Concerning Swing Dancing Songs






by Aaron B. Baker


For people who do not know, 'Swing dance' is actually a form of dance style that's directly associated with Jazz's swing music inside 1920's to 1940's. Swing Jazz actually means the type of music that uses a mix crotchets and quavers, mostly from West African and African American music and dance. These syncopated timing, which are generally quarter and eighth notes, are regarded by most dancers as 'steps' and 'triple steps'.

There are actually a lot of different swing dance styles which have developed from the original 'Swing' dance. Each locality actually carries a different definition for their 'swing dance' and uses their very own version of what 'appropriate' music they need to use to accompany it.

History

The original source of swing dance actually goes to the 1920's when the black community discovered Lindy Hop and Charleston as they were dancing to the smooth music of Jazz. Jazz clubs gave a way for dancers to explore swing dance, and pretty soon, different styles of swing dance are created. One of the more popular dance styles may be the Lindy Hop, which was one of the very first swing dance styles discovered. Now, you have a myriad of different swing dance styles.

Types of Swing

The evolution of swing dance and swing dance music has opened new doors for brand spanking new dance style to be developed. One of many earlier dance styles of swing may be the Savoy Swing, which is a casual-looking style of swing dance which uses a fast and jumpy action. The Lindy Hop, which is another, more popular form of swing dance style, can be a much smoother dance style when compared with Savoy Swing.

East Coast Swing is often a 6 count version from the Lindy Hop, and is popular among dance schools. Whip is often a form of swing dance which involves the leader spinning the follower to advance him or her to another dance position. A swing dance style that is utilized for competitions in the United States is called the Jive. These are just some of the different styles of swing dance. You can use a whole lot more.

Swing Music

The majority of the development in different swing dance styles could be attributed to the different trends and influences in popular music. There are actually a lot of different music that influenced the different styles, such as traditional jazz music for Charleston, swing music to the Lindy Hop, and Pop, R&B, Funk or Blues can be used West Coast Swing.

Swing Competition

You'll find basically four formats for swing competitions. With all the classic format of competition, one or two would dance for a previously choreographed song, but restrictions and limitations to their drops, lifts and moves. A showcase is similar with the classical format, but they are not subject to much restriction. A strictly format employs a no pre-choreographed steps rule, wherein the competing couple dance to randomly selected music at various heats. Jack and jill is the last format, and it randomly matches partners together.

Criteria For Judging

There are basically three criteria for judging, and the ones are the timing of the dancers in terms of rhythm and tempo with the music, teamwork in terms of how a lead and the follower dance together, and technique due to the precision of the dance moves.




About the Author: