Boogie Woogie describes a lively style of jazz music that really came into its own in the 1920s. The dance we know today came along a little later and was inspired by the Swing dances of the 40s and 50s. It is a fun and happy partner dance that is quite structured, but not choreographed. It is often danced to up-tempo rock’n’roll or rhythm’n’blues rhythms, although can also be danced to slower tempos.

Lindy Hop is a partnered Swing dance that was born in Harlem in the late 1920s and is synonymous with the Swing era and dance halls (and indeed street corners!) of the 1930s & 1940s. After its revival in the 1980s and 1990s its popularity has exploded worldwide, and over the years it has developed many different styles. It is danced to many styles of music, not just jazz, and is very social and improvisational in nature.

Balboa is a partnered Swing dance that dates back to the 20s, 30s and 40s, and evolved as a reaction to the crowded dance floors of the day. It is often danced to faster swing and jazz rhythms, and so the footwork tends to be smaller and smoother, and the embrace between partners much closer than the other swing dances.

Collegiate Shag is a high energy partner dance originating from the 1920s and 1930s and is experiencing a huge revival on the Swing scene today. It is danced to many styles of music from jazz and swing to western swing and even rock’n’roll, and often to fast tempos! It shares rhythm patterns with other swing dances, however the footwork and the hold is quite different.

Solo Jazz refers to free or improvised dance to jazz music, without a partner. Combining traditional jazz steps and routines from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, you can play with rhythm patterns, syncopation, musicality, improvisation and interpretation. Solo Jazz can also help improve your understanding of rhythm and musicality and add styling to your partner dancing.

While the term Jive has its roots in 1920s and 1930s America, the dance style recognised as Jive today emerged in the 1940s when American troops arrived in Europe during the Second World War, bringing their big band music and dance moves with them. A partnered social dance, Jive evolved Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug, and was the precursor to Rock’n’Roll. It can vary in style, from smooth and gentle to lively and bouncy – like rockabilly jive for example! And it is danced to varied tempos and genres of music from Swing to Rock’n’Roll and Rhythm’n’Blues.

The Big Apple was a very popular circle dance in the late 1930s. It is danced to swing music, and it is made up of a series of jazz steps that can either be performed in response to a caller, or performed in sequence as a routine.

Tap dance has a long history and was particularly popular during the Vaudeville era of the early 20th Century, and the Jazz and Swing era of the 1930s and 1940s, where some steps even found their way into the Lindy Hop. Solo Tap consists of percussive jazz steps performed to different rhythms. No tap shoes required!