Steps Instruction

Jive is a dance style in 4/4 time that originated in the United States from African-Americans in the early 1940s. It is a lively and uninhibited variation of the Jitterbug, a form of Swing dance.

In Ballroom dancing, Jive is one of the five International Latin dances. In competition it is danced at a speed of 44 bars per minute, although in other cases this is reduced to between 32 and 40 bars per minute.

Many of its basic patterns are similar to these of the East Coast Swing with the major difference of highly syncopated rhythm of the Triple Steps (Chasses), which use straight eighths in ECS and hard swing in Jive.

Basic step

The basic step (Jive Basic) is an 8-step pattern.

Leader:

• Counts 1 2 - Rock step: left foot step back, right foot replace
• Counts 3 a4 - Chasse to the left
• Counts 5 a6 - Chasse to the right

The follower's steps are mirrored.

Technique

The Jive is a fun and energetic latin/american dance, so technique wise you will need to be jumpy, yet keep your knees high after each chasse.
Leaning with your top line will show your partner where you are going to go next.
Even though this is one of the easier latin dances, you will still need to rock your hips from side to side, especially in counts 1 and 2.