Some History of a couple of Swing Dances

JITTERBUG

Originally done by whites in the 30s/40s imitating blacks doing Lindy Hop. Popular music was speeding up, and the triple-step became a single step. Essentially, single step, (mainly, but not completely) 6 count East Coast Swing, SSQQ.

Buddy Schwimmer says: It's not the same as single swing. A simplified 4 step is sometimes taught and improperly called Jitterbug.

I think you can call single or triple step swing - Jitterbug - as long as it's danced in a circle motion (not slotted). When I was in high school, in the mid- to late '50's, we called what we danced "Jitterbug", in the Washington, D.C. area. When I went to college, my girlfriend from New York did exactly the same dance, but called it "Lindy". Both seem to me to be just what people today call the "East Coast Swing". In those days, it was all 6 count (in my dance class, anyway.)

Around these parts, Jitterbug == single swing, and current classes are offered by several teachers. The basic is six counts, like Buddy's description of single swing, just replace "touch step" with "step touch". There is really no speed advantage in doing single vs. double swing -- you can do "hold, step" in double as easily as you can do "step, hold" in single. Advanced dancers use all three ECS timings, sometimes in the same basic -- my favorite instructor uses step, touch, triple step, hitch-and-step a lot, it gives a good "look" and fits the feel of the dance well.

Jitterbug, the form popularised by the GI's in WW2. Famous for the aerial where the lady puts her legs around the chap, then the chap lifts her upside down, so her legs are in the air. uses a 6 beat basic (triple-step, triple-step, back step) on the whole.

WEST COAST SWING

Slotted, 6-count and 8-count patterns. Depending on the style lots of turns or lots of footwork. Syncopations are common.

The man stays pretty much in one place while the woman moves back and forth in a slot. Therefore, it's the woman's movements that are emphasized. There's a lot more hand and arm motion than in the shag to produce figures like left/right passes, tunnels, and various wraps. West Coast developed from the Lindy.

As done in the Swing community the end of patterns typically use an "anchor step" and not a "Coaster step." The follower is discouraged from moving forward under her own power at the end of the pattern. Instead, she hangs out until the guy remembers to lead. Another distinction between the styles has to do with the "rock- step." Purists in the swing community claim there is never a "rock- step" in West Coast; by definition the "rock-step" is Eastern Swing. In practice, the purists are thankfully in the minority. Yet another distinction between the communities is in leverage and being grounded; the ballroom West Coast dancers are more "up" while in the swing community they are more "into the floor." Similarly, in the ballroom circles there is little leverage while in the swing circles many dancers strive for leverage and connection that appears to be more "heavy." Syncopations are used far more frequently in West Coast than in other Swing styles that I am familiar with. One rarely sees syncopations used in the East Coast style or Lindy, but perhaps because there is so much more time available with the slow tempos used for West Coast, everybody does them. As dancers are learning the West Coast, they typically add syncopations at the end of patterns first. Latter, other parts of the rhythm are changed such that the basic 12 3&4 5&6 becomes &12... or 12 &34..., etc. We emphasize footwork, often using a minimum number of patterns. WCS is indeed a slot dance. In theory, the lady should never step outside her slot (except, of course, to avoid colliding with another couple). The man is normally either in the other end of the slot, or immediately next to the slot so that the woman can pass by him. Her assignment, should she choose to accept it, is to get from one end of the slot to the other, preferably doing something stylish in the process. The man either leads her down the slot, or starts her down the slot then blocks her path, forcing her to go back to the end she came from. There are, of course, various turns, spins, fancy footwork and such associated with these manouvers.

WCS is very improvisational among advanced dancers with "syncopations", i.e. rhythm variations, footwork variations, body waves, etc. Individual styles vary widely. Most of the finalists at the US Open Swing competition have radically different styles. There are no set "rules". There is a lot of leeway for the follower to improvise and add styling and syncopated footwork, typically as she turns around at the end of her slot.

West coast swing is a "slot" dance, which means that the woman travels forward and back along a single straight line on the floor, with the man moving off of and onto her line. Although there are turning figures, they still keep the woman on her line.

The tempo is 28-32 mpm. Figures begin with two walking steps, followed by two triple steps (or a triple step, two walks and another triple, in Lindy time figures). The second triple step is generally danced in place and is called the "anchor step;" its main purpose is to reestablish physical tension between the partners, generally achieved by leaning slightly back. The style is very casual and sometimes overtly sexual. Perhaps most important, west coast swing features many "syncopations," which are changes in the basic pattern. The most common is the tap step to replace the first triple step; since both patterns use the same number of weight changes, they are equivalent.

EAST COAST SWING (ECS)

A descendant of Lindy hop -> Jitterbug -> Swing. A combination of 6 and 8 count rhythms. Can be done SSQQ like jitterbug, or triple step, 1-a-2, 3-a-4, 5, 6 (or 1, 2, 3-a-4, 5-a-6). The jitterbug style is usually done to fast music; the ballroom version uses triple step rhythm and hip action to use up time in slower music. Eastern swing is a spot dance (more or less) with lots of turning, which can take up an arbitrary amount of space. In ballroom competitions, it is danced to music at 32-40 measures per minute. Most American swing dancers begin figures with the first triple (or "chasse") step, although some begin with the rock step -- as do dancers of "jive", the international style version of eastern swing. The character of the dance often is fairly excited and rarely rock step -- as do dancers of "jive", the international style version of eastern swing. The character of the dance often is fairly excited and rarely is sexual.

