Jive Dance Classes

Jive dance is the name of several different dances throughout the ages. It is a ballroom dance dating from the 1940's. It was also a dance style from the 1980's in America. It was a dancing game from the 1950's. It is also a broad term that defines a group of dances with similar feeling such as Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, and Rock and Roll. It is probably the most used term in dance for the broadest types of dances. Most people probably think about the ballroom style dance when they hear this term. It is a form of swing dance that originated in the 1930's era. It is a highly energetic variation of the Jitterbug.

Ballroom Jive steps are most related to East Coast Swing with syncopated triple steps. By the 1960's the dance was adopted by the International Latin dance competitions and standardized. The hand version of the dance was created in London in a club that had very little room for dancing. The youth decided to use their hands instead. It is composes of a series of had claps and slaps like an intricate game of pat-a-cake. Indeed, as it caught on in American it did become a type of game to music.

Modern or French Jive is a simplified version of the ballroom dance. It removes the syncopated steps. Salsa and Tango influenced the development of this dance along with the swing basic moves. This form of dance is very adaptive. Dancers interpret the dance based on music and mood. Freestyle is often engaged in while dancing this modern version. Competitions in modern are frequently held just as they are for the ballroom version. Modern requires a sense of musicality especially in freestyle. Freestyle gives the dancer the opportunity to make use of the nuances of the music and express them along with their own personal style.

One of the characteristics of Jive is the pace at which it can be danced. Extremely fast music, as much as 180 beats per minute are suited to this dance. Some slight modifications need to be made as the tempo increases. There are two camps in the world of this dance form, the step footwork and the rock footwork followers. Rocking is much more suited to faster dances and allows advanced dancers to do more flourishes and maintain their pace better than step footwork does. The main difference between these camps is weight transfer. Step has a full weight transfer and rock has a partial.