Jive

Jive is an energetic, upbeat partner dance with one partner leading and the other following. Jive dance relies heavily on kicking and spinning, which makes it very similar to East Coast swing dance.

This dance style has origins in the early 1920-1930s American jazz music scene. Modern jive refers to one of the five ballroom competition dance styles that make up the International Latin dances in dance sport showcases, along with cha-cha, samba, rumba, and paso doble.

Jive first became popularity as a social dance in jazz dance halls and swing clubs in the United States in the early twentieth century. Its name is derived from “jive talk,” which was a vernacular slang term used in the Black community at the time meaning “deceptive talk.”

In the 1930s, swing musicians like Cab Calloway attracted large crowds of jive dancers at big band venues like New York’s Savoy Ballroom. Later on, jive became the generic term that referred to several forms of swing dancing, including jitterbug, boogie-woogie, and the Lindy hop.

The dance gradually moved across the United States, diverging into separate styles of East Coast swing and West Coast swing as the dance mutated. Jive eventually made its way to Europe, with “jive” becoming a synonym for “swing.” In 1968, jive was accepted as the fifth International Latin dance in competitive ballroom dancing. A modern jive rendition called French jive developed in the late twentieth century, which is typically performed to popular music.

Here are some of the qualities that differentiate jive dancing from other styles of ballroom dance.

1. Fast-paced: Jive dancing is one of the fastest styles within the International Latin dance category. Competitive jive dancers perform their routines at a tempo of 176 beats per minute. Jive is often performed to swing or rock music, giving it a faster speed and a higher energy.

2. Bouncy: Jive dancers move lighter on their feet than many other dancers. It is an energetic, peppy dance that is characterized by bouncy footwork full of small jumps and kicks.

3. Energetic partner work: There is a heavy emphasis on attached partner work in jive dance, including sharp changes in direction, quick spins, as well as the leading partner lifting the following partner and throwing them around.

4. Uses a small part of the floor: Jive is not a travelling dance. Partners dancing jive typically stay within a small section of the dancefloor, while other ballroom dance styles involve a lot of movement throughout the floor.

Jive Dance Today

In competitive ballroom dancing, the Jive is one of five International Latin dances. Many of its basic patterns are similar to those of the East Coast Swing, but the Jive tends to be danced to a faster and highly syncopated rhythm. The Jive has a high lift of the knees, upbeat steps and swinging hip motion. Often times, dancers competing in the International Latin dances will compete in samba, rumba, paso doble, and Cha Cha before having their stamina tested in a Jive dance. Today the Jive is controlled by organizations like ISTD, IDTA, and UKA. These organizations all have their own syllabus for the Jive to provide framework for competing dancers so they can be awarded bronze, silver, and gold medals acknowledging their skills worldwide. In general, Ballroom Jive is taught along with the rest of the Latin American syllabus.

Today, the Jive is embraced in a variety of forms under a variety of names. The dance continues to evolve with the changing music industry. “Modern Jive” includes dances known as “Ceroc,” “Le Rock,” “Le Jive,” “Mo’jive,” “Salsa-Jive,’ “Smooth Jive,” “Le Bop,” “Cool Jive,” “Le Step,” “Night Club Jive” among others that are being created. While some dancer embraces the emerging styles of the jive, others continue to hold on to the traditional styling of the dance.

With questions or to schedule your Private Dance Lessons to learn Jive please contact us:

Phone: (281) 741-3242

email: info@ballroomdancesugarland.com

Currently lessons are being taught at DanceSport Club 11758, Southwest Fwy, Houston, TX 77031