Our 1950s Jive Classes
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Want2jive is based in Yorkshire (UK) with a style suitable for dancing to Rock n Roll, Rockabilly, Rhythm n Blues, Swing, loads more... and basically just having fun!
A friendly and inclusive approach to 1950s Jiving is just the start. Want2jive offers weekly classes, courses, record hops, live music nights, workshops, demos, private lessons plus online training and covers complete beginner to advanced levels, choreography and more!
Click the poster images in the What's On guide to see full details of all events.
Carleton Grange hosts the weekly Classes while Boot Camps, Workshops, Private Lessons and Bim Bam Boogie afternoon record hops usually run in Upton.
Want2jive teach at the annual Hot Rock n Boogie weekender in Spalding and the Hemsby Rock n Roll Weekender. -
Click here if you're a complete beginner :)
- You have four options for learning to Jive:
1. Sign up for a Beginners Boot Camp for a comprehensive start to jiving.
This will give you the basics and your own routine so you can dance at events or come along to weekly classes.
2. If you can't wait for a Boot Camp, come to a weekly Class at 6.45pm. The first 30 minutes of the evening is ideal for complete beginners and you can run through the very basic stuff to give you a head start. This will also give you an idea of what Classes are like :)
3. If you'd rather practice at home, we provide Online Courses.
These will give you the basics and your own routine so you can dance at events or join weekly classes.
4. Private lessons are also available in Upton, near Pontefract. They're personalised and very effective, but more expensive, so it depends on your needs and how fast you need to learn.
Details of all these options and much more are below :) -
Photo courtesy of Lloyd Peatfield-
Meet the Team
Your Jive InstructorsClass, Courses
and Hop GuideMedia
Photos and VideosPublic Events
Shows and Support
Please note that our Core style is 6 beat Jive, so our classes won't cover Modern Jive, Ceroc, Laroc, Ballroom Jive, the stuff you see on Strictly, anything requiring lycra or anything remotely resembling ballet!
If you're new to Rock n Roll and Rockabilly dancing and the UK scene, take a look at our Newcomers Guide and see what it's all about!
Want some answers?
Why pay for Classes when I can watch videos on YouTube for free?
The Instructors in an online video can show you how they do a move, but very rarely show enough in-depth detail *. Also, they can't give you feedback on what you're doing, or adapt their instructions to suit your learning requirements. A live class can provide that :)
It's also useful to see your instructors dancing. If they don't provide any demos at a class or offer current online video footage, ask yourself why.
* Our Online training videos are immersive and detailed, taking a lot of time to plan and prepare. That's why they're not free :)
There are lots of other videos of Want2jive's dancing throughout this website as well as footage taken at our Classes and Events. Registered Members also get access to additional footage to demonstrate and inspire :)-
Will I have to swap partners?
- Nope!
You and your partner can stay together and learn together!
We may occasionally give people the option to briefly swap for fun.
It's actually quite an eye opener :) -
Please note that no-one in these pictures has
attended one of our classes... Yet ;)
Will I be able to Jive?
- Probably!
- If you've never danced before, ask yourself... can you clap along to a song? If the answer is yes, you should be able to learn to Jive.
- If you can already dance, even if it's just round the handbag or a bit of Dad dancing, you should be fine.
- Always remember that it's not actually about how well you dance: it's about enjoying yourself and you don't necessarily need rhythm to do that!
- If you've never danced before, ask yourself... can you clap along to a song? If the answer is yes, you should be able to learn to Jive.
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Please note that the footwork pattern shown isn't really Jive. We just stuck it in there because it looks impressive ;) |
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Will I look stupid?
Nope!
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Some people (particularly men) seem to worry that they'll look stupid when they're on the dancefloor. Actually, there's no need because if anyone's looking, they'll fall into these groups:
- People who daren't dance and are secretly jealous because you're dancing and they're not.
- People who smile at you because they appreciate that you're having a good time.
- People who have already learned to dance and are smiling because they're remembering the time when they were learning.
You're not at school. Stop worrying about it ;) - People who daren't dance and are secretly jealous because you're dancing and they're not.
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Please note that the people in the pictures aren't real beginners. They're actually crash test dummies posed with period clothing.
Which Class is suitable for me?
- Learning to crawl, walk and run have to happen in order, otherwise you'll fall over, or worse still, develop a really odd looking way of running (Monty Python springs to mind..)!
If you've not done any partnered dancing before or did it in the past and fancy a refresher, our weekly Beginners Booster classes or a Boot Camp will get you back up to speed.
If you're coming from another dance discipline like Lindy, Charleston, Modern Jive, Ceroc or Salsa, the switch to Rock n Roll and Rockabilly Jiving may feel like a complete change so it's really important that you start with a Beginners class since you'll be learning new footwork patterns, timing and tension.
Whether you want to learn the basics, develop your styling, adapt your dancing for different types of music, incorporate special moves to highlight parts of a song, or even enter competitions, we can help by offering four skill levels. 
Click here to find your level
| Your Rock n Roll and Rockabilly Jive experience | Class Level |
| I've never danced before | Beginners / Booster |
| I can dance but I've never done partnered dancing | Beginners / Booster |
| I can do partnered dancing but I've never done Rock n Roll & Rockabilly | Beginners / Booster |
| I used to do Rock n Roll & Rockabilly Jive and would like a refresher | Beginners / Booster |
| I've been to your beginners Classes or Courses and want to move forward | Improvers |
| I dance regularly and go out to Rock n Roll & Rockabilly events | Intermediate |
| I can do finishes and include choreography | Advanced |
| Expert Tech Babble: You'll be doing a 6 beat timing pattern to 8 beat music with pulsing, and momentum switching. Don't let that put you off... if you can dance round your handbag, you've already learned 4 beat timing to 4 and 8 beat music... with pulsing! |
What happens at each level?
