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History: Created in the ballrooms of Harlem, New York during the late 1920's and early 1930's, Lindy Hop is a fun, exciting dance for all ages. This energetic partner dance spread to California (developing also into a smoother style), and then the globe during World War II. Wildly popular, Lindy Hoppers danced to the sounds of Big Band Swing greats like Count Basie, Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington, eventually parenting new dances like West Coast Swing, Boogie Woogie, and Rock'n Roll.

How it works: One of the most nuanced styles of dancing, Lindy Hop is mainly comprised of six and eight count patterns; the definitive pattern being a "swing out." Highly based on improvisation, creative and analytical thinkers alike will find something to enjoy with Lindy Hop.

Why you should dance Lindy: If you like athletic dances and have the taste for an impressive feat of musical eye candy, Lindy Hop is also known for its stunning footwork, its ability to be danced at any tempo, as well as "air steps" or "aerials." Dance acrobatics such as "aerials" are often seen on modern movies, music videos, and TV commercials by Lindy Hop professionals.

History: The Charleston originated in the early 1900's by African American dancers on an island not far from Charleston, South Carolina. It was not until 1923 when the dance exploded into popular culture, when it was featured in a revue in New York City. The dance quickly rose in popularity conjoined with Ragtime Jazz music, ushering in the age of Flappers (female solo Charleston dancers), and eventually giving birth to Lindy Hop.

How it works: Charleston is an upbeat partnered dance characterized by a basic eight count pattern that includes kicks, syncopation, and contra body movement. The basic is often done side-by-side, face-to-face, in closed position, open position, "Tandem," the Breakaway, and palm-to-palm. The basic itself has many variations, and looks as lively as Ragtime music sounds.

Why you should dance Charleston: One of America's original dance forms, Charleston is a spirited dance that is full of flashy turns, improvisation and personality! If you enjoy fast Ragtime music, you'll have a blast pulsing with the Jazz rhythms.

History: Grounded in vintage videos, the modern revival of "Authentic Jazz" dancing includes many forms of solo dancing, such as various line dances, Charleston and Black Bottom.

How it works: Authentic Jazz is an encompassing term for dancing that relies on a heavy association between Swing Era music and improvisation within a frame of specific traditional dance steps. Such steps include pieces from tap routines, such as "Half Breaks" or innovative eight count pieces of choreography such as "Boogie Backs," "Tackie Annies," "Fish Tails," "Fall Off the Log" and "Peckin,'" to name a few.

Solo Charleston is an energetic unpartnered dance style focusing on syncopated 8-count rhythms and variations on a basic pattern. Solo Charleston is typically danced to music of the early swing era, from 1915 - 1930's, and many individual steps are borrowed from Flappers, performers, and tap dancers of the swing era.

Black Bottom is a slower form of solo dancing, which became wildly popular by 1927. Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, this performance dance was known for its sensuality, characterized suggestive arm and leg movements to blues music.

Vernacular Jazz Line Dances: There are many swing line dances, vintage and modern, performed by dancers today. These famous Vernacular Jazz routines from the 20's and 30's include The Big Apple, Tranky Doo, The Shim Sham (multiple versions), and have been recreated from old video clips. The Jitterbug Stroll and the Madison are examples of modern swing line dances that use Vernacular Jazz steps in a repeating pattern.

Why you should learn Vernacular Jazz: Solo dancing enhances your ability to balance, improvise, and be musical while dancing. Line dances give you a framework for learning, while also sharing and preserving part of America's dance history.

History: Hip Hop dancing is a style of street dancing that evolved in the 1970's through Black and Latin American culture mainly in New York and Los Angeles ghettos when street DJs started taking out the melodies in music and focusing on the beats.

How it works: Hip Hop dancing is an impressive combination of footwork, freezes, body isolation in a performative style. Solo dancers show their ingenuity by stringing together moves, footwork, and tricks to music. Although there are many, "Popping" and "Locking" are well-known types of Hip Hop dancing. Jorge "Popmaster Fabel" Pabon writes, "Dancing on beat is most important. Riding the rhythm makes the difference between dance and unstructured movement."

Why you should dance Hip Hop: Learning Hip Hop gives you a chance to press the boundaries of your movement, timing, and creativity as an individual while dancing to fresh beats by modern MCs. You'll not only gain appreciation for muscle control, but also enjoy the strength and workout you get from the learning Hip Hop.

History: Although it is a wildly popular dance today, the history of Salsa's development is unclear. Salsa began defining itself in the 1950's from Caribbean roots, comprised of a mixture of Cuban dance forms.

How it works: Salsa is a partnered dance performed on a slot, comprised of linear and circular patterns. Basics span eight beats, and follow a forward and backwards exchange of motion. Salsa is danced in open and closed position to lively music, with room for breakaways and tricks. There are many regional styles from New York to Colombia; and the dance is sometimes done with multiple sets of partners as in a Casino Rueda.

Why you should dance Salsa: With the playful, interactive style of lead-follow in Salsa, there is a lot of room for interpretation and invention. Since Salsa boasts a wide diversity of styles, you'll never get bored learning each detail for the dance!

