In 2017, couplets of swing dancers gathered for the Open Jack & Jill Competition of the Sofia Swing Dance Festival of 2017 in conjunction with the Global Swing Broadcast. The performances are reminiscent of the Lindy Hop dance style that originated in the early 1900s.
The contestants start out on an open dance floor, lining the sides and leaving space in the middle for the rotating ensemble of featured dancers. A skilled jazz band is seen in the background, starting things off at a rapid pace. A group of audience members sit, lining the outskirts of the open, wooden dance floor. Although the audience is generally featured off-camera, their presence is made clear throughout the performances, hollering, applauding, and whistling throughout the contest.
The performance starts with the dressy dance couples and upcoming contestants clapping to the beat. The band chugs along at a quick tempo, featuring a trombone, upright bass, keyboard, saxophone, trumpet, percussionist, and what appears to be a clarinet. The first couple takes the center floor, performing a slew of unique and athletic maneuvers, flaring legs, hands, and hips.
The music continues consistently at a quick speed throughout the course of the event, but that doesn’t seem to bother the contestants at all.
Each couple takes turns on the dance floor, showing off some seriously smooth moves to the rhythm. The different groups harness slightly different choreography, with some opting for alternative steps and styles. The dancing starts piecewise, cycling through each couple twice.
The contestants even look of the Swing Era, with the males wearing suits and most of the women wearing colorful skirts or pants. Some contestants have their hair groomed in a very specific fashion.
All of the couples perform incredibly well, with the small group of audience members letting out cheers and claps throughout. Eventually, the contestants take the floor together, simultaneously. Keeping with their specific dance partner, they perform a spectacular group dance to the deep satisfaction of onlookers.
Eventually, the group performs a fitting, acrobatic finale. The audience lets out a final roar as the music of the featured jazz band winds to a halt. All partaking members look overjoyed in the end, celebrating by hugging their respective partners. Each contestant clearly has excellent endurance, because a ton of energy is expended throughout the course of the event.
Swing dancing and the Lindy Hop were incredibly popular during parts of the jazz era of the early 1900s. Much of the choreography is acrobatic and characterized by stylistic, flaring movements of the arms and legs, according to Liveabout.com. A famous, surprising example of a modern performance of the Lindy Hop came in 2011 in the form of a flash mob in the Denver International Airport.
Ultimately, each couple and contestant of the Open Jack & Jill Competition danced fluidly and admirably. To the untrained eye, not a single obvious mistake can be seen throughout all of the different dances. They make it look easy. Which couple and performance did you enjoy the most?
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
