[DavidB]

Originally posted by flashy
That's why I do swing - because it's all about musicality, lead and follow, interpretation of the music, tension, style, expression . . . that's dancing!! Swing takes longer to grasp, but the end results are far more impressive than modern jive or ceroc. It's an individual thing I suppose. Most swing dancers in the U.K. are at a higher level in my opinion, and take dancing much more seriously (perhaps too much at times). I also find swing very different to lead generally: women really just need a hint- a 'suggestion'- about where you want them to go, unlike jive where they often expect a strong lead.

I don't see any difference between the standard of swing dancing and jive in the UK. The end results are exactly the same - people have fun, they feel good, but they look the same. The beginners look the same, the intermediates look the same, and the advanced dancers look the same. With the exception of Ryan & Jenny, no-one looks world class (ie when someone gets to the same technical and artistic level as the best dancers in the world.)

There may be (as DS suggests) a larger percentage of swing dancers getting to an 'advanced' level compared to jivers. As you say there are more swing dancers take dancing seriously.

Lindy and West Coast Swing are definitely harder dances to learn than jive, simply because they have footwork and a particular style. But every criteria that you consider to make up dancing (musicality, lead and follow, interpretation of the music, tension, style, expression) applies just as much to jive as it does to swing.

Whether or not you prefer Lindy, or jive, or WCS is entirely up to you. (I personally prefer WCS to jive.) But none of them have anything unique that makes them a better dance than the others.

I also find swing very different to lead generally: women really just need a hint- a 'suggestion'- about where you want them to go, unlike jive where they often expect a strong lead.

There are significant differences in the lead in the different styles of dance. WCS is a leverage dance. Jive is all about changing from leverage to compression and back. Hustle is a compression dance. (I'm not really sure about Lindy???) But once you understand the differences, then there are a lot of similarities - you need a connection, the lady follows her hand, a small lead can give a big movement etc.

Unfortunately there are a lot of leaders in jive who don't really understand what they are doing.

I am glad to read that there are some new swing nights starting up in Edinburgh.

So am I - as long as people enjoy their dancing, I don't care what style they do.

David