In 1938 The Cotton Club Revue featured Cab Calloway and the Whitey's Lindy Hoppers. Cab sang and the Hoppers danced to the song "A Lesson In Jive" and it is said the Boogie-Woogie dance formed from this. Not all Boogie Woogie is fast however, some Boogie-Woogie beats have an excellent feel for slower swing music with a BOOGIE WOOGIE beat. West Coast Swing, Hollywood style and Jitterbug were all Boogie Woogie dances when the music became fast. Movements would sometimes consist of Jumps, Stomps, Flying Feet, Hops etc. The movements are not sloppy but tight and clean considering the speed at times. The boogie Woogie has a definite distinctive 8 beat rhythm that makes you want to swing.
Rockabilly style was a fusion of Blues and Boogie Woogie by white singers or musicians such as Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis etc.
Today the Europeans have a dance they call 'Boogie Woogie' , It is in the Jive family of swing dances (It is not Lindy Hop!.) It works on the East Coast Swing / Jive basic of 1-2-3a4-5a6. There are two styles:
1) Floorwork (no aerials)
2) Acrobatic (Gymnastic-Lifts etc.) [This style will probably eventually be the dancesport usage in the Olympics]......... We do our best to stay on the floor, although it isn't always easy !
