In a four-minute video that has garnered nearly 286,000 views, the 2013 United Kingdom Euro West Coast Swing championships saw a pair of dancers, John Lindo and Nicola Royston put on an exhibition that showed how a pair of dancers can quickly develop rhythm.
This specific segment the pair danced to is known as the “Jack and Jill” performance, since neither of the dancers know who their partner is until they go on the dance floor for the first song. Therefore, improvisation tends to be a prized skill, something that both dancers end up showing during the course of the two songs played.
Beginning with a slow rendition of “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay,” sung by Sara Bareilles, the couple dances in sync, to the delight of the enthusiastic audience. They follow that with a more energetic offering that has the audience clapping along to the music.
West Coast Swing first began to develop in Los Angeles in the late 1930’s, and has had many variations in the past 75 years, given the easy adaptability to all forms of music. It’s the official state dance of the state of California. As noted, the spread of this popular form of dance has gone across the world, with competitions also being held in countries like Iceland, Australia and Belarus.