Charleston
20’s Charleston is often associated with the crazy days of flapper girls and Ragtime music. The Charleston was originally done solo, but partnered steps were soon developed for this versatile 8-count dance.
20’s Charleston is credited with having a heavy influence in Swing Dancing a decade later, and rightly so. Lindy Hop, Shag and Balboa are acknowledged to have come from this zany little Flapper dance. With small, twisting footwork and a back and forth motion, it’s easy to see why so many dancers used Charleston and adapted it with kicks for use in Swing Dancing.
For a time, Charleston and dances related to it were banned from dance halls like the Savoy because there just wasn’t enough room for the kick variations that were so popular. Fortunately, the roots of Swing Dancing were already well established with Charleston, and it is still an important dance for Swing Dancers today!
Dance halls today encourage Charleston as its place as one of the roots of swing is well known. You’ll often see dancers playing around with solo footwork and partnering up to tunes with a 1920’s feel. One also doesn’t have to look too hard to find die-hard Lindy hoppers breaking out some Charleston during faster songs, not only to give themselves a breather, but to take the moment in new directions.
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