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Swing is many things but it is truely an American dance:

1. "Jazz Dance Swing" authentic vintage styles

2. "Ballroom Swing" and
"Socially developed Swing"

1. "Jazz Dance Swing" styles were developed from African American communities as vernacular African American dances... 1920's Charleston and African American Tap influance with syncopations were also an influance in the evolution of the original swing dances. A number of forms of Swing (Balboa, Collegiate Shag, Saint Louis Shag and later Caronlina Shag) developed within Anglo-American or other ethnic group communities but most are based on the influance from the authentic American Jazz sound.

These authentic vintage swing dances pre 1940's swing era such as Lindy Hop, Balboa, Collegiate Shag, Saint Louis Shag and later Caronlina Shag have evolved and influanced newer swing dances.

Jitterbug is often associated with one form of swing dance, but is not in fact a general term for all swing dances and is more appropriately used to describe a swing dancer rather than a specific swing dance

2. Newer swing dances
"Ballroom Swing"
and "Socially developed Swing"

Such dances evolved in the 1950's, 1960's and later:
Eastern Swing, Fox Trot, East Coast Swing, City Swing, West Coast Swing, Western Swing, also called Country Swing or Country/Western Swing (C/W Swing), Boogie-woogie, Imperial Swing, Jive, Rockabilly Jive, Skip Jive, Modern Jive - also known as LeRoc and Ceroc - Ballroom Jive, Swing Jive, Rock and Roll, Acrobatic Rock'n'Roll, Washington Hand Dancing, Push and Whip and many others...

Lindy Hop developed as the first partners dancing in which they broke away from each other and then came back together. This "swing out" became known as Lindy Hop in the late 1920¹s when Charles Lindbergh took his historic transatlantic flight (Lindy hopped the Pond).

Jitterbug was a slang term for Swing dancers (the Queer word "Jitterbug"). Lindy Hop was primarily danced in African American clubs in Harlem like the Savoy Ballroom but Balboa and Collegiate Shag were . Although an identity of Queer culture was not as it is now Men would dance with each other to learn new steps and so would Women! If we only new what was happening in those seedy speakeasy's, underground Homosexual clubs, and Harlem dance clubs; Black clubs actually didn't care too much if Homosexuals were there. Dance was an escape during the Depression era for some and through W.W.II a distraction.

Many swing styles are done today; The original, Lindy Hop, is danced with 6 and 8 count steps and improvisations; the original style is called "Savoy" because of the notoriety of the Savoy Ballroom and it's dancers like Frankie Manning, Frieda Washington, Norma Miller, Shorty George Snowden, Al Minns and Leon James. Later the 6 count, some call incorectly the Jitterbug, led to the dance now known as East Coast Swing. Other styles grew from this original Lindy Hop.

Lindy Hop Styles:
"Hollywood" or "Smooth" Style Lindy Hop is another style that puts more emphasis on footwork and triple steps. Movements and posture are slightly different than Savoy style and the actual swing out or whip looks smoother. Danced in Southern California since the thirties, it was spurred on by the teaching and performance of Dean Collins and later such dancers as Freda Angela Wyckoff, Ray Hirsch, and many others. Originally a Savoy Ballroom dancer, Collins brought what he had learned in Harlem to L.A. Collins and his dancers appeared in a large number of Hollywood films in the forties and fifties. The term "Hollywood" is from teachers Eric and Sylvia. There are numerous styles of Smooth Style; for instance Smooth from Northern California may be slightly different than that of Southern California Smooth dancers.

West Coast Swing also another dance is a form of Lindy Hop usually done to slower, bluesier music; It is California's state dance!

Balboa is:

Danced in closed position, fairly upright posture with both partners standing 'chest to chest.' Its simplicity and economy of movement make it suited to fast tempo music. But can be danced to all tempos!

Started in the early 1930's by dancers in the Los Angeles area such as Maxie Dorf, Willie Desatoff, Hal Takier & Ann Mills, to mention but a few. The dance was named after Balboa Island in the Newport Beach area which was the location of the Rendezvous Ballroom. The dance is known for its romantic closeness, fast and fancy footwork and effortless flow. This is a dance you perform to songs as slow as Tuxedo Junction or as fast as White Heat!

Its romantic closeness, fast & fancy footwork, effortless flow and simplicity and economy of movement make it suited to fast tempo music or slow romantic swaying tunes.

This is a dance you perform to songs as slow as Tuxedo Junction or as fast as White Heat!

Started in the early 1930's by dancers in the Los Angeles area such as Maxie Dorf, Willie Desatoff, Hal Takier and Ann Mills, to mention but a few. The dance was named after Balboa Island in the Newport Beach area which was the location of the Rendezvous Ballroom.

Balboa has two main forms and two timings:

Pure Balboa: In this form, dancers remain with their torsos touching, doing variations based on footwork. Main footwork variations include single-time Balboa, double-time Balboa, and triple-time Balboa.

Bal Swing: In this form, dancers separate their bodies for spins and turns, much like in swing dance, returning to pure Balboa on occasion.

Basic Balboa Timing holds on the four and eight. Break Time Balboa (what some call Willie Desatoff's Style) holds on the three and seven.