East Coast Swing is kind of a subset of Lindy. East Coast is about 90% 6-count figures and Lindy is about 35% 6-count figures (the rest in both cases being 8-count figures).is kind of a subset of Lindy. East Coast is about 90% 6-count figures and Lindy is about 35% 6-count figures (the rest in both cases being 8-count figures). In ECS the rock back is more of an instantaneous weight change. The shoulders and the hips arrive together. The weight never settles towards the heel. In ECS the triple steps are equal length steps: side- together-side.

Swing music gives a dancer an 'Up' feeling. Swing (and Rock freestyle) dancers dance with a 'Up and Up' step. Latin (and Disco freestyle) is more into the floor, the steps are 'Down and Down'. Taught in studios as a social dance and as a competitive American style dance. Triple swing would be one of the basic dances taught to beginners at general ballroom dances. ECS revolves around a spot on the floor. Most ECS dancers also dance other ballroom dances. Virtually all patterns are 6 count. Danced to fast music (30-60). Double then Single swing is used as the music gets faster. The basic is typically taught *non* rotating. Yes, ECS is typically a rotating dance, but basic moves are typically taught using a non- rotating basic.

Usually, even after a few classes, most beginners start to have rotation in their dancing - without it specifically being stressed - simply because of the turns. Usually, however, their basic will not rotate - unless specifically encourage to do so by the instructor. It is perfectly acceptable to do an open position basic both rotating and non-rotating. As int/adv dancers you probably don't spend half the dance doing basics and you should be able to do them both ways and lead/follow moves either rotating or not. ECS doesn't look like Jive. Jive is very hoppy and bouncy, lots of arms and legs. ECS is smooth and flows from move to move. In New York, there has been a frustration among some of us that ECS, or what used to be called triple or double or single step Lindy, has been perceived as a "bouncy" dance. In fact to those of us who have worked with Teddy Kern or the Savoy Dancer George Lloyd the essence of good Lindy "social dancing" is smooth. The smoother the better.

Well, in the Double Lindy the tap step can be flexed for a small bounce, but the body should remain smooth. There are certain performance styles in Savoy that are theatrical, These styles were developed by Frankie Manning and his Whitey Lindy

Hopper associates for performance and SHOW ME competitions (jams). It's great stuff, but I've seen many new dancers try to imitate the look of these steps with not-so-smooth results. Unfortunately good smooth Lindy does not look too exciting and there is not the legion of great dancers out there, as there is in WCS, so exposure to smooth Lindy might be weak.

Jive is suppose to emphasize and thus rise on 2, 4 of 1-ah-2, 3-ah-4, rock-step and Swing does not emphasize the 2 & 4. In ECS one stays down till the rock step and "swings" the hips except during the rock- step.

From: Richard Fowler, Dec 1994

Subject: Re: ECS bouncy

True American ECS has a vertical component, as does jive, but the ECS movement is downward from standing, whereas the jive is a rise. This is why footwork for jive is given as , giving the dancer foot-rise through the first and third steps, while ECS footwork originally was with knees flexing on flat steps, giving it a "fall, return to natural height, fall" look, which you'll notice makes the hip motion considerably easier. The difference between all of the above and the way C&W dancers do swing, at least in this part of Texas, is primarily the tendency to not close the feet completely on the second step of the triple, making jive rise impractical since there would be no secure landing point from a balance perspective, and ECS difficult since rising from the initial step onto a foot that is not underneath you either launches you into the next step uncontrollably, or makes you fall , neither of which is an experience likely to cause repetition. In short, with inefficient movement (ie. not closing the feet), it's just easier to keep things level/smooth as this is least likely to challenge one's already precarious balance.

What's different about West coast and East coast (Lindy) Swing?

1) Lindy and Lindy Hop follow the primary lead of pattern with a travelling triple, WCS expects a travelling double.

Everybody counts it differently, but you can look at it as:

Lindy Hop: Switch Switch Tri ple-Step Step Step Tri ple-Step Switch Switch...

Lindy whip:Rock Step Tri ple-Step Step Step Tri ple-Step Rock Step

Lead

WCS whip: An chor-Step Step Step Tri ple-Step Step Step An chor-Step (where the capital letter indicates a beat of music)

2) WCS is "slotted" -- the follower tends to move in a linear path from one open position to another with the leader moving

"cross- slot" to get out of the follower's way. The leader stays roughly fixed in his position. Lindy and Lindy Hop are w/o slot rules and tend to involve non-linear motion of the follower and interchange of the positions of the partners.

Most everything else is "tends to be" in nature; for example: WCS tends to be danced to blues at a slower tempo than the blues or big band swing that Lindy tends to be danced to. WCS tends to be danced more smoothly than Lindy and tends not to use lifts and drops in social dance. WCS tends to use wraps and break from the 6/8-beat basic patterns more than Lindy.

Hot Lindy dancers put a full turn into their whip in 8 beats, most WCS dancers at any level tend to use only a half-turn (yeah, I know Wayne and John have their own full-circle whips, but it is entirely different than a Dean Collins 8-beat Lindy whip.EAST COAST SWING (ECS)

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