Folk dancing is an expression of the life, history, and psychology of a people and is a basic part of their culture. Swing fits these definitions. Emerging in the late 1920 s in Harlem, New York City in response to the jazz music that developed in the late teens and 20 s, swing grew out of the Charleston, Breakaway, Collegiate, Texas Tommy and Vaudeville dances. These dances in turn got their roots from the Cakewalk, Ragtime and Minstrel shows of the 19th century. Primarily because they have not remained in the dance repertoire as a living tradition but were only dance fads or crazes which are now done only by dance historians and re-creationists.
Folk dances are dances of the people.
By the late 20 s, the American people were in an ever-expanding village, as dances and music could be spread throughout the country by phonograph, radio and the movies. Local enthusiasts could now emulate the top dancers of New York or Hollywood, but they continued to develop their own styles reflecting the personality of each region. Swing is very much alive. People have been doing it in one regional form or another since its inception. As in any folk tradition, there were innovators and stars that changed the course of the dance.