what is swing dance?

swing dance

There are lots of different styles of swing dance...

The original styles of Lindy Hop (typified by the dancers of the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem NYC) & Hollywood Style Lindy, Shag & Balboa were pre-dated by the Charleston and absorbed into Lindy (though Charleston remains as a dance style in its own right).
Jive & Rock'n'Roll are subsequent styles that have evolved from Lindy albeit in simpler forms. Many contemporary Swing dancers major on Lindy and supplement their dancing with elements of other styles (such as Charleston, Shag and Balboa).
Lindyhop (be it Savoy or Hollywood style) is perhaps uniquely capable of being performed at the widest range of dance tempos and musical styles.

This is what Wikipedia says about Swing Dance

We teach predominantly Savoy-Style LindyHop at Nottingham which is as easily danced to blues (slow) to big-band (medium - fast) and to jump blues (fast - smokin'), but also dabble in Shag & Balboa.

Check out the links to lindyhop, jitterbug, jive, balboa, shag for more info...

swing music

Swing began in the 1920's & 30's as bands began to trade the tuba & banjo for a plucked double bass and guitar and grew out of New Orleans Jazz & Blues. Swing covers a spectrum of music from 7-piece jump blues music to big band music - generally speaking, it is rythmic up-beat, feel-good music (hot jazz) or slower ballads with an emphasis on melody (sweet music). The best 'swing' to dance to is the 'hot jazz variety.

As Swing developed, so did the bands that played the music, larger bands required the talents of arrangers like Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson and Glenn Miller. Radio audiences demanded to hear bands play the recordings they were familiar with. Head arrangements (where only the beginning and end of a tune were orchestrated) gave way to arrangements that equalled Orchestral pieces. This began the time of the Jazz soloists, talented musicians such as Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton and Louis Armstrong.

Of course the smaller bands still flourished and developed a Swing style that bridged Blues and Rock'n'Roll - Louis Jordan and Louis Prima stand out as early Jump Blues outfits that are much emulated even today.

The swing revival of the 1990's brought along many great new bands across the world (Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Jive Aces, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Steve Lucky's Rhumba Bums, Blue Harlem, Swingerhead to name just a few)

This is what Wikipedia says about Swing Music