Synopsis: From its unlikely origins in the African slave trade, one of the saddest chapters of American history, swing dance emerged as a celebration of the soul. Swing is now recognized around the globe as a joyous partnered dance, uniquely Afro-American in origin and an American treasure. This book examines how the original swing style of the 1920s, the Lindy Hop, branched out and evolved with the changing dynamics of popular culture, paralleling the development of the nation. Swing Dancing covers the dance through the years of minstrelsy, the jazz age, the big band era, bebop, and the decline of partnered dancing in the 1960s. Swing experts and instructors Tamara and Erin Stevens have combined a compelling historic examination of swing dance with an assortment of riveting personal interviews and photographic documentation to create a comprehensive reference book on this important art form.

Series foreword -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1: Swing dance: born in the USA -- Chapter 2: Bred in minstrelsy, raised in rhythm -- Chapter 3: Ragtime, jazz, and swing dance gets a name -- Chapter 4: It started at the Savoy -- Chapter 5: Whitey's Lindy Hoppers -- Chapter 6: Swingin' in Hollywood -- Chapter 7: Dance by any other name-- (various styles of partnered swing) -- Chapter 8: Decline -- 9: Road to resurgence -- Chapter 10: Second era of swing, and beyond -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index.