WORKSHOPS

You can 'Pic n Mix' whatever workshops you would like to do throughout the day. In addition to Jive & Lindy Hop there will be classes in dance styles such as: Cha Cha Cha, 20's Charleston, Drops n Seducers, Blues, Street Dancing, Balboa, Boogie Woogie, Salsa, Jazz Dancing, Funky Jive, East Coast Swing running in parallel in separate halls. So your only challenge is to choose the right class for you!

To help you decide on your classes please look at the schedule below, followed underneath, by a short description of some of the dance styles that maybe on offer. Please note that the schedule is subject to change without notice if required for reasons beyond our control.

MODERN JIVE:

Modern Jive , sometimes called French Jive is a dance style that originated in the 1980s. It derives from Lindy Hop and Rock and Roll and others, the main innovation being to simplify the footwork, so it can be danced to any music with a regular beat.

Modern Jive is a generic terms that covers a whole range of styles and moves. In the UK, Modern Jive tends to be split into a wide number of classes and events, usually operating under independent or small groups of classes, each essentially teaching a similar style. These include Bojangles Jive, Ceroc, Leroc,

LINDY HOP:

The Lindy Hop was the root of all Swing dancing and Jive dancing. It originated in the Jazz Age in Harlem, New York City. The individuals who created the Lindy Hop lived to dance and often did so day and night, seven days a week. Their passion for jazz music is reflected in the exceptional power, complexity and quality of the dance.

The Lindy Hop incorporates Charleston steps and other 'character' moves like 'heels', 'kick-aways' and 'hen pecks' from other dances of the time.

DROPS & SEDUCERS:

A range of moves, where leaders, will place the followers into leaning positions or lowering the lady towards the floor. These moves are a perfect addtion to the intermediate dancers repertoire for cabarets or to add a bit of spice to your dancing. These moves are very popular amongst the modern jive communities.

LATIN:

Latin dances in the context of social and ballroom dances is generally used to denote dances which originated in Latin America . These are typically Cha cha , Rumba , Samba , Salsa , Mambo , Merengue , Bachata , Cumbia , Bolero.

Latin dances are generally faster-paced, more sensual, and have more rhythmic expression. Time is 4/4 straight rhythm or related. Couples in the basic position stand face-to-face. Music may be Latin American traditional or contemporary popular music.

20'S CHARLESTON :

The Charleston (one of the dances from which Lindy Hop developed) is an 8 count dance named from the city of Charleston, South Carolina . The rhythm is a traditional one from West Africa , popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States of America by a 1923 tune called The Charleston by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one of the most popular hits of the decade.

While it developed in Afro-American communities in the USA, the Charleston became a popular dance craze in the wider international community in the 1920s . Despite its black history, Charleston is most frequently associated with flappers and the speakeasy . Here, these young women would dance alone or together as a way of mocking the "drys," or citizens who supported the Prohibition amendment, as Charleston was then considered quite immoral and provocative.

WEST COAST SWING (WCS):

A Californian partner dance developed from lindy hop. It has the soul of a street dance but heavily influenced by ballroom dance studios. The dance is characterized by a distinctive elastic look that results from its narrow slot. Originally danced to swing music, these days it is done to R&B, Soul and funk music. This dance is becoming very popular with the UK Modern Jive scene.

EAST COAST SWING:

East Coast Swing is a dance, derived from the Lindy Hop, but much easier to do. The dance consists mainly of six count patterns, making it popular amongst jivers coming into swing. Whilst originally danced to swing music, it is unrestrictive and very adaptable and these days can be danced to other music such as Rock n Roll, R&B, Mowtown, Disco, Latin and some modern music.

BLUES:

Contrary to popular belief, Blues Dance is not dirty dancing.  It is automatically about feelings, Intense Emotion.  It is very personal and intimate. What is left is raw, unpolished, human vulnerability.  Blues dancing is an intimate expression or conversation between dancers that can be personal, spiritual, and emotional in ways that verbal communication fails.  When done correctly, Blues Dancing can be one of the most rewarding and indescribable experiences any level of dancer can have.

