Miles Hamby
6505 Hillside Lane
Alexandria, VA 22306
(703) 768-1353
atcmiles@aol.com

Swing

Such a variety! Swing today has exploded into a wide variety of styles and steps, indeed, too large and specialized to be grouped into a single genre with a single name like "swing". Today, there is the Philly Bop, DC Steppin', Chicago Steppin', and West Coast Swing, to name only a few.

Sing, Sing, Sing, a la "Classic" Swing!

Swing, like many art forms, has evolved from a variety of popular dance styles of the early Twentieth Century. The Foxtrot of the 1920s certainly had its influence on the development of Swing, particularly in the basic six-count, "1-and-2-and-rock step" (1-and-2-and-foxtrot).

The origins of Swing.
The form we regard today as Swing appears to have its roots in the African-American community of the '20s. In 1927, at a dance marathon at the Manhattan Casino in Harlem, Shorty Snowden and his partner were performing the Texas Tommy, also known then as the Hop. As the story goes, Shorty, bored with the steps, threw his partner into a break-away and began improvising. The crowd loved it. As Shorty and partner left the dance floor, people asked "What was that fantastic step?" Being caught off-guard to name his newly devised steps with a particularly descriptive term, Shorty responded with the name of someone on everyone's mind in that year, and called it the Lindy Hop!. Frankie Manning added aerials and the dance became more and more acrobatic. Very soon, Shorty Snowden's Lindy Hop (deriving from Charles Lindbergh's premier trans-Atlantic flight) took off, pun intended, evolving into Jitterbug. The term "Swing" came to encompass the genre of finger-snappin', leg shakin' dance.

An American phenomenon.
Swing is most assuredly an American dance phenomenon. Founded in the African-American community of the 1920s, sociologist Katrina Hazzard-Donald notes that African-American influences are readily observable, in particularly the style of leg movements and the establishment of a "perimeter of dance". Swing took on a life of its own. In Washington DC, African-American Hepcats (guys) and Boxers (gals) danced their new steps at Turner's Arena on 14th and W, NW, and at the Lincoln Colonnade. From there, European-Americans quickly adopted the dance and added their own styles.

The European-American population danced to the big bands at venues such as Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, and the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park in the DC area. These big bands included such greats as Duke Ellington, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Glen Miller, Bunny Barrington, Cab Calloway, Harry James, Woody Herman, Les Brown and His Band of Reknown, Gene Kruppa, and Benny Goodman. Even though he was known as the "King of Swing", the repertoire of Benny Goodman's band, as was so with all of the bands, consisted mostly of Foxtrots and slow dance numbers. Contrary to current impression, the dance most often danced by the most number of people in the '30s and '40s, was not the Swing, but the Foxtrot. Perhaps less than 20% of the European-American dancing population of the time even attempted to swing.

Cultural innovations are always controversial, and Swing is no exception. Opponents generally cited the classic argument against new dance forms -- the degeneration of the youth. Yet, sociologists of the time noted that Swing dancing actually seemed to promote social development and taught proper etiquette on and off the dance floor. Well into the 1960s, when going to a dance, young men wore coats and ties and young women wore dresses and were escorted by their partners on and off the dance floor.

The TV-Swing generation.
As big bands waned, television carried dancing into homes across America. In New York, it was Allen Freed's Big Beat hosting teenagers dancing and swinging to the popular tunes and songs of the day. And the longest running show of its kind, American Bandstand hosted by the ageless Dick Clark has documented over three decades of dance evolution from Swing to Rock 'n Roll, to Hustle.

One of the early dance shows in the Washington DC area in the '60s was The Milt Grant Show in Washington, DC, and in Baltimore, the Buddy Deane Show. Owing to the times, the dancers on these shows were all European-American. African-American swing dancer, Dorothy "Totsie" Clanigan, tells how she and her friends would "watch Milt Grant and pray that they would hurry up and get a black show where we could dance -- 'cause they were having big fun -- and all the Black folks and younger kids were just sitting at home watching the Milt Grant show." Dorothy's day came in 1963 when Tex Gathing, director WOOK-TV, Channel 14, introduced Teenorama, oriented specifically toward the African-American pop dance culture. Dorothy became a regular dancer on the show, which became so popular, that, according to Tex Gathing, thousands of white teens were trying to get on the show.

Swing continues to evolve.
Lindy Hop in the '30s became Jitterbug in the '40s which became Fast-dancing in the '50s. In Philadelphia, the dance has developed into the Philly Bop and in Chicago and DC, the Chicago Steppin' and DC Steppin', respectively. In the '90s, the new term Hand Dancing has been coined to associate these forms into their own genre. Each of these dances are based on a step unique to that dance, and in most of them, quite different from the original 6-count swing or the 8-count Lindy.

Swing is king!
Today, we see a refreshing rebirth of nostalgia in many areas, including dance. Generation X-ers and Generation Next-ers are taking to Swing, not only because it's so much fun, but also as a way of connecting with their grandparents. I'm a Baby-Boomer. For me, the 1940s Big Band era has been a profound avenue to connecting with my parents. (And, for you Big Band re-enactor X-ers and Next-ers, respectable girls did not wear short skirts, and saddle shoes didn't become popular until after the war. And men, not every guy wore suspenders and two-tone shoes!)

Whether African, European, Latin, or Asian, Swing is one heckuvalotta fun! The dance form truly knows no ethnic distinctions nor does depend upon athletic ability, age or physical appearance. Frankie Manning continues to give demonstrations well into his 80s. One can adapt Swing to any ability or disposition, something I very much enjoy helping others to do. As with any art form, the more variety we cultivate in Swing, the more enjoyable the dance is for everyone. - fin.