Jive

Back to Dance Index   Fast Facts: Jive is a rhythmical and swinging dance which was influenced by the Boogie, Rock & Roll, African/American Swing and the Lindyhop. The roots of the Jive are in New York's Harlem. It is the fastest of the Latin dances and should show lots of kicks and flicks and twirling of the woman. Although on first impression it might look like the feet are all over the place in every direction, the feet/legs should actually be under the body and the knees should always be close together. Jive doesn't move around the dance floor like other dances. Distinctive moves: The basic movement is chassez to the left chassez to the right and a rock step (changing weight from one foot to the other). Look out for the flick, ball, change movement - where you stand on one foot and kick down at the same time. Look out for the distinctive kick action in jive where toes are always pointed to the ground when kicking. Watch out for the American Spin - when the man lets go of the lady and lets her spin on her own. Jive Steps and Swing steps Jive is the faster version of the swing. People use a more bouncy type movement using the balls of the feet a lot. A lot of kicks are used in jive. Jive is an American dance that evolved from a dance called the Jitterbug by removing the lifts and acrobatic elements. The Boogie, Rock & Roll and the American Swing also influenced this dance. Jive is a very fast, energy-consuming dance. It is the last dance danced at the competitions. The Jive is danced to music written in 4/4 time. The same time value (6 beats in 4/4 time) is used for single, double or triple jive. The difference in rhythm is determined by the number of steps, according to the speed of music.