TANGO:

Originating in Spain or Morocco, the Tango was introduced to the New World by the Spanish settlers, eventually coming back to Spain with Black and Creole influences. In the early 19th Century, the Tango was a solo dance performed by the woman. The Adualisian Tango was later done by one or two couples walking together using castanets. The dance was soon considered immoral with its flirting music!

The story of Tango as told is that it started with the gauchos of Argentina. They wore chaps that had hardened from the foam and sweat of the horses body. Hence to gauchos walked with knees flexed. They would go to the crowded night clubs and ask the local girls to dance. Since the gaucho hadn't showered, the lady would dance in the crook of the man's right arm, holding her head back. Her right hand was held low on his left hip, close to his pocket, looking for a payment for dancing with him. The man danced in a curving fashion because the floor was small with round tables, so he danced around and between them.

THE SHAG:

Shag is a form of swing dancing , most commonly danced to fast, up tempo music (usually 200+ beats per minute) and the couple dancing is positioned very closely for a body lead connection .

Collegiate shag began in New Orleans in the 1920's and it was performed by young ("college age") dancers to ragtime jazz. The dance is still performed today by swing dance enthusiasts worldwide

AMERICAN TAP:

American tap dancing set it self apart from any other form of tap or clogging dance any where else by the fact that it was born and developed in the evolving jazz era. The rhythms which played a big part in the jazz and tap evolution were due to the historical forced integration of African slave labour, who loosely interpreted the European step dances like the jig and clog, coupled with religious African so called "juba" dances and "ring shouts". The syncopated jazz rhythms were incorporated into the dance, where as the other forms of clogging were performed to comparatively straight time, and so this sets American tap apart from most other forms of tap dance.

BOOGIE WOOGIE:

Boogie-woogie is a form of swing dance. The name boogie-woogie is used mostly in Europe and during the 1950s would have been called rock'n'roll. The term boogie woogie is confusing; the dance can be danced to the music style called boogie-woogie but is most often danced to rock music of various kinds. The name was taken since the name rock'n'roll used in competition dance was already taken by a highly acrobatic dance form. Boogie woogie as a competition dance is a led dance, not choreographed, and contains no acrobatic elements.

The usual step variation is a six beat dance pattern, usually cued as "step, step, tri-ple step, tri-ple step", with words "step" taking a whole beat and pieces "tri" and "ple" taking half beat each. In parts of Europe, boogie-woogie is mostly danced as a social dance. In others, it is mostly a competition form.

STROLLS:

The Stroll is a typical case where the name of an original American dance has become confused by a later generation of retro-jive enthusiasts.

In the US "The Stroll" is a specific dance in which men and women form two lines facing each other.

What the Brit' enthusiasts call "The Stroll" is in fact a Madison style dance, in that it is a kind of swing line dance (like shim sham or jiveswing stroll) performed in formation by a large group. Typically two or three people start a stroll; others notice and join in until, eventually, the whole dance floor is filled with dancers performing "the Stroll" in unison.

STREET DANCE / HIP- HOP:

Street dance is an umbrella term used to describe dance styles (or vernacular dance styles) that evolved outside of dance studios at more everyday spaces such as streets , school yards and nightclubs . They're often improvisational and social in nature, encouraging interaction and contact with the spectators and the other dancers.

Today, street dance is commonly used specifically for the many Hip Hop dances and funk dance styles that began appearing in the United States in the 1970s , and are still alive and evolving within the hip hop culture of today. Most of these styles are considered African American dances as they first appeared within African American communities.

At WJMS, you'll learn the hottest moves you've seen like in the latest music videos. Fun and funky street dance classes with the latest  cool R'n'B, hip-hop, rappin' and clubbin' beats.

sources Wikipedia.org 2006