Jive

The Jive is a mixture of Rock & Roll, Boogie Woogie, African/American swing and the Jitterbug. The Jive is a dance you can dance together or alone. The couple does not have to stay in contact with each other all the time. In International style dancing, the Jive is one of the five Latin competition dances.

It is sometimes called the International style version of Jitterbug or East Coast Swing. The dance is characterised by chasses, flicks, kicks and turns. The music for Jive is in 4/4 time, which means four beats to a measure. Jive timing usually begins with a link or rock step counted 1-2 then followed by a chasse (to the left- man and to the right -lady) 3-a-4

The Chasse is then repeated in the opposite direction as 3-a-4 Other comparable counts are quick-quick, quick-a-quick, quick-a-quick. The beat value of each step is critical for the look and feel of the jive. The Jive is fast paced dance and can be danced to modern music.