STREETSWINGS Dance History Archives

Dance Name	Origin	Date	Creator / Choreographer	Note: See Also
S' escandalari	Ibiza, Spain	n/a	Peasant dance celebrating planting and harvesting	Spanish Dance
Saber Dance	n/a	n/a	see sword for now	Sword, Military, War, 6/29/1953-Time Mag.
Sacramento Squeeze	USA	c.1912	Andre and Ethel (Follies Bergere)
Sacred Dance	World	ancient	World religious dances	Catholic, Jewish, Buddhists, Zen, Christian, Monks, etc.
Safety Dance	n/a	1980s	n/a	The Robot, Rock Lobster, Peewee Herman, Electric Slide, The Centipede, The Ant
Sailors Hornpipe	Scotland	n/a	n/a	Arkansas Traveler, Highland Fling, Sword, Jig, Reels
Salac Dance	Rome?	Biblical	Numa Pompilius	(dance to honor God of War)
Salegy	Madagascar	n/a	Sakalave peoples	n/a
Salian Dance	Rome	B.C.	Numa, Sali Priests	War, Mythology, Religious
Saltarelle or Saltarello	Italy	1500's	aka: Alta Danza	Court, Tarantella, Galliard, Quaternaria
Salome Dance	Italy	40's AD	Princess Salome,	Dance Of The Seven Veils, Belly, Raks Sharki, Hootchy Cootchy, Maude Allen, Joan Sawyer, Jessie York, Sol Cohen
Salta	France?	1700s?	Lucretia Borgia dance this	aka: Waltz
Samah	Asia	B.C.	n/a	Kirkler Samah, Dervish, Turkey
Samba	Brazil	1917?	Introduced to the USA in 1940	Latin, Salsa, Mambo, Marti Gras
Sammy, the	New York	1917	Prof. Claude Alviene (Oakland Tribune (7/17/1917)	Military type couples dance. Female wears mans hat.
Sand Dance	USA?	1920s?	Harriet Brown. a Syncopated Shuffle. No Maps On My Taps [by Sims 1979] aka: Scratchin' the Gravel	see Tap, Soft Shoe,
Sand Dune (dance of the)	n/a	1918	Norma Brandt	n/a
Santley Tango	New York	1912	Joseph Santley	"When Dreams Come True"
Sapateo de, El	n/a	c1800s	Fanny Essler?	n/a
Sarabande	Guatemala	1560s	Andalusian, aka: Sarabanda, Zarabanda	Spanish Dance, Tarraga, Chacona, Zarabanda, Rastro, Sarabanda
Sararo	Galicia	1500s	Ball Game dance at a Carnival	Muyneria, Gallega, Minuet, Cotillion
Sardana	Cataluña	c.1600s?	Catalan	Contrapas, Spanish
Saut Basque	Basque	n/a	aka: Mutchíco	Zorzico, edo carrica dantza
Sauteuse	1830's?	n/a	(a kind of waltz)	Waltz, Quadrille
Savannah, the	USA	1926	Done to a Spanish Foxtrot called the Valencia	Modified Charleston, Tango
Savoy Ballroom	New York	12/14/1926	Created by Charles Buchanon	Roseland, Palomar, Jitterbug, Lindy
Savoy Style Swing	New York	c.1930s	Smoother version done at Savoy Ballroom, NY	West Coast Swing, Lindy, Hollywood Style
Scalp Dance	America	c. 1800s?	American Indian	American Indian Dance
Scarf Dance	?	c.1890s	1920 Scarf dance s/m	Foreman Hall, Skirt, Fan, Bubble, Veil
Schäfflertanz	Munich	1600s?	originated from Bow & Hoop Dance	Bow and Hoop,
Schönpart	Nürnberg	n/a	a Carnival Dance	n/a
Scottish Espagnole	France	1900s	aka: Spanish Schottische	n/a
Schottische	Germany	c.1840s?	Created by Markowski (Poland)	Folk, Country, Square, Friska, Polka, Rheinlander, Mazurka
Schottische Espagnole	Paris, France	c.1900s	aka: Spanish Schottische, Maltese, Double Schottische (most popular), Scotis Espanol and the Seven Steps or Seven Step Polka	Spanish Dance, Schottische, Polka,
Schuhplattltanz	Bavaria	n/a	Bavarian Folk Dance	Ballet, Folk, Balanchine
Schuhplatteln	Germany	n/a	n/a	n/a
Schwertertanz	Europe	n/a	n/a	Sword
Schwabentanz	Austria	c.1800's?	4/4/ & 3/4 mix	Waltz,
Scotch Reel	Scotland	n/a	National Dance	Virginia Reel, Roger de Coverly, Hornpipe, Jigs, Square Dance
Scratchin' The Gravel	n/a	1910's	aka: Sand Dance	n/a
Scronch, The	Kentucky	n/a	n/a	Skronch, Cab Calloway
Siebensprung	Germany	1600's?	2/4 time	n/a
Sea Sick Dance/ Glide	USA	1913	Ragtime Dance	Texas Tommy, Bunny Hug, Grizzly Bear, Tiger, Boston Dip, Dallas Dip, Horse Trot etc.
