Wanting to learn how to dance? Here's a little secret that's been brewing over at Off the Rails Studios, we now offer Charleston & Jazz Roots classes!

Classes are on every Monday at 7pm, with special offers for new visitors to the studios.

If you've seen Strictly Come Dancing and are fascinated by the 1920s Charleston then these lessons are for you.

If you wondered what was the history behind Modern Jazz, Hip Hop and many other dance styles, these lessons are for you too!

If you want to find a style that embodies you and allows you freedom of expression without the formalities, sign yourself up here: https://offtherails.studio/book

What is Charleston & Jazz Roots?

A lot of the moves we used in SwingTrain feature African-American dancing from the 1900s (yes, pre-Charleston!). Dance was the way of expression for those who were enslaved and forced to work in plantations. Their only form of communication was limited to making percussive sounds with their bodies. It was a way to escape the extreme hardships they faced every day which is why this dance style is so uplifting and free-spirited. These are the Roots of Jazz.

Plantation owners thought their dancing was entertaining and put their slaves on stage. The Cakewalk (which we did in SwingTrain) was actually the African-Americans making a mockery of their owners but the irony was lost on them.

The Charleston dance style evolved from slavery as Black communities moves across America (the city Charleston to be precise) and the dance was again put on a stage and eventually made mainstream in the 1920s. It boomed after World War I as many Americans felt liberated and the Charleston caught on.

Nowadays Modern Jazz has a much different aesthetic and feeling to Jazz Roots. Jazz Roots and Charleston are both improvisational and loose-limbed, you don't have to look a certain way or point your toes in a specific direction - you can be you :)

For more details, please check out our Facebook page @JeffatOTR