Swing dancing is an upbeat, high energy dance form. The term swing dancing actually refers to more than one kind of dancing, and can include Charleston, Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, East Coast Swing, Balboa and more. One of the best parts of the swing dance movement is the music. If you attend a social dance you can expect a live band to play some really fun music. Classes, Social Parties and Clubs for Swing dancing can be found in all major cities, and even some of the smaller ones these days. But if you are not near a class, or simply want to try some beginner swing steps on your own, the internet provides plenty of opportunity to learn.
Four of the best places online to learn swing dancing are listed below. All the videos on those sites are free, though you may need different players to watch. You’ll find it easiest to learn from a video if you watch first, and then replay the video while trying to do the steps. Make sure you have an open space with a stable, not too slippery surface. Swing dancing is done with a partner, but learning on your own is a great way to start. Then when you go to a social swing dance, you’ll be able to dance with anyone.
The first site with instructional videos is ballroomdancers.com They have some East and West Coast Swing videos of steps, all for free. You’ll need Quicktime to watch these.
The site bustamove.com has about fifteen free East and West Coast Swing videos showing steps. They are very basic, with animated people demonstrating the steps, but no vocal instruction. They do offer an in-depth video instruction that you need to pay for as well.
Perhaps the best site to learn from videos is Expert Village. They are increasingly adding great instructional videos and they have a nice selection of beginner swing demonstrations, shown slowly with vocals. And of course, all free. They are a growing site and you can expect them to continue to add more videos, so keep them bookmarked for swing dance instruction. You can find them at expertvillage.com
Learntodance.com has one free seven minute introduction to Swing Dance video. It downloads to Windows Media and is a good explanation for the beginner.
And of course there is Youtube. There are quite a few swing dance performance videos online but only a few instructional ones. Folks are always uploading new videos so it’s a good place to check for new videos (do a search by ‘date added’ to see the newest ones). One user, newsomed, has eight instructional videos that are nicely done, as well as some dancing clips that are fun to watch!
Once you have learned some swing dance basics at home, you can try out your skills at a local dance, or find a partner to work on more advanced moves. With free online videos, trying out this exciting dance form can be fun and easy. has about fifteen free East and West Coast Swing videos showing steps. They are very basic, with animated people demonstrating the steps, but no vocal instruction. They do offer an in-depth video instruction that you need to pay for as well. and search for swing dance.