Sefton Waltz	n/a	1908	Created By J.B. McKewen	Waltz,
Sequence Dancing	England	n/a	Such as square/ round dancing,	steps taken in certain definite order such as the Military Two-Step, Veleta, Square Dance etc.
Sequidilla	Castile, Spain	n/a	n/a	Spanish Dance, Sevillana
Serious Family Polka	New York	1850	Created by M. Frederick at Burtons Theater	Polka
Serpentine Dance	Paris	1892	Created by Loie Fuller	Butterfly Dance, Fan, Bubble, Veil, Skirt, Scarf, Sword, Fire
Seven Years Itch, The	USA	1910's?	Scratching the Body in Rhythm	n/a
Sevillana	Andalucía, Spain	n/a	n/a	Spanish Dance, Seguidilla, Flamenco
Sewin' The Rice	USA	1910's	n/a	Ballin The Jack, Eagle Rock, Baltimore Buzz
Shadow Dance	New York	c.1890's	Created By Lydia Thompson	Cancan, Jig
Shag, Carolina	Myrtle Beach, So. Carolina	c.1930's?	Unknown	West Coast Swing, Push, Supreme Swing, Jitterbug, Whip, East Coast Swing, Lindy
Shag (A. Murray)	New York	c.1930's	Created by Arthur Murray	Balboa, Collegiate, Jitterbug, Collegiate Shag
Shag, Collegiate	???	c.1920's	College Students?	aka: Arthur Murray Shag, Balboa
Shag, New Orleans	???	c.1925	Richard Jones?	Collegiate, Swing, Lindy Hop, West Coast
Shag, St. Louis	St. Louis	1930s	n/a	Fast, Charleston Like couples dance
Shame Dance, The	USA	1923	n/a	Universal
Shake and Quiver	Haiti	???	Via slave trade. aka: Shitka, Shimmy	Shika, Shimmy, Shimmy-Sha-Wabble, Shake
Shakers, The	New Eng.	1770's	Sister Anna Lee	Religion, Morris, May Pole
Shark Swish	n/a	c.1913	n/a	One of the Ragtime dances
Shawl Dance	?Paris?	?c.1839?	n/a	Scarf Dance, Fan Dance, Ballet, Bayadere
Shika Dance	Nigeria	n/a	n/a	Shimmy, Shake and Quiver, Shimmy Sha Wabble, Shake dance
Shim Sham, The	See below	c.1920s	See also: Shim Sham Shimmy	Tap, Clog, Jazz, Theater, Act
Shim Sham Shimmy	New York?	1937	Leonard Reed	Line, Big Apple, Swing, Lindy
Shimmy, The	USA	1908	claimed by Gilda Gray, Mae West in 1918/19	Chemise, Shake, Shake and Quiver, Shimmy Sha Wabble, Shake dance, Bull Frog Hop Song (1908)
Shimmy Grab, The	USA?	1910		Shimmy, Shmmie Sha Wabble, Shake Dance, Shiver, Itch, Scratch
Shimmy Sha Wabble	Haiti	1911	Pre cursor to the Gilda /West Shimmy Dance, probably from Shika dance	Shimmy, Chemise, Shake and Quiver, Shimmy Sha Wabble, Shake dance, Rules and Regulation Song (1911).
