How To Swing Dance

[Bluedogma3]

So many things wrong with these hack beginners trying to teach: improper hand position (should remain at lady's wasit level unless leading a move...are you trying to punch her in the face or get her to fly by raising it?), improper rock step (should NOT cross or be large-throws your center off and thwarts the leader), improper shoes for triple step East Coast Swing (the style they're dancing). Learn from qualified teachers!!!

[Cirstea777]

hi, isn't step 1 the basic step for Jive? I'm confused

[c0mpiled]

yes, infidel.

[jimcooper100]

The video goes much too fast to be useful.

[bodacitymasters]

Agreed

[Siscast]

i never understood why they even bother teaching the triple step. honestly, who uses it? and it only complicates things for beginners

[lindyhop411]

@Siscast The triple step is what makes swing dancing swing. The syncopated rhythm is directly echoed from the drums played in a majority of swing music in the 30s and 40s. The single step wasn't even introduced until the 1950s, in order to match East Coast Swing with Rock n' Roll music. Who uses the triple step? Only the people that created swing dancing! Look up Lindy Hop, Frankie Manning, and Whitey's Lindy Hoppers.

[oobydo1]

looks more like a triple swing

[lindyhop411]

@oobydo1 East Coast Swing is East Coast Swing regardless if you do single step, tap steps, or triple steps.

[GuitarDude722]

HOly crap...

This is to complicated for a lanky guy like me...

How am i supposed to learn this in 24 hours -.-

[lindyhop411]

@GuitarDude722 News flash, if you want to be good at something it takes longer than 24 hours. Do you think you could watch an instructional video on how to play the guitar and be good at it in 24 hours?

[semicroma]

Why do they dance in 6/4 when swing is 4/4?

[lindyhop411]

@semicroma That's just how East Coast Swing is danced. If you want a swing dance that goes better with the timing of swing music, check out Lindy Hop which has an 8 count basic.

[procrastinator315]

@sbnigga561 While blacks did invent swing, the majority of people who dance swing today are white. I didn't know him personally, but I've heard it said that Frankie Manning, one of the early swing dancers (and a black man), was always disappointed that more blacks didn't jump into the swing revival that happened in the 90s.

But yes, you're right; the girl shouldn't be in heels. And, while other white people CAN dance, these particular white people...have a very long way to go.

[sbnigga561]

Are you seriously learing howto swing from white people and the girl has heels?!?!! wtf black poeple made it so have them teach you white people cant do it.

[justanambulance]

thumbs up if you love swing!!! :D

[lindyhop411]

@justanambulance Thumbs up if you know that Lindy Hop IS swing.

[RedAndOrangeRobot]

@BJMETCALFE60 he is wearing jazz shoes, they are supposed to look like that.

[bassdrummer05]

She's doing a latin Step... not swing

[lindyhop411]

@bassdrummer05 You can tell by her hips that she is a Latin dancer, and she does mess up occasionally, but they are doing the East Coast Swing basic.

[HeManUltimated]

My god his shoes! Why is it so hard to get some shoe polish?! Geez!

[cuteone123456781]

How to get on the "Highest Rated Comments" List:

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[SuctionTesticleMan]

@cuteone123456781 Oh, the irony

[blaztradiouz666]

@cuteone123456781 Insert comment on how you've never received a thumbs up before.

[Marillia5212]

I TRIED TOO HARD!! (then i slowed it down stripped his annoying voice off and i got it :)...)

[JessiRain94]

she looks like shes 30 and he idk 18 wtf!!!

[permhaaland]

Are there any more steps than those?

[lindyhop411]

@permhaaland Yes. Look up Lindy Hop. :-)

[wolfman4u1]

try the wolfstep it is realy fun

[moses261199]

I think, it's more Jive, than Swing

[lindyhop411]

@moses261199 Jive comes from East Coast Swing. They're technically interchangeable because both are based on a 6-count basic.

[IIshkie]

Year 11 PE at my school did swing dancing earlier this year but we didn't do anything like this, we were flailing our arms around in the air and making ourselves resemble turkeys. It was so weird.

[lindyhop411]

@IIshkie I don't think you guys learned swing. Sounds like you learned "Hustle", a partner dance from the 1970s. The teacher that taught you didn't know what they were talking about.

[driveshaftbaker]

first setp: CLEAN YOUR SHOES

[driveshaftbaker]

primero bolea tus zapatos wey!!!, FIRST STEP: CLEAN YOUR SHOES!

[drewlaiche]

what!

[ExplorerExperience]

Couldn't get past the garbage ad...had to give a "thumbs down" for that reason!

[norsolid]

it's the ice truck killer!

[Johnhoulgate]

This is the basic triple-time, East Coast Swing that's taught in the Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire Studios. It's sucky because that's not the way real swing dancers dance. It's how ballroom people dance it. The guy's feet are too far apart. I know, because I had that problem and had to break myself of that. The girl's feet are just right.

