Jamming (dance)

Jamming in dance culture is a kind of informal show-off during a social dance party. Dancers clear a circle (jam circle) and proficient dancers or dance couples take turns showing their best tricks while the remaining dancers take a break and cheer the jammers. Jam circles are often formed spontaneously when among the dancers a proficient or famous couple appears and starts doing their top-notch dance.

The term originated during the Swing Era of dancing, probably borrowed or appeared in parallel with the expression "jam session" in music. Scenes with jaming may be seen in movies and musicals, such as Hellzapoppin. At the same time, this kind of dance behavior is not unusual in folk dances in various cultures all over the world and is often incude in scenic performances when a group dance is interleaved with several solos.

A varian of jamming is when dancers within the jam circle swap partners from the outside. This kind of jam circle may be organized when a dancer from the local dance community celebrates a birthday. In this case the "newborn" dances in the circle swapping many partners "on the fly": the volunteers form a line and "break in" in turn grabbing the hero of the occasion without disturbing the dance flow. Such birthday jams are common in swing dance and hustle communities.