Jive Dance Styles
Modern Jive, sometimes called French
Jive is a dance style that that originated in the 1980s. It
derives from Swing, Lindy Hop and Rock and Roll and others,
the main innovation being to simplify the footwork.Modern
Jive is split into a wide number of essentially similar styles
(often for commercial reasons) including:LeRoc
Ceroc
leJive
Mo'jive
Swing Jive
Jazzjive
Swing Roc
Blitz (dance)
While all these three forms of dance have Swing and Rock-and-Roll
moves in common, moves from many forms of dance including
Salsa and Tango may be included, according to the specific
style and even the particular dance teacher.Similarly, identical
dance moves often have different names in each style, and
different signals to indicate the next move. For example the
Lindy Hop Swing Out is similar to a First Move in Ceroc. Despite
this there is rarely a problem dancing with people who have
been taught another styles, at least with the less advanced
moves. Because of it's ecclectic nature there are hundreds
of moves and variations that can be learnt. Modern Jive move
descriptions can be found at a number of sites, including:
http://www.jiveoholic.org.uk, http://www.afterfive.co.u and
http://cgi.dancecrave.plus.com .Modern Jive is generallly
danced to music with 4 beats to the bar (4/4 or Common time),
from latest chart hits to big band music and everything between,
in a wide variety of tempos from slow to very fast. Some styles
may concentrate on particular musical styles, such as swing.
How does jive differ from swing?
| Characteristic |
Jive |
Swing
(Lindy-hop) |
| Music |
Any music with a beat,
100-180 bpm 2/4 or 4/4 time |
Always swing music (8 beats),
can be much faster |
| Formality/precision |
Only the arms defined |
Steps, posture and arms
defined |
| Footwork |
Usually none! One step
per half count |
6 beat (rock step triple
step triple step) or 8 beat (rock step triple step step
step triple step) or Charleston |
| Speed |
One turn in 8 beats approx |
One turns in 12 beats approx |
| Basic move? |
No basic, although man-spins
and shoulder slides are "fill-in" moves |
Yes, the basic triple-step |
| Posture |
More Upright |
More bent |
| Interpretation |
Limited by the music and
opportunity at the speed of the dance |
Breaks and mood part of
music and time to interpret. There are many standard
specific moves for breaks. A false happy-clappy-smiley
sort of world - each dance is "acting". |
| Move type |
The synchronisation between
partners comes from an in-out compression and tension.
Suddenly blocking and changing direction common |
Generally more twirly and
smooth with synchronisation on the rock-step |
| Difficulty |
Easier than Swing! |
Needs perseverance - difficult
learning curve |
| Partnership |
Always partnered |
Sometimes side by side
or mirrored |
There is some snobbery around, both from Lindy-hoppers looking
down on jivers, as some jivers look down on line-dancers! Lindy-hoppers
would argue that the music jivers dance to leaves no room for
interpretation, one just goes from one move to the next. Whilst
jivers do seem in general to interpret the music less so than
Lindy-hoppers, if that is what they are comfortable with, then
why not! Jive is not a well defined dance. That is deliberate
so everybody with a little sense of rhythm can do it. A little
effort can give lots of satisfaction in jive. Other dances take
much more effort to get anywhere - the learning curve is much
steeper, steeper than some people can be bothered with. They
thus serve different audiences. |
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