Shinto Dance	Japan	??	??	Oriental Fan Dance, Geisha, Maiko
Shishi Mai	Japan	n/a	Traditional Lion Dance w/ Chinese roots	Shishi Odori
Shishi Odori	Japan	n/a	Deer Dance	Shishi Mai
Shoeing the Mare	Cuba	??	dance done within the Rhumba (clip)	Rhumba, Latin
Shout	Africa	c.1800s	African Hymns	n/a
Shuffle	USA	1920s	Ragtime Dance	n/a
Shufflin' dance	UK	late 1990's	Freestyle 'T-step' shuffle (Mashed Potato,) Running Man, Charleston mix, Apple Jacks.	Industrial Dance, Techtonic dance, Mashed Potato, Apple Jacks, Charleston, Running Man
Sicinnis	n/a	BC?	n/a	Violent shaking dance
Sicillian (a), La	Sicily	c.1850s?	Pastoral dance, (6/8 or 12/8 time)	La Tarantella, L'Italienne, Valse Redowa,
Sicilienne	Poland	c.1700s?	Markowski (difficult, but graceful)	Friska, Schottische, Mazurka, Libonienne, L'Italienne
Silent Dance	USA	1928	n/a	(Social Dance thru Recorded Music and Headphones)
Silent Dance	n/a	1500's	Venetian's	Weddings
Sir Roger de Coverly	England	c.1800s	see Roger de Coverly	n/a
Sirillas	Chili	n/a	(Quellón region)	n/a
Siva Dance	Samoa	c.1880s	Samoan?	Apia, King Malietoa
Six Step Waltz	New York	?	Oscar Duryea	National Biscuit Company
Six-Eight, The	England	1927	n/a	n/a
Skating Waltz	Paris	1903?	Created by Maurice Mouvet as a boy	Solo Waltz done to Innamorata song. can be done to any waltz song however.
Skákava	Bohemia	n/a	n/a	Mazurka
Skillipoop, the	Stratford, Canada	1968	Alan Lund with Chela Matthison and Sylvia Shaffer (at the Stratford Shakespearian Festival "Timon of Athens".)	African-Oriental couples stage dance
Skip Dance	n/a	c.1800s?	n/a	n/a
Skip Rope Dance	Buffalo, New York	1895	choreographed for Irene Pirson by Horatio N. Grant. (The rope describes two revolutions to each bar. The dancer leaves the floor with a leap or hop every count in the bar, 164 hops and leaps. The rope goes under the feet on 1st and 3rd counts.)
Skirt Dance	n/a	1876?	Kate Vaughan	Serpentine, Veils, Butterfly, Bubble, Fan
Skronch	Kentucky	n/a	n/a	Scronch, Cotton Club, Cab Calloway
SLÅNGPOLSKA FRÅN VIKBOLANDET	Sweden	n/a	danced at weddings and Holidays	Folk, Russian, Ukrainian, Israeli
Slop, The	California	n/a	American Bandstand Introduction	aka: Maybe West Coast Swing?
Slovak Folk Dance	Slovakia	??	Czech/Slovak dances	Cardáš, Strasak, Hat dance
Sluefoot, The	California?	1954	Daddy Long Legs	see Leslie Caron, Fred Astaire, Daddy Long Legs Film
Slow Drag	New Orleans	c.1890s	n/a	Fish, Pony, Treemonisha
Slow Rag	USA	1910	(Probably mispelling of Slow Drag)	Bunny Hug, Turkey Trot,
Smurf, the	USA	c.1980s?	Smurf Cartoon Dance	Urkel, Pee Wee Herman Dance, The Pacman
Snake Dance	Arizona	1903	?Hopi Indians?,	Hopi, Moki, 2/1911 Nat'l Geographic Mag.
