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Modern Dance Trends

    There are three dances I am frequently asked to teach; Salsa, Country Two Step, and Swing (Swing is a classification of dance, as is Salsa). I would like to share with you  my understanding of how these dances evolved.

 Salsa:

    At this writing several clubs can be located  downtown San Diego featuring Salsa dancing. Some of them offer lessons. The Hispanic population in San Diego bring their culture to the dance. People that have learned Mambo find it easy to transfer its patterns to Salsa just breaking on the three instead of the two. The music is great and certainly is fun to do even if you simply stick to the basic forward and back step. Latin music has been popular in the United States since the '50s and continues to grow in popularity.

 Country Two Step:

   Country Two Step certainly has evolved in the last five years. The frame used now is more a ballroom frame than five years ago with the man putting his right hand on the lady's shoulder in an outstretched position. I grew up in Southern California and I remember the cowboy influence. My cousins and I had Dale Evan outfits. Our parents took us to Corriganville. People like identifying with the good-guy cowboy. Everyone likes Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, John Wayne, etc. There are Country Bars here in San Diego where you can do Country Two Step, line-dances, and Swing.

 Swing:

   Ah, Swing, my favorite style of dance. I get calls from all ages to learn Swing. I ask them which Swing they are interested in learning. They don't know; what's the difference they ask. Jitterbug was popular in the '30s and '40s. W.W.II helped spread it to other countries. England made a dance called "Jive" from it and the list goes on. East Coast Swing is a triple swing. Both Jitterbug and East Coast Swing have a rock step and moves mostly in a circular movement. There are different theories how West Coast Swing started. The one I tell the most is that Jitterbug was banned from many dance places, so the West Coast Swing was created. The rock step was abandoned and the dance is done up and down on an imaginary track. It's still swing music but with a more blues style.

    After the Ocean Beach Street Fair I received many  calls requesting Swing dancing lessons. At the Street Fair there was a band playing swing music and people were doing their thing to it. At the other end of the Fair there was a DJ playing swing music and they were dancing West Coast Swing.

 I get calls from the younger generation saying they want to dance like the "Swing Kids". "Swing Kids" was a movie that showed choreographed dancing using steps from the Charleston, Shag, and Jitterbug and tricks. These tricks take coordination and a lot of practice to do well.

 West Coast Swing and East Coast Swing:

 I have classes for both West Coast Swing and East Coast Swing/Jitterbug. I love teaching these dances. The people taking the classes have fun, as do I. The first Saturday of the month I have Swing Dance Parties. We are going to see if both West Coast and East Swing can coexist on the same dance floor. Wish us luck.

 Future:

 There's nothing new. We do something for awhile, get tired of it, forget about it, so when it comes around again, we think it's new. I'm happy to say that dancing with a partner is back and people of all ages are eager to learn.  COPYRIGHT 1996 - 2004