Minneapolis Dance Studio MPLS Dance Lessons

Swing Dances

Mondays 8-11 PM - Rhythm Junction

Rhythm Junction is a dancer's venue. Imagine a whole night of Count Basie! Imagine a whole night of Django Rheinhart! Imagine a whole night of your favorite DJ!

Rhythm Junction is a series of rotating DJs and rotating themes. Every Monday brings out new and exciting music; music selected for dancers, by dancers. Bring your happy feet, bring your friends, Rhythm Junction's music will inspire you to dance like never before!

Mondays at Four Seasons, 8-11pm. Just $5 or $10 on live music nights.

Thursday, 6-7 PM, Level 1 (Front Room)

Teacher: Rebecca Abas

Class Description: Introduction to East Coast Swing, single and triple time.

Description of Swing

Swing is a group of related street dances that evolved from Lindy Hop. Swing dance partners consist of a leader and a follower. There are three main forms of Swing: Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing and East Coast Swing.

  • Lindy Hop - The basic step of Lindy Hop is an 8 count basic. The main draw of this dance is its style's openness to improvision and ability to easily adapt to include steps from other Swing styles. Swing can be danced to almost every form of Jazz music, as well as Blues, and any other type of music with a Blues or Jazz rhythm.
  • East Coast Swing - Also known as Jitterbug, East Coast Swing has a very simple structure and footwork along with basic moves and styling. The basic step is a 6 count basic. It is popular for its forgiving yet elegant nature, and it is often danced to slow to fast tempos.
  • West Coast Swing - For this dance, followers stay in a slot, which reduces their ability to move left and right, but improve their ability to spin left and right. West Coast Swing is often danced with Blues and Rock and Roll music, as well as smooth Jazz.