Snake Dance	Havana	c.16th Cent.	Voodoo Priests	Naningo, Matar La Culebra
Snake Hips	New York	c.1920s	Earl " Snake Hips " Tucker	Connie's Hot Chocolates, Congo Dance
Soft Shoe	The South	1910's	George Primrose, Barney Fagan - (See Tap,)	Leonard, Sand Dance, Virginia Essence, Clog, Tap, Buck /Wing, Juba
Soleares	Spain	n/a	origin of the Flamenco	Spanish, Flamenco, Alegrias
Son, The	Cuba	n/a	aka: Rumba	Mambo, Cha-cha, Salsa, Latin, Rumba
Sonia Polish Dance	Poland?	1924	aka: Polka	Polka
Sophisticated Swing	California	c.1940s	Myrna Myron name for West Coast Swing.	West Coast Swing, Western Swing, Supreme Swing, Push, Whip, Swop, Swango, Swustle, Swag, Carolina Shag
South Sea Fling	n/a	c.1944	Efate Dancers	n/a
South Sea Hula Dance	New York	1922	Gilda Gray	n/a
Southern Slide	USA	1911		Composer: Jos. A. Burke
Spagnoletta	Netherlands	c.1600s	n/a	Pavane, Espunyolet, Spanish
Spanish Dance	Spain	550 B.C. (Varies?)	Andalusia	Flamenco, Sarabande, Spanish Espagnole, Salaterello, Jaleo, Sequidilla, Fandango, Dancing Girls from Cadiz, Jota
Spanish Schottische (Espagnole)	Paris, France	c.1900s	aka: Spanish Schottische, Maltese, Double Schottische (most popular), Scotis Espanol and the Seven Steps or Seven Step Polka	Spanish Dance, Schottische
Spanish Waltz	USA	1896	(DMOA)	Waltz done side by side
Spanish Yorke	n/a	1895	(DMOA)	Yorker, Yorke, York
Spider Dance	NY?	c.1800s	Lola Montez (Gilbert), done in Louise Glaum 'Sex' Film [1920]	Spanish, Lola & Andre'
Spirit of America, the	USA	1910s	Dance Masters of America. Danced to "Dixie Song". Partly a Cakewalk	Cakewalk. Rosevelts Gavotte, Motto Gavotte,
Spongebob, the	USA	1990's	Hop+Kick-Step<---->Hop+Kick-Step	TV Cartoon Show
Spoon Dances	Turkey?	n/a	Anatolia	Dinar, Silifke, Bolu, Konya
Spreading Chestnut Tree	England	n/a	Miss Adele England	Miss England,
Springar	Sweden	n/a	Swedish and Norwegian Country Dance	aka: Springdans, Springleik
Square Dance	England?	c.1800s	n/a	Country, Round, Folk
Square-Order Shuffle	England	1788	Father Joseph (Shakers)	Shakers dance,
St. Louis Shag	E. St. Louis	c.1930s	Kenny Wetzel was a main devotee of this dance.	Charleston, St. Louis Hop, Lindy, Shag, WC Swing,
St. Louis Shuffle	USA	C.1937	A. Murray (Lets Swing It)	n/a
St. Vitus Dance	Germany	1374	Middle Ages	Tarantella, Dance Marathons,
Stag Dance	USA	1863	Union Soldiers	Ballroom,
Stag Line	USA	1937	Single Men	Cutting In, Single, Escort
Statue Dance	n/a	1840s?	Minstrel Shows	Pedestal Dance, Jig, Clog, Step Dance, Tap
Step Dance	Ireland	400's	(see tap for now)	Tap, Clog, Jig, Pedestal
Steppin'	Chicago, IL	1940's	n/a	Stepping, Swing, DC Hand Dance, Walk, Offtime
Stevenson Stomp	New York	1952	Natl. Dance Masters Ass.	Political, Al Smith Hop, Lindy Hop
Stomp-Stomp-Stomp	USA	1960	(8/1960 - Ballroom Dance Mag)	the Madison
Stop-Time Dance	??	1920s	Fred Stone and Dave Mongomery danced this dance	Tap, Vernacular, Minstrel
Stop Trot	London	1927	??