Charleston is:

Social dance of the United States popular in the mid-1920s. The Charleston is characterized by outward heel kicks combined with an up-and-down movement achieved by bending and straightening the knees in time to the syncopated 4/4 rhythm of ragtime jazz. The steps are thought to have originated with the African Americans living on a small island near Charleston, S.C. Performed in Charleston as early as 1903, the dance made its way into Harlem stage shows by 1913. The male chorus line danced and sang James P. Johnson's "Charleston" in the musical Runnin' Wild on Broadway in 1923. Both dance and song, expressive of the reckless daring, abandon, and restlessness of the jazz-age flappers, soon became the rage throughout the United States.

Collegiate Shag is:
Originated in the 1930’s. Parents wanted their children to learn Waltz and other partner dances, but the younger generation didn’t want anything to do with that. They decided to learn but to make it as crazy as possible. Thus Collegiate Shag was born. It was hugely popular with the college kids, hence the name, all across the United States. It was so popular that Arthur Murray even made it part of his curriculum. He cleaned it up and made it really smooth, creating two schools of shag, Wild and Crazy & Smooth and Quiet. Collegiate Shag can be anything you want it to be, and that’s the fun of it. Collegiate Shag is a 6 count dance and anything can be incorporated into it, including East Coast Swing.

Saint Louis Shag

St. Louis shag is a swing dance that evolved from Charleston.[1] As its name suggests, it is recognized as being started in St. Louis, Missouri. It is a very fast closed position dance that is usually done to stomp, jump, and boogie-woogie music.

The dance may be done in the "side-by-side" Charleston position. The steps are: rock step, kick forward, step down, kick forward (other leg), stag, step, stomp (repeat).[2] The "stag" is bringing the leg up with the knee bent. As a variation, when repeating, one can do two forward kicks (or "switch, switch," referring to switching feet) in place of the rock step.

Carolina Shag

Carolina Shag is a six count partner dance done mostly to moderate tempo music (100-150 bpm). During the dance the upper body and hips hardly move as the legs do convoluted kicks and fancy footwork. The lead is the center of attention, and the follow's steps either mirror the lead's or mark time while the lead shows off with spins and other gyrations. Carolina Shag is the state dance of North Carolina and South Carolina, and is still popular amongst residents of both states.

Carolina Shag can trace its origins to the southern United States during the Big Band Era of the 1930s and 40s. One of the earliest documented references to a dance called "Carolina Shag" appears in a Helen Powell Poole article in 1936.[1] Whether this article refers to an early version of the contemporary dance by the same name is still a matter of debate, as some historians[1] claim that Carolina Shag is a descendant of Carolina Jitterbug, and its predecessor, Little Apple (whose origins can supposedly be traced to Columbia, S.C. in 1937). These historians claim that a slower six-count variation of Carolina Jitterbug (which is 8-count) was what gave rise to contemporary Carolina Shag. Soldiers from the north are said to have influenced its six-count rhythm.[2]

"Shag" itself (when used in reference to American vernacular dances) is a very broad term that denotes a number of swing dances that originated during the early part of the 20th century. Arthur Murray mentioned one form of Shag in his 1937 book "Let's Dance"[2]. This article states that shag was known throughout the entire country under various names, like "Flea Hop". And, a New York writer sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma in late 1940/early 1941 noted an "Oklahoma version of shag" done to the Western Swing music of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys at the Cain's Dancing Academy in Tulsa."[3]

Some dance historians say there is evidence to suggest that the term "shagger" was used to refer to vaudeville performers in the late 19th century[3], who were known to have danced the Flea Hop. Later "shag" became a blanket term that signified a broad range of jitterbugging (swing dancing). In the 1930s there were arguably a hundred or more variations of the dance, which differ in various respect depending upon the geographic region in which they were done. Thus, Carolina Shag often bears only the faintest resemblance to other dances that share the shag designation. Contemporary St. Louis shag, for instance, (an eight-count dance) does not look much like contemporary Carolina Shag, though both originated in the Swing era of the 1930s and 40s. Though St. Louis shag is still often danced to swing music, Carolina shag is more closely associated with a variant of rhythm and blues known as "beach music." And, for this reason, many dancers no longer consider Carolina Shag to be a true swing dance.

The term "Carolina Shag" is thought to have originated along the strands between Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina, during the 1940s. According to Bo Bryan, a noted Carolina Shag historian and resident of Beaufort County, the term was coined at Carolina Beach, North Carolina. Today, the shag is a recognized dance in national and international dance competitions held across the United States.

The 1989 film Shag starring Bridget Fonda, Phoebe Cates, Annabeth Gish, and Page Hannah as four high school friends on their last road trip together before graduation, was filmed in Myrtle Beach and features the Carolina shag.

There is even Country Swing; In Europe and Australia, swing dance styles include Boogie Woogie, Ceroc, Rock'n'Roll, etc;

In Ballroom competitions Swing is only danced with 6 counts similar to East Coast but more upright, it is called Jive.

Information for the history of swing was gathered from various sources; Please refer to the sites below:

This was swing history in a nutshell from various sources. Learn about your own favorite dance; here are some other sites with swing history:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_(dance)
http://www.centralhome.com/ballroom country/swing.htm
http://www.uwswing.com/history.html
http://www.swingmonterey.org/swinghistory.htm
http://www.lindyhop.co.uk
http://www.savoystyle.com
http://www.sfjitterbugs.com or http://www.oldtimey.net/tanoajulia.html