Jive is a rock and roll dance which is part of the whole big family of Swing dance styles stretching way back to the early 20th Century that include a lot of offshoots and variations on the theme. Most of these vanish quickly and are remembered only by dance historians, but Jive has continued to grow, evolve and thrive.

The feet move fast, picking up high with loads of energy in deceptively small  and tight steps. You will bounce, spin, swivel and twist with your partner and when you’re finally finished you will know that you’ve been dancing. If your heart isn’t racing when the music stops then you weren’t doing it properly. This is not a dance if you’re feeling lazy, you’ve got be wide awake and full of life.

You can dance the Jive to music from a lot of different periods and genres (Blues, Rock, Pop, Rhythm & Blues) but it’s probably easiest to think of 1950’s and 60’s rock and roll. If you’ve got a best of Elvis album at home tucked at the back of the shelf, bring it out and get dancing.