Particularly in Western Canada the term “Jive” is often used in reference to a fast social swing dance using single side steps and “quick, quick, slow, slow” rhythm.

This North American Jive is a very fun, adaptable dance that is danced socially and is known by many different names depending on where you live. This dance is discussed in the American Style Swing section.

Modern Jive was not created in France, but its origin owes something to the French version of Le Bop. The dance commonly known as Modern Jive is different from Le Bop, a high tempo dance. Michel Ange Lau played a major role in the change from Le Bop to Modern Jive at a club called Centre Charles Peguy). Two British people, James Cronin and Christine Keeble, saw Le Bop in France and wanted to learn the dance when they returned to London. They were among Lau's students. The style of music played at discos was changing, and high tempo dances like Rock and Roll and Le Bop were becoming less popular.

The change in music prompted the birth of Modern Jive; in 1980 Lau and the Le Bop dancers changed the timing of Le Bop, causing a revolution in the dance. This change in timing not only allowed Lau and his students to dance to a much larger variety of music but also to create more intricate moves.^[3]