Get in the Swing!

Host a swing dance night at your school! Set the mood by asking that all attendees wear dress appropriate to the 1940s, play music of the big band era, and serve refreshments popular at the time. You can charge admission to the event and/or charge for refreshments. If you want to add an element of competition, you can hold a contest for the best swing dancers and/or the best costume, judged by a selected panel of judges. With the latest craze in swing dancing, it is likely that someone in your school community knows how to swing dance or knows someone else who does. It might be nice, though not necessary, to invite this person to offer lessons in the basic steps of swing dancing before your event.

In order to get members of your community excited, share the following history with them and create posters to advertise the event: (You can also log onto the web; there are a lot of great sites on swing dancing.)

Swing is a form of jazz music popular from mid-1930s to 1940s. Originated from African-American musicians, most notably Fletcher Henderson who began experimenting with swing in Harlem in the 1920s. The "era of swing" was born in 1935, when Benny Goodman, a white jazz musician, played numbers that Henderson had arranged for Goodman’s band to enthusiastic crowds at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles. Goodman captured the title, the "King of Swing," as he spread this new swing music across the radio airwaves. Big bands, led by such greats as Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw, sprung up across the country. Despite the controversy that swing sometimes created, due to its sensual dancing style and the interracial collaboration that inspired it, swing dominated American popular culture. Huge audiences packed into dance and music halls, and people bought more swing records than any other form of music during the war years.

Recommended Music Selections:
"Swingin’ the Century," Bill Elliott
"Mack the Knife," Bobby Darin
"Atomic Swing," or "Basie in London," Count Basie
"Big Band Cole," or "Jumpin at Cole," Nat King Cole
"Unforgettable with Love," Natalie Cole
"Zoot Suit Riot," Cherry Poppin’ Daddies
"Big Bands in Hi Fi"

1. A Night at the Movies
2. Get in the Swing!
3. Community Night
4. Helping on the Home Front
5. See a Penny, Pick it Up...
6. Candy Counter

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