Learn the Lindy Hop, Charleston and other vintage swing dances!
What do we do?
The Bristol Swing Riot team run weekly classes and weekend workshops in Lindy Hop and other swing dance styles from complete beginner to advanced level, so everyone is welcome whether you’ve never ventured onto a dance floor, or have several years’ dance experience.
What is swing dancing / lindy hop?
In late 1920’s America, when ragtime/jazz music of the time started to swing, the kids began to groove to this infectious new rhythm, and swing dancing was born! ‘Swing Dance’ is an umbrella term for any style danced to swing music - the most well-known of which is the Lindy Hop. Originating in Harlem, New York from predominantly African-American dancers, the Lindy Hop quickly spread across the world during WW2. It’s popularity decreased from the 1950s with the rise of rock’n’roll, although there were communities that kept dancing all through to today. The popularity grew again in the 1980's when a handful of dancers found some old video clips, tracked down the original dancers to ask to be taught the moves they had seen, and bought the dance back to their home countries. Nowadays it’s danced all over the world, with most major cities having their own scenes and international events.
At BSR we predominantly teach Lindy Hop, but also hold classes and workshops in other jazz era dances including Balboa, Collegiate Shag and Solo Jazz.
Why learn to swing dance?
Swing music has an infectious rhythm that’s hard to sit still to! Learning to swing dance is about much more than just being taught the footsteps and figures - at BSR we’re passionate about exploring the spirit of the dance and its rich cultural roots.
The swing dance scene here in Bristol is part of a much larger world-wide community. We love to meet and dance with people of all levels, so if you see us out on the dance floor please ask us for a dance!
