The Origins of Modern Jive - www.ModernJiveGermany.com

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Copyright © 2008 Munich Jive. All rights reserved.

The Origins Of Modern Jive

Charleston - Swing Dance - Lindy Hop - Jitterbug - Boogie-Woogie - The Bug - Jive - Rock'n'Roll - French Style Jive - Salsa - Modern Jive

The history of Modern Jive began with the partner Jazz Dances of America in the 1920s and 1930s. Dances such as the Lindy Hop were performed in the black nightclubs and dancehalls of urban America. Venues like the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem gained a reputation as places where the best dancers could be seen with their spectacular acrobatic routines. As the 1930s progressed, jazz and swing music were absorbed into the mainstream of popular music. The dance, under the names of Jitterbug and Swing Dance, swept through America and Europe, this time to a predominantly white audience. In Germany, at this time Swing Dance was actually banned because of its "corrupting influence" Jitterbug and Jive, as the dances were by then popularly known, had their biggest influence during the Second World War, when Ameriacan GIs took the dance floors of Europe by storm and the continent swung to the likes of Glen Miller, Benny Goodman and The Andrews Sisters.
	It was at this point that Jive Dance hit Europe and the newly liberated populations not only adopted the dance, but continued to develop it, for instance, as The Bug and Boogie-Woogie in Northern Europe. In France meanwhile, the French changed the syncopated jazz steps into the more fluid style recognisable today and simplified the timing from a six-beat to a four beat and the emphasis from footwork to hands. It was these changes which made French Style Jive so easy to learn; newcomers to the dance could pick up the basic moves quickly, without spending time trying to master complex footwork. In America, the music changed from Swing to Rhythm and Blues, through to Rock and Roll and with this evolution of music, a new generation of youths rocked around the clock. In Britain, Teddy Boys developed their own style as the Rock'n'Roll invasion began; the clothing and dance music symbolising the new found freedom of youth in the post-war boom.
Although the dance in most of its modern forms (The Bug, Boogie-Woogie, Rock'n'Roll) went through a period of of being viewed as a quaint, but retro, piece of modern dance history, in France the dance was absorbed into the culture with three generations all being able to dance French Style Jive. At this point French Style Jive was re-introduced to Britain and Modern Jive was born. By combining a Modern Jive dance evening with an easy introductory lesson a whole new generation of Brits was able to learn the pleasure of partner dancing. In no time at all Modern Jive was sweeping across the country and filling the nightclubs with eager Modern Jive Dancers. In quick succession Modern Jive has criss-crossed the world, like Swing Dance before it. Now Modern Jive is the fastest growing partner dance in the world with over 500,000 active dancers hitting the dance floors weekly in London, Vancouver, Toronto, Sydney, Melbourne, Wellington, New York, Dallas, Paris, Barcelona, Havana, Zurich, Munich and hundreds of other places too.
	Jive Dance is back and here to stay and Modern Jive is by far the most popular of the vast selection of social dances that young people can learn. Its four-beat rhythm means that it can be danced to almost any piece of music, from 90's House and Garage through to classic Swing and Rock'n'Roll. Meanwhile the dance is still contantly evolving; borrowing moves and figures from one dance here and styling from another dance there, allowing practitioners to make their own contribution in the process. In Modern Jive there are influences from Swing, Rock'n'Roll, 'Dirty Dancing', Ballroom and even Salsa, but the true beauty of the dance occurs when you make your own routines, impose your own style and bring your own 'Je ne sais quoi'.

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Copyright © 2008 Munich Jive. All rights reserved.