[MayMayGirl97]

OMG that SUCKED i dance and wow.. oh my.... that was horrible yah.... but ya i guess it helps some people.... idk....

[RosieIsNosie56]

the guy is wearing jazz shoes x.D

[colinazilla]

OMG. I cant even swing dance too well and I NO this is what SUCKY SWING DANCING LOOKS LIKE!!!!!!

[jackofblades1515]

wikipedian scum

[foderahead]

Step 10 Go to the bar and have a few drinks

Step 11 Have unprotected sex in the back of your car

Step 12 Pay child support for the next 18 years

Step13 Succumb to the pressure and end it all

[TALOS7887]

He said gent and lady, everyone knows you say dame

[0905MissSharon]

I'm not gonna lie, I'm still very much a beginner and this looks wrong even to me.

[TheLostdogfoundband]

Love the swing dancers!! I play trumpet for a swing band in san francisco! Check out our channel:

thelostdogfoundband

[crzyivan0000]

honestly, if your take this advise, you will be laughed at.

[GreenePony]

@crzyivan0000

AGREED!

This is at best jive done by latin dancers.

[narcynsgirl]

wth lol O.o

[theyellow240z]

u get a better view if you press 3

[harvey1954]

Ladies, flats, not heels.

[1MikeLaz]

umm wat about the rest

[EllaSal012]

i don't think this video is right,,...... i think this steps are for jive...!Ü

[lindyhop411]

@EllaSal012 Jive and East Coast Swing are actually the same dance. For some reason the ballroom community calls them different dances. What's funny is neither of them were actually done during the swing era. A real swing dance would be "Lindy Hop" for example.

[EllaSal012]

i don't think that this video is for swing... it's for jive...!Ü

[nytimesguy]

Oh good, detailed instructions on how to dance swing incorrectly. Hurray for the Internet!

[AvalonNW]

Swing - is a lifestyle, not just few steps. Regarding video, this 6-count routine is triple-step boogie-woogie routine, which is a popular stage version of swing. It's simpler then 8-count lindy or east-coast or west-coast swing.

These dancers are ball dancers, not jazz ones, so they just repeat the routine incorrect way with no proper mood.

[liljesus203]

i got everything but THAT GIRL D:

[vicki1052]

You don't polish jazz dance shoes. That is a sign of wear.........

[sillyminnie91]

She's doing the wrong steps at :44 =(

[cuddlywolfy]

yay! i can finally dance swing!

[mnetwork]

she's hot

[eamesandrew]

Please buy BJMETCALFE60 some spelling lessons.

[gtrevg]

Step 3 (at 0:40), make sure the follow is doing the correct footwork. If not, don't put it in the video.

[Simfiny]

@gtrevg x)

[BrotherhoodOfStee1]

Damn those are one hoboshitted shoes :S

[quasimojo8]

jeez how is that girl doing that in heels?! xD

[chrisaclark]

@quasimojo8: generally girl swing dancers don't wear heels, they wear flats. it's so common in fact that most other genres of dance make comments that swing dancers should buy some "real shoes" :) usually you can tell the beginners because they show up in heels and sexy club outfits, whereas they quickly realize that next time they should just wear comfortable flats and clothes they don't mind getting all sweaty, as swing is rather athletic.

[nepetro]

fell in lov from that girl

[jpmcree]

This is the BASIC footwork for East Coast Swing. Do you really expect a beginner to understand connection, lead and follow, bounce, swing, etc??? IMAGINE for just one second, if YOU, on your first swing lesson, were inundated with the multitude of nuances of the dance....you would be so confused, you would quit. Take this video for what it is.....BEGINNING ECS.

[chrisaclark]

WOW... i've been lindy hopping for 12 years, and that explanation for the steps couldn't have been more confusing. i can only imagine how a beginner might hear them. maybe slow things down a bit for the next video :)

[Lomomba]

@chrisaclark Gald to hear that coz I'm lost! :)

[Lomomba]

@chrisaclark Glad to hear that coz I'm lost! :)

[Squarerig]

BJMET I must second your comment/request!But,I would go further.He should buy himself some decent shoes.

[starlochka]

omg please change the title. as it was said before, THIS has nothing to do with swing dancing

[lindyhop411]

@starlochka It's still a form of swing dancing. East Coast Swing may not be the best example of swing dancing (like how Lindy Hop is), but it's the most common in terms of what people learn first when they take a beginning swing lesson. I would love more people to discover Lindy, but this video is a much better example of swing than the push, pull, and arm wrench versions of swing dancing other people post.

[ukelelegal]

There is some incorrect information here. This couple is doing a ballroom dance version of jitterbug or east coast swing....which is jive....which incidentally; does NOT "swing". When most people think of swing dancing or mention swing dance they are usually speaking of jitterbug. Swing is in fact an umbrella term used to describe a number of dances that were done from the 1920s-1950s to swing music. Lindy Hop is THE ORIGINAL form of swing dancing and is not what is shown in this video.