Beginners
Get up to speed with the Core Basics.
Understanding the core basics of leading, following, timing and footwork is the most important step in starting 1950s Jive. Without them, none of the spins and turns will flow correctly so you won't be able to link moves together to build a routine. We'll take things at a gentle pace and introduce these basics in a way that will allow you to learn quickly and practice at home. On each successive week we'll recap on what we've covered before adding something new to allow you to develop your jiving. We'll also introduce you to strolling.
If it's going to be your first class, here are some ideas of suitable things to wear. Always remember that if you like to take it steady, there's no hurry and you'll not be under any pressure to do anything you're not comfortable with :)
We also run Beginners Booster sessions at the start of selected Classes especially for complete beginners, or those wanting a little practice before a session :)
Improvers
Consolidate your skills with consistent and comfortable routines.
So you've got the Core Basics you need for the standard spins and turns, you can start a song and either Lead or Follow a varied routine of basic moves. Great! It's now time to consolidate those skills and let the muscle memory really develop. You're aiming to finish a song without stopping, even if you make a mistake. Everything should be starting to flow and if you miss hands, you'll both be able to keep Jiving without a pause.
As a want2jive Improver, you're not looking to add moves, you're looking to make what you already know flow seamlessly and we'll set you targets and routines to help pull all that together. Every move led clearly and followed correctly and no repetative patterns to allow you to predict the next move. The Leader is now learning to vary the routine and Follower is learning to watch for the signals.
Perfecting the art is the key! Once you can do all this without thinking about it, you'll be ready to start adding new moves in the Intermediate Class, but until then, always remember that complexity isn't everything. People have won World Jive titles using just a few moves because the execution was perfect (Go Graham!).
Get ready to use the Want2jive 5 a Day!
Intermediate
Expand your repertoire with more content and different music speeds.
If you already know 1950s Jive and can consistently Lead or Follow medium speed music then this is where you want to be. The key element will be building your repertoire of moves as well as introducing variations of the moves you already know that will allow you to dance to faster and slower songs effectively. That in turn will lead into techniques to cover the styling for different music genres.
We'll introduce you to Want2jive's 3E system and look at different ways of starting and ending your routine to fit with the song you're dancing to as we introduce some live choreography.
Advanced
Introduces Styling, Choreography, Aerials and Special Stuff :)
The best dancers are the ones that have developed that little something extra that catches people's attention when they're on the floor. Sometimes it's hard to quantify and measure (especially for competition judges), but it's usually down to one or more of the things our advanced classes will cover.
Expect Choreography, Styling, Aerials, Jumps, Throws, Starts, Finishes and Footwork!
What sort of Events do you do?
Classes
Evening Classes include a warm up, instruction, coaching and time for informal dancing to practice what you've learned. The content of each Class doesn't depend on what we did the previous week so you can come along at any time.
Full details of each Class are available in the What's On guide.
Before the main Class, there may be an informal workshop aimed at complete Beginners or those who have already done a Beginners Course* and want to work on their basic and core techniques before the start of the Improvers or Intermediate Class.
Personal coaching may also be available during this time. Contact Us for details.
* Beginners Courses include our 6 Week Jive Introductions and Jive Boot Camp events.
Courses
Courses are a series of sessions grouped together which each build on the previous week to reach a goal.
Week one of a course may begin with an Introduction Evening which introduces the basics and allows you to give it a try. You'll then have the option to book the rest of the sessions.Boot Camps
Each Camp* is a Course crammed into a single session of a few hours, covering a specific topic. Bring snacks for the breaks and get ready to focus. Our first Beginners Boot Camp introduced complete beginners to Jive and took them through to Improvers level.
* No tent required
Record Hops
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When and Where?
Our current list of Classes, Courses and Events are listed on the What's On guide in the menu above. Each Event has it's own page which details the location.
Click here to find the venue on Google Maps.
Click here to find the venue on Google Maps.
Our Venues
Carleton Road,
Pontefract.
WF8 3RJ
The venue has a large dancefloor, large carpark and bar. It's located 10 minutes from the M62 at Xscape or 4 minutes from the A1 at Darrington and is 30 minutes drive from Doncaster, Rotherham, Wakefield, Barnsley, Castleford, Selby, Goole, Pontefract and Leeds.
For more information, contact Dave 07976 793778
Carleton Grange hosts our Thursday night weekly Classes and the Comet Club. The extended facilities allow us to run larger Classes and Events.
Harewood Lane
Upton
Pontefract
WF9 1JB
By car - 5 minutes from A1 J39 Barnsdale Bar.
By bus - Wrangbrook Rd Walton Road. 39 & 485
Please bring your own refreshments.
Upton Coop is a 1 minute drive or 4 minute walk.
For more information, contact Dave 07976 793778
Upton Village Hall has been our main Boot Camp venue since 2023 and now also hosts our Bim Bam Boogie Record Hops.
Weekend Classes.
If you'd like to incorporate Rock n Roll and Rockabilly Jive classes into your existing event, please Contact Us, email us directly at
Please Join Us and become a want2jive member if you're interested in coming to a want2jive Class, Course or Record Hop. It's free to join, you'll get full details of the courses and be able access to additional resources along with updates on our classes.
For more information, call 07976 793778