What is Modern Jive?

It has many of the qualities of the jitterbug brought from the States during the war but without the foot steps!

Modern jive is not a precise dance like the ballroom jive or most other swing dances but can be used as a framework for one’s own interpretation. Learn more about Jive Dance Styles.

It is easy to learn and can be used for much of the modern music that is about today as well as rock’n’roll and swing.

What happens at the classes?

The many organisations that promote modern jive have basically the same formula:

• total beginners lesson,
• followed by short free-style (anyone dances with anyone),
• followed by intermediate class,
• followed by longer free style.

You don’t take lessons to learn modern jive, they are an integral part of the evening and everybody dances with everybody.

You do not need bring a partner – and a beginner will not find their first time too daunting.

Although there are some slightly different emphases, most of the organisations offer a very similar experience and they include Ceroc, Leroc, Lejive, Mojive. Don’t be confused by someone asking you if you do “Ceroc” and look at you strangely when you answer that you do Jive too. Its like them hearing that a Hoover is a vacuum cleaner for the first time! Our US C&W cousins may well recognise this phenomenon as “4-beat swing”.

What music can you jive to?

The marvellous thing about modern jive is that one can dance it to lots of music, old to new, Swing, Rock’n’roll, Country & Western Electronic, Top of the Pops etc, lots of which is played at parties, discos and nightclubs!

The important thing is that there are 4 beats in the bar (ie not a waltz!), there is a strong beat, about 120 to 180 beats per minute (although this does not bar taking up the challenge of dancing faster or dancing too slowly – but some moves may not look cool).

Where can I learn?

There are many good organisations in many towns. Rather than list the ones I happen to know, just go to www.uk-jive.co.uk or www.modernjive.com for a comprehensive list to find out what’s on in your area.

What is so great about it?

The evenings are not just dancing, or just teaching, they are both. (Excluding some “freestyle” nights which are just for dancing.)

You do not need to go with a partner as the ethos is to dance with lots of people and the classes rotate partners anyway.

It is much quicker to learn than other dance styles as little is said about the feet.

It is very exhilarating and your fitness will improve in leaps and bounds.

What other types of dancing are similar?

You might wish to consider:

• Lindy-hop (see table below for differences)
• East-coast Swing (6 beat: rock-step triple step triple step)
• West-coast Swing (6 beat: rock-step triple step triple step, lady moving up and down in a line, man darting out of the way)
• Salsa (4/8 beat: left right left pause right left right pause, hip gyrating, tropical music, more twirly)
• Rock’n’roll (6 beat: rock-step toe heel toe heel)

Modern French Jive History

James Cronin originally devised the dance for a single fun night out in 1980. Together with his brother and a friend, they hired Porchester Hall in London, showed a few friends how to do some moves and then invited their friends to come along. Those “in the know” wore pink (the girls) or white (the boys) so that they could be seen in the crowd and show others how to do the moves. And for drink, guests helped themselves to orange juice mixed with ice and lemonade from buckets!

Eighty people attended that night and three months later, word had spread and there were more than 700 people trying to get into the tightly packed hall!

Over the next ten years, Ceroc gradually evolved from a hobby into a business and in 1991 marked the founding of Ceroc Enterprises Ltd, the start of the first Ceroc Franchise in Norwich and the first official Ceroc Teacher Training.