What is Swing Dance?

What is swing dance?

Swing dancing or 'lindyhop' dates back to the great jazz era of the 20s, 30s and 40s and has seen a worldwide resurgence over recent years. Swing Dance Bristol is dedicated to developing swing dancing and running cool club nights in our vibrant city. Come and join us on Wednesdays - all details here...

Who are we?

Swing Dance Bristol is dedicated to developing swing dancing and running cool nights and events in our vibrant city. Come and join us :-)

What do people say about us?

"Forget hip-hop.  Lindy hop's where it's at - well, on Wednesday nights downstairs at the Southbank in Bedminster, at least.  That's where Ain't Misbehavin' - Bristol's newest swing dance night - takes over, with jazz on the decks, a taster class in a separate room and experienced dancers partying like it's 1939.  Or just nurse a mint julep at the bar whilst deciding whether it's for you or not." VENUE magazine, Nov 2010

Origins

Swing dancing or 'lindyhop' dates back to the great jazz era of the 30s and 40s in the USA. It developed among the African American community – most famously in Harlem – and was danced to the big bands of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and others.

Rebirth

By the 60s and 70s it had all but died out, but in the 80s dance enthusiasts rediscovered the dance and even tracked down many of the original dancers who were still alive, learnt from them and launched a new era of swing. It has grown ever since and there are now swing dances being held all over the world, with established swing dance scenes in several UK cities.

Dance camps and exchanges have been central to this development – to find out how and more importantly why you should go, see dance camps & exchanges.

What does it look like?

No point wasting words here... Go to the videos page to get an idea and then come down to our club nights to see for yourself!

There are a number of other related dances that are also gaining popularity, such as Balboa, Shag, Blues - you'll also find examples of these on the videos page.

For more on the history of both the original and modern era of swing, have a look at some of these excellent sites: (details here soon)