Swing Dance Styles

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.

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 are communities that kept dancing right through to the present day.  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.

Balboa

Originating on the crowded dancefloors of southern California in the 20s and 30s, balboa is characterised by its close connection and fast footwork which makes it perfect for dancing to higher tempos without breaking a sweat. What we call balboa today is actually an amalgamation of two separate dance styles: “pure balboa” which is danced entirely in close hold – and “bal-swing” with its intricate turns and spins.

Balboa is perhaps less showy that other types of swing dances, but the more subtle moves and the opportunity to add variations within the footwork is what makes balboa a joy to learn, and why it is sometimes referred to “the dancers dance”.

VIDEO: Two international teachers doing a demo dance at an event. Watch their feet to see some amazing intricate footwork, and you can see how graceful and smooth this dance looks compared to shag, which is more energetic.

More information:

BSR teach Weekly classes for Balboa on Wednesdays at the SouthBank Club

Solo Jazz

As swing dancing also has roots in tap and African dance, there has always been an element of dancing on your own to the music.  Solo Jazz has been around from the very start, and there are a variety of set routines (such as The Shim Sham, or The Big Apple) that are known and danced at events around the world, and also a vast repertoire of steps you can learn.

All of the Bristol Swing Riot crew enjoy solo jazz, and getting comfortable moving on your own to the music is a great way to improve your social dancing. Our Lindy Hop often incorporate elements of solo jazz and we sometimes teach blocks of purely solo dancing.

VIDEO: This is the final solo jazz round in one of the biggest worldwide competitions.  It's interesting to watch the different dancers being their own personalities to the dance and interpret the music in any way they want.

More information:
There are no regular weekly classes just focusing on Solo Jazz. If you are interested then speak to one of our teachers and they can let you know what's coming up.