History of East Coast Swing:
Some believe that the closed hold dance position originated at a time when men wore swords in a scabbard at their sides even while dancing. The closed hold position made it so that the well-armed man could hold his partner “at arms’ length” to prevent any inadvertent injuries. Later, as swords became less popular daily wear, at least while dancing, and mores became stricter, close contact dancing with a partner fell out of practice. By early in the twentieth century, when closed couple dancing had re-gained acceptance, several partnered dance styles developed. One style, the East Coast Swing, evolved from other dances that preceded it like the Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug, although many dance historians disagree which dances actually influenced its origin.
One historical progression of the East Coast Swing says that it came from people wanting to dance to a new musical style, ragtime, which emerged from New Orleans. A man named Henry Fox invented a dance called the Fox Trot to go with the ragtime tempo that stresses the off-beat. The Fox Trot led to the Charleston in the 1920s which then led to t dance Lindy Hop in the 1930s. Ragtime music also interested many big bands and attracted crowds to large dance halls or ballrooms which became popular places. More acrobatic dances such as the jitterbug and Swing developed. By the time East Coast Swing became popular, dancing was an important part of American culture. However, “swing dancing, and more importantly the lindy (sic) hop, were the roots that created a change in this emerging popular art form” (Michigan State Swing Society). Although the origin of Swing dancing remains controversial, the way it changed dancing as an art form and hobby is not.