Jive

Jive is the fastest and most energetic of the five International Latin dances, a ballroom descendant of American swing dancing. It is bright, bouncy and full of kicks and flicks, and it closes every International Latin program.

At a glance

Styles

International Latin

Time signature

4/4

Tempo

42–44 bars per minute (168–176 beats) · WDSF rules 43 bars per minute (172 beats) · NDCA rulebook WDSF publishes a range for each International dance. The NDCA publishes one figure for each dance it lists and lets the music director move it by one bar a minute (two for Nightclub dances). Where neither publishes a tempo, the range is typical, not a rule.

Hold

Closed and open hold

Competition levels

Bronze, Silver and Gold syllabus, then Open and Championship, for amateur, professional and Pro/Am couples

Origin

American swing dances, standardized in Britain 1930s to 1940s; ISTD syllabus 1947

Jive's roots are in the swing dances that grew up in African American communities in the United States in the late 1920s and 1930s, above all the Lindy Hop of Harlem's ballrooms. The word itself was African American slang for glib or playful talk, made famous in that era by the bandleader Cab Calloway, and in the 1930s and 1940s swing dancing in general was often called jitterbug.

Around the Second World War, American servicemen brought jitterbug and Lindy Hop to Britain and continental Europe, where young dancers took to them quickly. In the United States the dance came to be called swing; in Britain the name jive stuck, and boogie-woogie and other local variations grew up alongside it.

British teachers then tamed and standardized it. The ISTD's first Latin and American syllabus in 1947 included American Swing, or Jive, and the dance was refined into a compact, sharp, on-the-spot style quite different from the original. It is commonly dated as joining international Latin championships as the fifth Latin dance in 1968. See the history of DanceSport for the wider story.

Jive is joyful, cheeky and athletic. It is danced on the balls of the feet with lively knee action, crisp kicks and flicks, and a strong sense of bounce, and unlike most swing dances it stays largely in one place rather than traveling. Its energy comes from speed, sharp leg action and quick changes between closed and open positions.

The basic pattern is a rock step followed by two chasses, the same structure as a six-count swing basic. What sets Jive apart is the precision of its footwork, a tight frame and the very fast tempo, which make it one of the most demanding dances for stamina.

Basic count

1, 2, 3 a 4, 3 a 4

Time signature

4/4

Tempo

42–44 bars per minute (168–176 beats) · WDSF rules 43 bars per minute (172 beats) · NDCA rulebook

Hold

Closed and open hold

The WDSF Competition Rules set Jive at 42–44 bars per minute, which is 168–176 beats per minute, making it the fastest Latin dance by beats. The basic is counted rock, rock (1, 2), then two chasses (3 a 4, 3 a 4), or quick, quick, quick a quick, quick a quick. The 'a' is a short, swung step just before the next beat, which gives the chasses their lilt.

Couples move between closed hold, open position and brief moments apart, with the lady turning under the man's arm on many figures. Judges look for sharp, controlled kicks and flicks, precise chasse timing at speed, consistent bounce and energy that lasts to the end of the music, which is the last dance of a demanding program.

Basic figures

• Basic in Place
• Fallaway Rock
• Fallaway Throwaway
• Link
• Change of Places Right to Left
• Change of Places Left to Right
• Change of Hands Behind Back
• American Spin
• Walks
• Whip

Figure names are given as the syllabi write them, in English.

Jive is the fifth and final dance of the International Latin program, after Samba, Cha-Cha-Cha, Rumba and Paso Doble. It is danced at every level from Bronze to Open by amateurs, professionals and Pro/Am couples; see levels and categories. There is no Jive in American Rhythm: its American counterpart is the East Coast Swing, which the US competition system runs as Rhythm Swing.

Ballroom Jive is popular at studio parties and Latin practice nights, and dancers who know it can adapt easily to a social swing or rock and roll floor. In Britain and elsewhere in Europe, the social dance called Modern Jive, and swing dances such as Lindy Hop and boogie-woogie, carry on the dance's social roots.

1. Stay on the balls of your feet and keep the knees soft; the bounce comes from the legs, not the shoulders.

2. Keep the chasses tiny. At 42 bars a minute, big steps will leave you behind the music.

3. Practice the basic slowly with the swung 'a' timing before working at full speed.

4. Build stamina by dancing two or three full tracks in a row; Jive comes at the end of the Latin program when legs are tired.

5. Point the toes on kicks and flicks, and bring the foot back underneath you quickly.

Ballroom Jive is danced to fast, swinging music in four-four time with a strong backbeat: jump blues, boogie-woogie, 1950s rock and roll, and upbeat swing and pop arranged for competition. The music should swing, with the 'a' before each beat clearly felt.

• East Coast Swing

  East Coast Swing explained: its Lindy Hop roots, the American Rhythm competition tempo, the triple step basic, key figures and where people dance it.

• Lindy Hop

  Lindy Hop explained: the swing dance born in Harlem around the Savoy Ballroom, the contested story of its name, typical tempos and the swingout.

• West Coast Swing

  West Coast Swing explained: the slotted swing from California, typical tempos, the sugar push and anchor step, WSDC points levels and where to dance it.

• Samba

  Ballroom Samba explained: its Brazilian roots, the WDSF tempo of 50–52 bars per minute, the samba bounce, the 1 a 2 count and the first figures to learn.

• Cha Cha

  Cha Cha explained: Cuban origins, the official competition tempos, why Latin and Rhythm both break on 2, and how the two styles differ in hold and figures.

1. WDSF Competition Rules 2026, Rule E.3 Music (tempo table)
2. NDCA Rule Book, July 2026: Section IX.B Approved Tempi and Appendix 1 International Jive figures
3. ISTD: Latin American faculty history (1947 syllabus, American Swing or Jive)
4. Wikipedia: Jive (dance), citing Schuller and Bottomer

What this page was written from. DanceFlow is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sanctioned by any of these organizations.

Last checked against its sources on November 3, 2026.

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