Swing began its life in New York during the late 1920s. This was due to the new jazz revolution in popular music at the time. Big bands were all the rage and took over the modern world of music.
With big band jazz proving so popular, a new dance was created out of Harlem and named lindy hop. This was a vague formation of other popular dances of the time such as the foxtrot and Charleston. The term ‘lindy hop’ is often thought to have been a nod to the pilot Charles Lindbergh who created history by ‘hopping’ over the Atlantic Ocean.
Fast and complex, the lindy hop was the perfect match for the big band jazz of the time. However, after a while, smaller bands became more popular and the dances developed to match the different styles of music. The boogie-woogie and jitterbug were some examples of the new swing dances that followed lindy hop.
Swing describes a multitude of dances that evolved from the 1920s jazz era, all the way to the present day. It is still a popular dance around the world.