The Swing Doctors

This is a dance instruction website, used by dancers worldwide, provided free by the Swing Doctors, two dancers and teachers of dance based in Edinburgh, Scotland (click here to go to our home-page).

The notes here are based mainly on the introductory classes, and themed workshops, that we run for Edinburgh University Swing Dance Society and for Edinburgh Swing Dance Society. You are free to copy and distribute them, but please note and respect the copyright statement on the top of each page.
To read the notes, you need Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded  free from this site. We will try to add more video sequences soon.

Notes on the music itself:

• The structure of swing.

Notes on the following dance styles:

• Balboa & Bal-Swing
• Bal-trot (progressive Balboa)
• Cake walk
  
• Charleston
• Collegiate Shag
• 'Jive' (6-beat; also called East Coast Swing)
• Laminu (also spelt 'lamanu')
  
• Lindy Hop
• Slow Drag ("blues")
  
• St Louis Shag
  
• Strolls
• West Coast Swing 

Notes on teaching

• General notes on becoming a swing dance teacher

Please contact Edinburgh University Swing Dance Society if you want to join the classes in these styles (you do not have to be at the University to join: membership is £10/year and all classes are free).  Our classes go far beyond what is presented here, of course - these notes are intended to support the most basic material that we cover.

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Balboa & Bal-swing:

Beginners' classes:

• Notes on the Balboa basic and a short video sequence of extending the basic (as explained in the text)
  
• Notes on the Transition step and cross-overs
• Notes on the come-around
• Notes on the spike   and a short video sequence of the spike and of cross-overs
  
• Lolly kicks
• Fancy footwork in the Balboa basic
• Our year-long Balboa syllabus (as a list of moves)
  

Intermediate classes:

• Interrupting the spike.
• Pop turns and a push off.
  

Progressive Balboa ("Bal-trot"):

• Notes on basic Bal-trot

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Cakewalk:

• Notes on the basic cakewalk, and easy variations

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Charleston:

• Notes on the ('unpartnered') Charleston basic
• Notes on some simple Charleston variations
  

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Collegiate Shag

• Notes on the Collegiate Shag basic
• Variations on the Collegiate basic step
• Collegiate Shag kicks
• Collegiate Shag breaks
• Collegiate Shag under-arm turns: the transition to an open, facing hold.
  

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6-beat 'Jive' (East Coast Swing)

• Notes on the basics
• Building on the basics

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Laminu / Lamanu

• Notes on the basic
• Building variations on the basic

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Lindy Hop

• 1- Notes on the Lindy Hop basic
• 2- Notes on the swingout
• 3- Notes on the circle, and some style tips
• 4 - Notes on the Texas Tommy and Breakaway steps
  
• 5- The Lindy Charleston
• 6 - Notes on useful exercises you can do on your own, to improve your Lindy Hop
  

• Tips for experienced dancers on how to dance FAST Lindy

• Air Steps

The Lindy Rueda

• Notes on the Lindy Rueda

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Slow Drag ("blues")

• Notes on the fundamentals of slow drag
• Notes on moving the dance across the floor

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St Louis Shag

• St Louis basic and easy variations
• Fall off the log in closed position

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Strolls:

• Notes on the Bunny Hop
  
• Notes on the Charleston Stroll ('put a lid on it')
• Notes on Dean Collins' Shim Sham
• Notes on the Edinburgh Stomp
  
• Notes on La Grande Pomme
  
• Notes on the Lambeth Walk
  
• Notes on the Lindy Chorus
• Notes on the Madison
• Notes on the Palais Glide
• Notes on the (Savoy) Shim-Sham - also called Goofers
• Notes on 'The Stroll' (Lee & Seema or UK Version)
• Notes on 'The Stroll' (Original 1957 contra version)
  
• Notes on the Worcester Walk

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West Coast Swing

• Notes on our West Coast Swing taster class.