[Kilhamjim]

@ukelelegal So what are you really saying, that East Coast Swing is not a Swing dance, or that Jive is not a Swing dance. If you were doing these steps to a rhymic Country music it would be a Western Swing,

The Vidieo is only showing some basic footwork. So check out some vid.s titled Swing dancing, they cover everything, ECS WCS Jitterbug Lindy, you name it,

[veggieboy321]

@ukelelegal - this is east coast swing.

[jasonbourneabc123]

what is poshlish?

[jefsut]

Sorry, worthless

[LexXter09]

i am dancing in a dance school for 3 years now, but we never learned that dance as swing. thats jive!

[lindyhop411]

@LexXter09 It's ballroom East Coast Swing. Jive actually has a significantly more bouncy basic, but it is also a 6-count dance. Neither of these dances anything like Lindy Hop, the original swing dance.

[tumsabai1]

@LexXter09

also known as triple east coast swing.

[Irochka2525]

That guy was so CUTE!

[laura0181]

Funny how they give a 'tid bit" fact at the end about Lindy Hop, when the dancers were demonstrating East Coast...

[swingkid81]

Do yourself a favor and never ever dance like this... Real swing dancing looks nothing like this... This is footwork for an east coast basic done poorly... He wasn't leading and she wasn't following... Horrible... Never dance like this...

[potentperson]

yeah...this video sucks. Real lindy hop shits on this.

[Sigurd82]

Were you going to mention anything regarding lead-and-follow technique? How about connection? Maybe play a song to illustrate how the footwork fits with the music? Good grief. Get it right or don't do it at all.

[slitmjst]

No way is this swing, GET IT RIGHT OR GET OFF

[pixystrdust]

1-a-2; 1-a-2; 1-2

Ha!

[singandswing2011]

Step 1: Stop watching this video and learn swing from people that don't suck at it. You can't learn swing or any dancing from a minute and a half video anyways.

[fridafan77]

What? Step 1, step 2? Go back to step 3? Energy, lindi hop? Hop step back to step 9?

[BJMETCALFE60]

please buy the male dancer some shoe poslish.

[TheJalaco]

@BJMETCALFE60 Please learn how to spell polish.

[blackkateyedame]

@BJMETCALFE60

haha your funny...true if his modeling the feet then make it look nice.

[countryhoney101]

@BJMETCALFE60 Amen!

[blackhawk939]

@BJMETCALFE60 they are dance shoes, not dress shoes... so shoe polish would be pointless, seeing that they would be that scuffed yet again in a few weeks or days.

[ceibert2000]

@BJMETCALFE60 ahahahahhahahhahahah

[Adrianita1441]

@BJMETCALFE60 You made me cry, really.

[Chicapoprocks]

You will need:

A dance partner

Sense of humor

Endurance

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH­A

[pingu1979]

hahahaha!!! A complet How-TO! :D

[multiusepurpleninja]

Lindy is so much fun!

[C4dyBennett]

is swing the same as jive?

[xOkasumiOx]

it's close, but it's just a tad different style

[lindyhop411]

Jive is a ballroom dance, inspired by the European version of east coast swing. This video is of east coast swing, another formal ballroom dance that was developed in the mid 1940s.

Neither is a true representation of the folk swing dances that came out of the 1930s, which include Lindy Hop, Balboa, Charleston, and Collegiate Shag (just to name a few).

[monicaloveslindy]

no.

[OfficialMegan]

A good way to learn the pattern is repeating "rock step triple rock step triple" as you dance. I'm learning in school and it's more understandable than this How-to...

[halfdark000]

so a trans-antlantic flight is a hop and an ocean is a pond? christ, I'd hate to see what you'd call jumping across a lake.

[xOkasumiOx]

stepping across a puddle? XD

[AlissaOnBroadway]

Ahh! Swing is so much fun. Especially East Coast swing. West, not so much.

[chib1]

Both are really fun, and a great way to end a stressful week!

YAY SWING!

[Glitterprincess23]

Where can I get those heels?

[AlissaOnBroadway]

Any dance store. They're ballroom dancing shoes. You can't wear them on the street because they have suede on the bottom instead of rubber. Watch out though. Those things are always over a hundred and fifty.

[PotquatsandKumatos]

i had to swing dance with a man befor :3

i was the woman v_v

[oshthemust]

2 vids one day

[iplaysims]

I wonder if howcast will ever run out of thing to teach...

[frozensage]

as long as there are things to know and questions to ask

[j0m3es123]

crap/

[redcrismas640]

can u do one that involes like school dances?

[LittleGigiK]

That's a great idea!

[jfghjfkfjk]

howcast is nice.

[darkodor2]

Lol, howcast teaches us everything.