Stork Hop	n/a	1912	Danced by Many Couples Together imitating the Long Legged flight of a Stork.	Fox Dance, Goat Bound, Grizzly Bear, Bunny Hug etc.
Strasak	Slavokia	??	??	Cardáš, Hat dance
Strassburger	Paris	1770	n/a	Mozart, Landler, Strassbourgeoise
Strathspey	Scotland (Straph / Vale Spey river)	1750	National dance of Scotland. Basically a slow reel.	Highland Fling, Highland Schottische, Hornpipe, Slower than Reels
Stroll, The	USA	c.1913	Albert Newman - (from Hesitation Boston, became fad in 1960s)	Hesitation Boston (Waltz), Fad, Twist, Frug,
Strollypso	USA	c.1960s	Jackie Dee	Stroll, Calypso
Strophe	Crete	B.C.	Thesus	Strophe, Anti-strophe, and the Stationary, Mythology
Strut, The	USA	1900?	Uncle Tom's Cabin [1903], Hallelujah [1929], Music Box Revue?	Paul Whiteman, Cakewalk
Strut, The Champion	USA	c.1940s?	See Marge and Gower Champion	Cakewalk, Charleston, Jitterbug - mix
Stumbling Steps, the	USA	1922	Donald Kerr & Elfie Weston	Walking Dance for Dummies :)
Sturlungasaga	Sweden?	n/a	n/a	Strophe, Faroe
Styrienne	n/a	n/a	Fanny Essler	Cachucha, Varsovienne, Tarantella
Subway Glide	c.1914	n/a	n/a	Ragtime Dance, Glide
Sugar Foot	No. Carolina	c.1930s	Pre-cursor to the AM Shag, although was name of a few patterns as well.	Shag, Flea Hop, Balboa, Jitterbug, Break Away, West Coast, 1923 -Sugar Foot Stomp-s/m
Sugar Step	London	1927	??	??
Supreme Swing	Oklahoma	?	Named by Jerry Crim	West Coast Swing, Push, Whip, Sophisticated, Western Swing, Carolina Shag, Rock & Roll
Surfer Stomp	USA	1960's	Side, Cross, Side, Stomp - repeat (solo or couple)	Fad, NC2, Twist, Disco
Suzy - Q	USA	1937	n/a	Big Apple, Truckin', Lindy Hop, Shim Sham
Swallow	Bavaria	n/a	n/a	Animal
Swedish Ring Dance	?Sweden?	??	??	??
Swing Dance	USA	1914-2012	Folk Dance (Swing Dance is an Umbrella Term for all forms of swing. See below ) Balboa, Big Apple, Boogie Woogie, Bop, BreakAway, Carolina Shag, Ceroc, Champion Strut, Flying Lindy, DC Hand Dance, East Coast Swing Hollywood Style, Hustle, Jitterbug, Jive, Jitterbug-Jive, Leroc, Lindy Hop, Mooch, the, New Yorker, Pony Swing, Push, Rock & Roll, Savoy Style, Shag (collegiate), Shag (St Louis), Shim Sham, Sophisticated Swing, Steppin, Supreme Swing, Suzy Q, Swag, Swango, Swop, Swustle, Texas Tommy, Truckin, West Coast Swing, Whip, and others.
Swing Trot	New York	1947	Fred Astaire	Foxtrot
Swing Waltz	n/a	1937	n/a	Waltz
Swop Dance	Hollywood, CA	7/2006	Coined by group Outkast. Means medium tempo Old Skool (SW)ing (128-148 bpm) and Hip-h(OP) mixture or SW-OP from film Idlewild.	West Coast Swing, Hip-Hop, Push, Whip, Shag, Lindy
Sword Dance	Rome	n/a	Spartans and Romans, Later Scotland (1058)	Mattachins, Highland Fling, Matassins, Gillie Callum, Moresque, Mooris

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Note: See Also