Swing Dance - Basic Components

Terry Dean: Hi, I am Terry Dean from Terry Deans Dance Studio. Today we are working on the swing. I am going to show you couple of the basic components and the basic actions that you are going to need to do in order to do a good swing. When we are doing the swing, remember, that the first most important thing is that swings go up and down, that is why they call it a swing. So, what is going to happen is you are going to go down on your knees and then up on your knees; it is down on your knees and up on your knees. One of our basic steps is called a triple step, so we will start to the left and we are going to go a triple step. Now, for the triple part, for the first part of it, it is a three steps done in two beats of music, so it is going to be like a hip-hip-ho, so it goes, hip, hip, ho and that whole step goes down and up whereas the hip-hip was practically in place, hip-hip, and almost little baby step, almost like you got a hurt foot, hip-hip and then ho.

Now, your right foot is the hurt foot and it goes, hip-hip, ho. Again, hip-hip, ho; hip-hip, ho. Now, I am going to turn around so that my back is to you, so you can see that when I am doing the hip-hip, my heel stays up; hip-hip, as if you got a hurt foot, hip-hip, but then you put the whole foot down on the whole beat and go down and up. So, it is hip-hip, the heel stays up; then it goes all the way down. Hip-hip, ho; hip-hip, ho, and you can use the word triple step or hip-hip, ho or one and two is the number count, so it goes; one and two, one and two, so when we are doing the one and, we are in place, one and, and then the two goes down and up, one and two.

The next component is going to be the rocking step component. The man is going to be rocking back on his left foot, while the lady rocks back on her right foot, and the rock step is just a change of way; rock step, and that takes two beats; one, two; one, two. So, what happens is we are going to do the triples together, one and two; one and two, then rock together; one, two; one and two; one and two; rock step.

The main thing to try to remember when you are doing the swing that it is going to be fast, so you got to get some energy going, you got to build up a little bit of steam, come over along with me here, so you get a little bit of bounce and we are going go, one and two; one and two; rock step; one and two; one and two; rock step; one and two; one and two; rock step. So, it is really fun action, but you have to make sure that you get that rhythm going and speed things more than anything else.

So, make sure you get the triple step, triple step and then the rock step. Those were your basic components. We are going to put them together, show you the basic step the way it is actually going to be danced.