumba, Waltz, Foxtrot and Tango.

Before the class got to the Swing Lessons, there was a USA Dance club meeting on campus and the club paid one of the ballroom instructors to give us a 30 minute class on East Coast Swing. That was fun. Since the club meets on Friday Evenings, I had some free time afterwards, I checked the bulliten board in the dance studio for ideas.

I found a postcard from a swing group that offered a free Swing lesson on fridays, and went. They were teaching Jitterbug. On Sundays they Teach Lindy Hop. That night I saw a couple that danced really really well. Everyone cleared the floor for them and stood back to watch them.

After they finished dancing I approached the couple and asked them how long they had been swing dancing and how to learn. I learned that he had been swing dancing for five years, she had been swing dancing as his partner for the past two years, and they were the swing dance instructors at my university. I asked if I could watch the swing class and he said if I could get my footwork right I could join the class -- it was already halfway through the semester.

Between his beginning and Intermediate swing classes I learned some Lindy Hop and some Charleston, and some more Jitterbug to go with my East Coast Swing that I picked up in the Ballroom Classes. I never have learned West Coast Swing, but I want to.

Snowflake, those videos are awesome, thanks for posting them, wow!

As for which to try, I've tried several, but here is a list ranked by difficulty level, easiest to hardest:

East Coast Swing
Jitterbug
Lindy Hop
Charleston
Balboa

I don't know how to rank West Coast Swing, Sorry.

I Hope this helps!

-EN-

Answer 3

Basic swing steps and movements are East Coast Swing..start there. All others are built around this dance. West Coast is a deriviative of East Coast where you dance in a "slot" 2'wide by 10' long. Developed becasue of lack of space in larger dance halls out west. Lindy was the Original swing, is built on 4 beat per measure, 2 measures per basic step. East Coast is built on 6 beats, and it takes 3 measure to complete a phrase. East Coast is the old American Band Stand dance (except that Band Stand danced it backwards). Always start with East Coast, as all the others can be picked up from this base. West Coast has much in common with East Coast, is usually slower music, and has a coaster step instead of the classic rock step. West Coast requires more dance ability, in that it makes use of a lot of syncopation for a sharp looking dance...and lots of hesitations. East Coast does not rely on these kinds of timing. Jive (the International style of swing) is based on the same patterns of East Coast (American Style). Learn East Coast first, then branch out.

Answer 4

There's west coast swing, lindy hop, carolina shag, hand dancing, chicago stepping, hustle and balboa, of which, balboa and lindy hop are not sophisticated swing dances. Ultimately you should want to do a wider variety of dances to give you some variety of style.
As for which one you should go and do? Try to see which one appeals to you more visually. The real differences between the dances are as complex as they are irrelevant. All swing dancers have to start somewhere, and any beginner classes you take will probably not overwhelm you, as they are going to be geared towards people who may have never danced before.

*Edited to add dances I forgot earlier.