Getting Into the Swing of Things : Steps such as the jitterbug and Lindy Hop are growing in popularity. Here are places where you can learn them.

I’ve heard it said that “the music dictates the dance--not the other way around.” Thus the increased popularity of rock-a-billy music, shuffle tunes and R&B; has helped to fuel a growing interest in swing dancing in all its forms--West Coast Swing and the faster versions known as East Coast Swing, jitterbug, shag and Lindy Hop. So as people get burned out on line dancing or want more challenge than they feel two-step can offer, they are turning in larger--and younger--numbers to swing.

Just last week I took the high-impact “Jumpin’ Swing” lesson at Nicholby’s with Lee and Terri. And most of the more than 50 newcomers on the dance floor were twentysomething coffee-house regulars who flocked to learn the steps so they could look cool and dance to ‘50’s country and rock-a-billy tunes.

This kind of interest has created a demand for workshops. And you can probably find a place to swing dance in Ventura or Santa Barbara counties every night of the week. So tape this Clip & Save Roundup to your fridge and jump into spring with swing.

The following is a list of regular swing dance nights with lessons and workshops:

Melinda Comeau offers an ongoing series of Jitterbug lessons Monday nights in Ventura and Tuesday nights in Ojai. She saves Wednesday evenings for West Coast Swing and Lindy Hop. Comeau also offers one-day workshops in the various forms including the Balboa and Shim-Sham. For details, call 643-3114.

At 7 p.m. Wednesdays, you’ll find Lee and Terri teaching basic Jumpin’ Swing for newcomers and at 7:30 p.m. for regulars. All this and a cappuccino bar too, at Nicholby’s in Ventura. Then they have a deejay for swing dance practice.

Meanwhile, in Santa Barbara’s City Line Club, instructor Lisa Kay teaches an ongoing, four-week “Survival West Coast Swing.” It starts the first Wednesday of each month. Beginning level is at 7:30 p.m. and intermediate at 8:15 p.m. She also teaches six-week sessions on Mondays and Tuesdays at the Santa Barbara Eagles dance hall. The next session begins April 3 or 4. For more information call 563-1889.

The next six-week workshop in West Coast Swing taught by Jamie and Gail Arias will begin April 5. You’ll find them at the California Dance Theatre in Agoura Hills, 494-6418.

For West Coast Swing on Thursdays, it’s Louise Durand at the Poinsettia Pavilion in Ventura. For updates on where to swing dance, check out her “West Coast Swing Hot Line of Ventura County,” 643-3523.

The Ventura County Swing Dance Club under the direction of Swing Dance champion, Comeau, sponsors monthly smoke-free dances alternating between Fridays and Sundays. The next dance on March 10 will feature a lesson at 8 p.m., followed by open dancing until midnight to the music of the Soul Twisters. Sunday dances are held from 6 to 10 p.m. Jim Christensen will be the deejay on April 14. These dances are held at the Poinsettia Pavilion, a popular site with dancers. For details, call 643-3114.

On the fourth Friday of each month, except November and December holidays, Jamie and Gail Arias sponsor the Conejo Valley Dance at the Goebel Adult Center in Thousand Oaks. The smoke-free evening begins at 7:30 with a swing lesson, followed from 8:15 to 11:30 p.m. by dancing to deejay music that is 75% swing and the rest a mix of ballroom and Latin. The event is open to anyone age 18 and older and attracts a crowd mainly in their 30s to 50s. For more information, call 494-6418.

Several Saturday sessions during Ventura Western Days, March 17 through 19, will be dedicated to swing. Classes will be in the American Legion Hall in Ventura. For details, call 646-1679.

And it’s not too late to register for Comeau’s Swing Dance Workshops on Sundays at Oxnard College. She’ll teach ‘50s-style jitterbug on Sunday, West Coast Swing, May 7, and Lindy Hop, June 7. Call 643-3114 for details.

And watch the column for details of a “East Meets West Swing Weekend” from May 5 through 7 in Santa Barbara. Swing teachers, Sylvia Sykes and Jonathan Bixby, along with the Jamie and Gail Arias, will sponsor that event. For more information, call 494-6418.