Swing Dance: Fashion, music, culture and key moves September 25, 2015

by Scott Cupit (Author)

With all things vintage enjoying a boom worldwide, swing dancing has well and truly swung back into fashion. From vintage festivals and tea dances to weekend socials and hundreds of weekly classes held around the world, multiple forms of the dance that was created in 1930s Harlem by Frankie Manning are growing ever more popular.

This beautiful photographic overview explores the vibrant contemporary swing-dancing scene, looking at the different dance styles and the associated culture, community and fashion. Illustrated with vintage and contemporary photography, as well as specially commissioned step-by-step guides, it provides everything you need to know, whether you fancy kicking up your heels in the Charleston or mastering the Lindy Hop ‘swing out’.

The four major dance styles are covered – Charleston, Collegiate Shag, Balboa and Lindy Hop, including the Strolls, which are guaranteed to fill the dance floor. With an overview of the fascinating evolution of the dance style at the start of each chapter, the book examines the fashions for guys and girls, including hair and make-up, and a clothing, shoes and accessories checklist, as well as suggesting top ten tunes to practice to. There's a breakdown of the basic step patterns upon which the dance is built, a guide to some of the key moves plus insider tips from old-timers and today’s leading swing dancers. Video demonstrations of the dances produced exclusively for the book are embedded in the pages and easily accessible via scannable QR codes. This book is all you need to get your dancing shoes on and start swing dancing!

About the Author

SCOTT CUPIT founded Swing Patrol in Australia in 1998 and it is now regarded as the world's largest swing-dancing school, with weekly classes held in Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmania, Berlin and London. Swing Patrol London, which launched in 2009, now has more than 1,400 students a week through its many venues and weekly social dances.

Scott achieved global media attention in 2009 with his interactive swinging hour on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, which was voted one of the top ten hours of the project by the Evening Standard. Since Swing Patrol's successful pitch on BBC2's Dragon's Den in July 2014, with three of the four dragons making an offer, the company has enjoyed a second wave of media attention, with various major fashion brands interested in collaborations – Keds footwear is now a sponsor.

As well as running Swing Patrol, Scott continues to teach weekly classes and regularly leads workshops in the UK and abroad. After sixteen years, he still thinks he has the best job in the world.

www.swingpatrol.co.uk

www.swingpatrol.com

www.syd.swingpatrol.com

www.swingpatrolberlin.com

www.deborahmeaden.com/investment/swing-patrol

Product details

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1910254177

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Jacqui Small; Illustrated edition (September 25, 2015)

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 192 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781910254172

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1910254172