Swing Dancing encompasses the family of dances that were born from the jazz and big-band eras. Swing dance subculture is a movement in the dance community that has gained enormous popularity since the mid 1990s and has supported a resurgence of “retro” clothing, music, and dance.   The Swing dances include East Coast Swing, Jive, West Coast Swing, Lindy, Carolina Shag, and several other variations that are done around the country.

Where to Learn and Attire for Learning

You can learn some version of swing at any ballroom or dance studio. However, to find group lessons and get your foot in your local swing dance community, your best bet would probably be to go online. Many of the swing dance clubs around the country are created and populated by computer-savvy people in their twenties and thirties, although at a swing dance you will probably see all age groups, from high school up through senior citizens. Swing dancing in a ballroom and swing dancing at a swing dance have entirely different looks and feels. Swing dances are often held weekly and/or monthly, but swing nightclubs are not prevalent in all parts of the country—often the swing club or group will rent out a given facility for the lessons and event. Be comfortable if you are going to a swing dance lesson. You do not need to be as formal as you would be for a ballroom lesson, but denim is not recommended. Business-casual dress with comfortable close-heeled shoes is recommended for both ladies and gentlemen for a swing lesson.

Where to Dance and Attire for Going out Dancing

As mentioned in the previous section, not every city or geographical area has a venue specifically dedicated to swing dancing like they do for the other three subcultures. A search for your local city and swing dance should reveal a local swing dance group or two. Because swing dances are not always held in nightclubs, it is unique to swing dance and ballroom dance that their events are often non-smoking. When dressing for an evening out swing dancing, you have a couple of options. You can go with business-casual attire for the ladies and gentlemen, and just look nice and clean-cut, or if you have them on hand, you can go all out and go vintage. Many swing dance aficionados have fairly elaborate vintage wardrobes to truly step back into the big-band era. As always, close-heeled shoes are a must.

Most Popular Dances

The swing subculture includes the lindy hop, jitterbug, jive, East coast swing, balboa, and West coast swing. You will find, however, that most swing dancers only truly dance one or two of the swing dances and simply know what the others are.

Of Special Note

Swing dance is probably the least intimidating form of social dancing to get your feet wet with. However, depending on your geographical area, it can be a little difficult to find swing dance venues. If you are interested in swing but you can’t seem to get wind of your local swing events, try country. Many of the instructors cross over between the swing and country subcultures and can probably point you in the right direction.