Popular Dances:
Swing: Original 1940's Swing:
Counts 1-2: Take a step, to walk through a swing move.
Counts 3-4: Take another step, to finish the swing move.
Count 5: Facing partner, rock back, in place.
Count 6: Replace weight forward, in place. Timing is slow-slow-quick-quick, 6-count swing. Some began with the rock step.
Changes made by teens in the 1950s:
1) Tap in place
2) Step to side
3) Tap 2nd foot in place
4-5-6) Walk forward through a swing move.
Mambo: A hybrid of Rumba and Swing, the Mambo was the most esteemed Latin dance of the 1950s. It had the seductive qualities, and required some dance talent to perform. The mambo’s rhythmic originality reflected the influence of swing and jazz on Afro-Cuban music and dance. The freshness of the mambo rhythm emerged as a platform for artistic creativity in American and Latin music.
The Hand Jive: The handjive was created by DJ Johnny Otis. His song "Willie and the Handjive," along with the accompanying dance, took the country by storm in 1958. The simple and repetitive song allowed teens to keep the beat, it could be done either standing or sitting. The basic movements consisted of dancers slapping their thighs, crossing their hands over each other back and forth, hitting their fists on top of each other and "hitch-hiking" with their thumb back over their shoulder. Each step was done twice, then the sequence would repeat.
Counts 1-2: Take a step, to walk through a swing move.
Counts 3-4: Take another step, to finish the swing move.
Count 5: Facing partner, rock back, in place.
Count 6: Replace weight forward, in place. Timing is slow-slow-quick-quick, 6-count swing. Some began with the rock step.
Changes made by teens in the 1950s:
1) Tap in place
2) Step to side
3) Tap 2nd foot in place
4-5-6) Walk forward through a swing move.
Mambo: A hybrid of Rumba and Swing, the Mambo was the most esteemed Latin dance of the 1950s. It had the seductive qualities, and required some dance talent to perform. The mambo’s rhythmic originality reflected the influence of swing and jazz on Afro-Cuban music and dance. The freshness of the mambo rhythm emerged as a platform for artistic creativity in American and Latin music.
The Hand Jive: The handjive was created by DJ Johnny Otis. His song "Willie and the Handjive," along with the accompanying dance, took the country by storm in 1958. The simple and repetitive song allowed teens to keep the beat, it could be done either standing or sitting. The basic movements consisted of dancers slapping their thighs, crossing their hands over each other back and forth, hitting their fists on top of each other and "hitch-hiking" with their thumb back over their shoulder. Each step was done twice, then the sequence would repeat.