Jive is a lively and upbeat dance which traces its roots back to the period around 1940. The Boogie Woogie music had arrived and the servicemen brought the Jitterbug with them. The Jive developed out of this period. Today there are several branches of Jive. The United States has East Coast Swing and West Coast Swing. Ceroc, or "Modern Jive", can be viewed as a simplification of the international Jive that we teach. Rock 'n' Roll is a simplified form of Jive suitable for the very fast Rock 'n' Roll music that developed out of the original Jive music.

The music to Jive is energetic and uplifiting. It is easy to keep time and this makes it suitable for the beginner dancer. However, due to the speed of the dance beginners are sometimes taught a cut down version of the Jive we teach, more akin to Ceroc type dancing.

We prefer to teach the contemporary International Jive from the start, with no steps left out. In the beginners courses we leave Jive until towards the end so that you have become familiar with movement to music before you try your hand (feet?) at it. Fitting in all the steps can be a struggle to begin with but it is worth it. You will be having great fun with this one.