Beginner Lindy Hop

A typical class starts with a warm-up and a recap, then the teachers show a move or concept a piece at a time. Leads and follows usually swap partners every few minutes, so you dance with everyone and nobody needs to bring a partner. Expect to laugh, to get it wrong a few times, and to leave with something you can use straight away on a social floor.

Lindy Hop is the original swing dance, created by African-American dancers in Harlem in the late 1920s and 1930s and danced to big-band swing jazz. It is a partner dance built on an eight-count swingout, mixed with six-count moves, and it is famously improvised – lead and follow play with the music rather than repeating a routine. It suits any age, and most classes rotate partners. Read our full guide.

Solo Jazz (or authentic jazz) covers the steps danced alone to swing music – the Shim Sham, Charleston variations, tacky annie and many more from the swing era. It improves your timing, style and musicality, and it needs no partner at all. Read our full guide.

Students' union Lindy Hop society with weekly Thursday beginner and intermediate lessons, monthly socials and occasional solo jazz workshops. We list 4 of their sessions, running on Thursdays. See everything from Southampton Swing Dancers (University of Southampton).