History of west coast swing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History of west coast swing - Essay Example Various authors trace the origin of the West Coast Swing from various places. Nonetheless, P. Wright and J. Wright identify the original roots of this dance from the Jazz era of the 1920s with the style first known as the jitterburg, which was inspired by the boogie-woogie (109). At the same time, a Latin American dance style, called the lindy, evolved with the dancing style interchanging  into patterns that were similar to various steps of the jitterburg to involve â€Å"a single step, a delayed step, or a step taken on each slow count† typical of a swing although called the lindy (P. Wright and J. Wright 109). Following this development, bands that were performing the lindy became famous in the 1930s and 1940s, which consequently contributed to the renaming of the dance style as the swing dance. Importantly, the dance survived the rock ‘n’ roll era of the 1950s and 1960s (P. Wright and J. Wright 109). From this singular form of the swing dance, two forms of swing emerged. The East Coast swing and the West Coast swing were the  new  dance styles with the West Coast swing being the most popular dance style then and in the contemporary society. The West Coast swing is characterized by slot dancing, which â€Å"uses both six- and eight-count patterns done to either medium or slow tempos† (P. Wright and J. Wright 109). Overtime, the West Coast swing  dancing style  has evolved to various forms. In its previous form, the dance was primarily a man’s dance with the follower following the steps in the presentation. Currently, both dancers have a responsibility over the movements involved in the presentation (Blair). On the other hand, the classic form of West Coast swing has evolved into a dance that is characterized by elongated slot, timed pulsing that is chilling, controlled timing of steps, and critical movements that result to a more