History: Little written or videographed history of Blues dancing exists from its creation in the late 19th century; however, blues music's pervasiveness first in African American rural and then urban culture led to the dance's popularity in juke joints, rent parties, and city clubs.

How it works: As diverse as the music itself, Blues dancing is composed of one and two step movements, focuses on improvisation and a close connection to one's partner. Like Tango, partners generally stay in closed position or close embrace for a majority of the dance, with some space for open position and breakaways.

Traditional partnered styles such as Jookin', Ballroomin', Slow Drag vary based on music, whereas modern Blues is often a fusion of complimentary dances, borrowing from Argentine Tango, Swing, Hip Hop, and vintage Blues. In addition to the partnered dancing, Solo Blues is a style of Vernacular Jazz dancing to slow tempos and is performed by an individual.

Why you should dance Blues: Slower tempos, soul bending music, and the ability to take your time to experiment with dancing musically give Blues its addictive quality. Since there are no set patterns to remember in the basic, beginners often enjoy learning how to connect to their partner first, and ease into learning moves later.

History: Up to the last few decades, little was known or practiced of "Vintage American Dances" such as Peabody and the Cakewalk. These gems of the late 19th early 20th century are rich with tradition and steeped in fast paced hot jazz music.

Considered the "favorite dance" of the Savoy Ballroom dancers in New York, Peabody is a partnered traveling social dance best executed in ballrooms with lots of space. The Foxtrot-like patterns and energetic music combines a feeling of waltzing across the floor, jogging, and digging into the roots of swing dancing.

Cakewalk is a form of dancing popularized from 1890 to 1910 by African Americans as a parody of formal European ballroom dances. Top hats, elaborate dresses, and other props added to the fanfare during its heyday. Elements of African dancing combine with the European ritual to define this richly historical dance.

Texas Tommy is a very early swing dance form with a strong relationship to the eventual development of Lindy Hop. Its dancers used its open framework to incorporate so called "animal dances" such as the Grizzly Bear, Turkey Trot, and Bunny Hop. Significantly, this dance was perhaps the first to incorporate a "breakaway" into open position, which lead to the development of the Swingout, that core step of Lindy Hop. On its own, Texas Tommy is a raw and unabashedly upbeat dance that works at a wide variety of tempos.

Why you should dance Vintage American Dances: These light-hearted, historical dances are a huge part of the beginnings of many American swing dances. Dancing Peabody and Cakewalk will impress your friends with your knowledge of early American folk dances.

History: Balboa and Bal-Swing are two separate but linked dances that sprung forth from southern California in the 1930's when ballrooms became too crowded for partners to break away from each other.

How it works: The pure Balboa dancers developed a partner dance with a close chest to chest connection between lead and follow, emphasizing visually subtle leading and intricate footwork. Balboa dancers created musical interest in their improvised dancing through ad-lib steps, slides, and syncopations.

Bal-Swing dancers, however, combined the close basic of pure bal with breakaways as seen in Lindy Hop and Swing Dancing. Consequently, Bal-Swing is characterized by an eight count pattern known as the "throw out" or "toss out." Come-Arounds, Lollies, and Crossovers also comprise part of the basic vocabulary that showcase the separation of lead and follow close connection of Bal to Bal-Swing.

Why you should dance Balboa: If you like to dance close to your partner, sliding across the dance floor, at medium to fast tempos without getting too tired, you'll enjoy Balboa. Girls, if you like to spin with twirly skirts and wear high heels, Bal-Swing is for you!

Bal-Trot is not a swing-era dance, though it was inspired by vintage footage of the Double Shuffle, which adapts Balboa and Bal-Swing steps to fit the context of a traveling dance.

History: One of the most influential American dance forms, Tap is a percussive solo dance that rose to world popularity in the first half of the 20th century. Tap, like most American dance styles, is a derivation from a variety of dance forms, most notably the African Shuffle and the Irish Jig, with a possible Clogging influence.

How it works: Tap dancers create rhythmic patterns by shuffling, tapping, sliding, and stomping out patterns, amplified through their shoes, usually adorned with metal plates.

Why you should Tap: In addition to looking impressive and being fun, tap is a great way to gain balance, strength, agility, and musicality. Not only are you a dancer when you tap, but you are also a percussive instrument, playing along with the band.

History: Rumored to have originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, Collegiate Shag is a fast-paced upright partner dance from the swing era. College students and young people bitten by the Swing craze started this energetic, quickstep dance to keep up with the fast tempos.

How it works: Retaining a ballroom grip and partnering skills from regular ballroom dances along with the rhythmic up and down energy from early swing dances like Charleston and Peabody, Collegiate Shag mainly uses six-count moves and turns similar to Jitterbug or six-count Lindy Hop. The main characteristic, however, is the Collegiate Shag dancers' motion, steadily hopping to the beat with fast footwork. Footwork styling is an important way the Collegiate Shag dancers interpret music and increase their personal input to the dance.

Why you should dance Collegiate Shag: If you crave fast swing music with a passion and are looking for a workout, this simple but energetic dance will keep you on your toes and in shape for years to come. Collegiate Shag is fun and easy to learn, and is impressive to watch because of the fast footwork at high speeds.