Charm City Swing is Baltimore's "Best Reason to Go Out On A Monday Night"
Baltimore Magazine's Best of Baltimore!
Ballroom came from the dances of the 1800's in Europe. Swing came from the teenagers on 140th street in Harlem in the 1920's.
Swing is a STREET DANCE. It's raw, improvisational, and rebellious, and has resisted all attempts to constrain it with rules and definitions. Ballroom dancing is highly codified, with bronze, silver, and gold syllabuses of moves allowed at each dance level. Some ballrooms teach Jive, which is not swing dancing but rather a ballroom rendition that is made to look like swing dancing.
Modern swing dancers invent moves constantly, and our movements are always inspired by what's being said in the music. Swing dancers don't value precision; we value PLAY and FUN. Swing dancers are extremely forgiving of mistakes - mistakes are just part of creating something interesting. A national swing dance instructor once told me "If you don't fall on your ass at least once a night, you haven't tried anything cool."
Like other street dances like hip hop and break dancing, "jam circles" are part of swing culture. During a particularly exciting song, one couple busts out something sweet, people take notice, and a circle forms around them to let them go crazy. A few bars later, they exit and another couple comes in and shows off. The crazier, the better. Watch and get a sense of the culture!
Examples of Baltimore/DC area jam circles:
Dorry and Sommer (married)
Kristin and Andy (occasionally dance together)
Mike and Frida (occasionally dance together)
Kevin and Carla (dance partners)
Dave and Heather (don't usually dance together)
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