Rock 'n' Roll

The style

Rock 'n' Roll is a fun, energetic dance developed in the '50s. There are two popular flavours:

Authentic

Modern (Continental)

Both of these styles are danced to classic hits, as well as modern cheesy music. While the Authentic style is better suited for a social occasion, the Modern style has flashier footwork and is used at competitions.

Of course, Rock 'n' Roll is most famous for its spectacular acrobatic moves, and we do those too!

Classes

The information in this section describes the kinds of classes we usually offer for Rock 'n' Roll dancers. For more general details or the specifics for the current season, please see:

For beginners

For those who have never danced these styles before, we run beginners classes in both Modern (Continental) and Authentic styles of Rock 'n' Roll footwork.

For improvers

For fledgling Rock 'n' Rollers, we sometimes run a Modern style improvers class to teach you some more footwork figures and how to incorporate simple acrobatic moves with these figures to form a routine. You might want to go along to the Acrobatic class at this stage too (if you haven't already started).

Acrobatic Rock 'n' Roll

If you've done a little Rock 'n' Roll before, or if you're just feeling adventurous, why not try our acrobatic class? Under safe, professional guidance, we show you all those moves that involve throwing your partner over your head, through your legs or around your back. You'll be surprised how easy these moves are to do and just how impressive they look! Some experience of Modern (Continental) footwork is recommended, but not necessary.

Special Events

Social events for Rock 'n' Rollers vary, but typically there are several nights scattered through the year.

We also sometimes run workshops to supplement the weekly classes.

Rock 'n' Roll events are often organised by team people (see below), so keep an eye on their website too.

The Team and Competitions

We also support surely the keenest Rock 'n' Rollers on the planet, the CU Rock 'n' Roll Team, who represent Cambridge at inter-university competitions, as well as giving occasional demonstrations of their almost physics-defying acrobatics.

The team have their own practice sessions in addition to the regular classes, take private lessons with the team coaches, and have been known to disappear abroad for days at a time to train with some of the best dancers in the world!

For information about the team, please see the Rock 'n' Roll team website.