How swing dancing made its way from American dance halls to become a beloved French pastime.
The realization hit me just before a trip to Brittany, France, for a wedding: I needed to dust off my swing dance moves. Why? Because no French wedding is complete without “le rock,” their vibrant version of swing dancing. To my surprise, mentioning this to colleagues from the UK and the US was met with astonishment. They believed swing and boogie-woogie had largely faded out of fashion decades ago.
Traveling through the French countryside on a high-speed train, I became intrigued. Why has France kept this swing dancing tradition alive and kicking? After experiencing “le rock” firsthand at the wedding – fueled by upbeat 80s music and a celebratory amount of Champagne – and later consulting with dance experts, the enduring love story between the French and rock ‘n’ roll, or rather, Dance In French style, started to make sense.
Swing dancing, known affectionately in France as rock ‘n’ roll, or simply “le rock”, possesses an undeniable old-school charm. And that, it seems, is precisely what the French adore about this energetic French dance.
This transatlantic love affair has its roots in history, as explained by Vincent Ravigneaux, a dance professor based in Aix-en-Provence. When American GIs arrived to liberate France during World War II, they brought with them cultural treasures, including chewing gum and the infectious rhythms of boogie-woogie.
At the time, the legendary American dancer Frankie Manning was captivating audiences in America with the Lindy Hop – the dynamic precursor to rock ‘n’ roll dancing. Even at 94, Manning’s passion for dance was still evident.
French youth embraced these new moves with open arms and dancing feet. Suddenly, the traditional French music hall sounds of Edith Piaf and Charles Trenet seemed outdated. Instead, fashionable young Parisians flocked to the clubs of St. Germain, eager to master the Lindy Hop, a thrilling new dance in French culture.
Soon after, as rock ‘n’ roll officially emerged with icons like Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley, the French continued to dance boogie-woogie and Lindy Hop. However, they began to call this energetic style “le rock,” firmly establishing it as their own unique dance in French vocabulary.
“The cultural impact of Elvis Presley and rock ‘n’ roll on the French was immense,” Ravigneaux told ABCNews.com. He further explained, “In the 1960s, the French danced ‘le rock’ everywhere – not just in nightclubs, but also in village dancehalls and ‘guinguettes’,” referring to popular riverside dances where the accordion often set the musical tone. This widespread adoption cemented “le rock” as a truly integral part of dance in French social life, a tradition that continues to this day.
