Category: Club/Social Dances

East Coast Swing

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The swing is one of the most popular American dances and is a true American dance.

East Coast Swing is an energetic upbeat dance characterized by a bounce and a swinging of the hips from one side to the other. It includes a vast array of moves, kicks, flips and playful moves.

Swing refers to a number of dances with single, double and triple time rhythms such as the Jitterbug, East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Jive, Shag, the Charleston, etc.

East Coast Swing dance is a 6-count dance that evolved from the Lindy Hop in the 1930’s. All swing is danced in a compact area.

East coast swing music is written in 4/4 time and can be danced to many tempos and styles of music such as jazz, pop, big band, blues, rock-n-roll, country, R&B, and funk. This makes east coast swing a practical and versatile dance to learn.

Music for East Coast Swing:

  • Marvin Gay- How Sweet It Is to Be Loved By You
  • The Swing Cats- Good Rockin’ Daddy
  • Bob Seger- Old Time Rock n Roll
  • Meghan Trainor- All About That Bass
  • Bonnie Raitt- Thing Called Love

East Coast Swing History

Swing dance came out of the New York City club scene of the 1920s and 1930s when jazz bands proliferated in nightclubs and dance halls. With jazz influences from bandleader Benny Goodman and Hollywood movies highlighting the new dance craze, America was hooked on the lively music and swing dancing. By the 1950s, east coast swing was part of the American dance scene.

Contact The Dancing Duo today about East Coast Swing Lessons! Also check our calendar to see if this is currently being taught!

Hustle

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Hustle, also called disco, is an energetic, easy and exhilarating dance that is great fun to learn.

It is characterized by spins, turns, wraps, and arm styling for the lady.

Hustle has a basic rhythm of 4 steps that are counted &1 2 3 in which the “& 1” is a syncopated rock step (2 steps on 1 beat of music). This is the “3 count Hustle .” Many people find the “4 count hustle” easier to learn because each step is on one beat of music; therefore 4 count is a little slower.

Hustle can be danced to a variety of music, but is characteristically very upbeat and lively.

Examples of Hustle music

  • Barry White- Can’t Get Enough of Your Love Babe
  • The Bee Gees- You Should Be Dancing
  • Cher- One By One
  • Jennifer Hudson- Spotlight
  • Rick AstleyTogether Forever

Hustle History

Hustle is a dance that grew up during the 1970s in dance clubs in New York City and spread through the country following the release of the blockbuster film, Saturday Night Fever. As the popularity of Hustle grew, it evolved and changed with influences from other types of dances. Hustle was primarily a slot dance in which the lady moved down the slot, or track, and the leader moved off the slot while the lady did walks, turns, spins, etc.

Contact The Dancing Duo today about Hustle Lessons! Also check our calendar to see if this is currently being taught!

Merengue

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Merengue is an energetic and festive but simple Latin dance to learn, which is a great dance for beginners to learn. It is popular in Latin nightclubs, on cruises, in the Caribbean and in social dance venues.

The contemporary style of Merengue involves a marching type step as well as Cuban hip motion. Merengue steps move side to side, forward, backward and in circular patterns. Many patterns from other dances are easily been incorporated into Merengue. The simplicity of Merengue allows for a lot of freedom in creating patterns on the floor.

Merengue music is vibrant, lively with an infectious beat and is counted 1,2,1,2 or 1,2,3,4, often in 4/4 timing.

Popular Merengue Music

  • Proyecto Uno- El Tiburón
  • Sergio Vargas- La ventanita
  • La Makina- No Me Digas Que No
  • Grupo Manía- Como Baila
  • Fulanito- Guallando

Merengue History

Merengue’s roots are thought to be in the Caribbean, eventually becoming the national dance for the Dominican Republic. Merengue made its way to the United States in the 1940s and steadily became popular with dance studios and dance clubs in the 1970s. Like many dances that came to the United States, the style and steps evolved over time.

Contact The Dancing Duo today about Merengue Lessons! Also check our calendar to see if this is currently being taught!

Salsa

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Salsa is an energetic, festive, and fun Latin dance, very similar to mambo. It is characterized by small steps, fast moves, turns, spins, and Cuban hip motion.

Salsa has break steps forward and back with a slow beat in between in which there is no weight change. It is a compact dance so is great for a crowded dance floor.

Just as Salsa music developed from multiple cultures, Salsa dancing likewise developed from a fusion of dances, especially from Cuba. Some even claim that Salsa is a product of New York.

In the last half of the 20th century, Salsa took the world by storm and increased in popularity to become one of the most favorite of Latin dances, eventually making it to the competition scene. As it made its way across the United States, different regions added their own flavor and distinctive style to Salsa so it evolved. In New York, where the hustle (or disco) was big in the 1970s, hustle moves were incorporated into the Salsa lending a New York distinctive to their Salsa.

Popular Salsa Music

  • Marc Anthony- Vivir Mi Vida
  • La Sonora Ponceña- Fuego En El 23
  • Ray Barretto- Indestructible
  • Celia Cruz- Quimbara
  • Rubén Blades- Plastico 

Salsa History

Salsa music grew out of a mixture of musicians from Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico and South America who visited New York, performed there and collaborated bringing their own sounds and incorporating the jazz sounds of New York. Cuban musicians played a large role during the 1940s and 1950s in the development of the music until Cuba was essentially closed down when Fidel Castro came to power. Puerto Ricans then filled the gap with their musical influences.

Contact The Dancing Duo today about Salsa Lessons! Also check our calendar to see if this is currently being taught!

West Coast Swing

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West Coast Swing is a smooth and playful dance, with no bounce like its swing relatives. It is also typically danced to slower music (around 90 to 130 beats per minute) than East Coast Swing, but advanced West Coast Swing dancers will often dance to faster tempos.

West Coast Swing is danced in a slot with the lady going up and down the slot as the man goes from one side to the other leading her in turns, spins, walks, whips, tucks and passes. This slotted movement allows for the characteristic expansion and contractions in the movements of West Coast Swing which creates a sense of stretching away from each other and then coming back together.

West Coast Swing is a dance that allows a maximum of freedom of expression and improvisation between the partners, typically seen at the higher levels. Because of these characteristics, West Coast Swing is not one of the easiest dances for a beginner dancer to learn.

West Coast Swing can be danced to a wide variety of music genres such as pop, rock, country western, jazz, funk, R&B, and has a wide range of tempos from 100 to 130 beat per minute. The music for west coast swing is written in 4/4 time and for the basic step, is composed of 2 walking steps and 2 triple steps.

Popular West Coast Swing Music

  • Alannah Myles- Black Velvet
  • U2- Angel of Harlem
  • Michael Bublé- Baby (You’ve Got What It Takes)
  • Marvin Gaye- Heard it Through the Grapevine
  • En Vogue – Beat Of Love

West Coast Swing History

West Coast Swing is one of the many dances that evolved from swing. It was created in the 1950s in Los Angeles as a smoother Lindy Hop style of swing, danced to slower music. West Coast Swing continued to evolve, grow in popularity and spread around the country and eventually around the world. Even today, west coast swing is an evolving and changing dance to accommodate contemporary music and individual and regional styles.

Contact The Dancing Duo today about West Coast Swing Lessons! Also check our calendar to see if this is currently being taught!