Susan Glatzer’s debut documentary “Alive and Kicking” — about the rise, fall and resurgence of swing dancing in America — makes a viewer want to jump up and join the fun during this 90-minute immersion into the world of Lindy Hop competitors, filled with joy, high-energy, athleticism, humor and drama.

The film, screened at the downtown Asheville’s Grail Moviehouse in mid- to late May, noted that Lindy Hop was the original swing dance from which swing, shag and other variations evolved.

It shows swing dancing’s humble origins as a street dance in Harlem in the late 1920s and early ‘30s, after which it gained such polularity in society at large that it soon was included in the ballroom world. However, swing eventually experiencing a 30- to 40-year span of near-extinction — from the end of World War II until the 1980s.

In 1983, the film noted that four places — Los Angeles, New York, London and Sweden — “rediscovered” Lindy Hop.

 In 1993, the swing dance genre got a sonic boost with the surprising popularity of the film “Swing Kids,” followed in 1996 by the film “Swingers,” along with a Gap television commercial in 1998 that featured ultra-hip-looking young swing dancers.

Since its resurgence, especially among young people, swing dancing is depicted — at least in the film — as being as popular as it ever was in its heyday. And “Alive and Kicking” makes the case that its popularity has spread worldwide among young people, with South Korea being the No. 1 Lindy Hop community outside of the U.S.

Also the film notes that, while swing was spawned by African-Americans in Harlem, today’s swing dance community includes few black faces. 

“Alive and Kicking” includes interviews with famous African-American and white Lindy Hop dancers from the past, including Frankie Manning (1914-2009), a dancer, instructor and choreographer. Manning is considered one of the founders of the Lindy Hop. On his deathbed, he told those around him that his greatest wish would be for more blacks to participate in swing dancing.

Another Lindy Hop original, Norma Miller, praised Manning for his patience with beginning dancers, while she referred to beginners as crows, quipping, “I wouldn’t teach a crippled crab how to use a crutch!”

While the film is definitely worth seeing, it goes far overboard — almost to infomerical extremes — in extolling the virtues of swing dancing.

For instance, through interviews with dance instructors and dance competitors, it tries to make the case that the Lindy Hop provides a connection in an increasingly disconnected world. Also, the film shows the dance community at-large taking care of its members when calamity strikes.

However, at least one dancer-teacher interviewed said that while there often is a strong bond forged during three minutes with someone on the dance floor, it usually stops there, as people are traveling and switching partners. Therefore, the bond is a superficial one.

As far as community goes, some dance pros with whom this reviewer spoke with after the film said that contrary to the portrayal in the film, the Lindy Hop community is not the only one that is collegial — that all of the dance genres emphasize community.

The film includes interviews with dancers who equate certain ballrooms to cathedrals, touting dancing as more spiritual than — or at least on a par with — attending church.

“Alive and Kicking” also goes on and on about the psychological and physiological health benefits of dancing, without mentioning much about the potential for injuries.

It also included interviews with dancers who noted that they have seen — time and again — people join the dance world and soon transform into much more attractive individuals by stepping up their grooming, dressing more stylishly and losing weight.

It also featured an interview with a U.S. military veteran who returned from the combat service in the Middle East with thoughts of suicide. The veteran saw people performing the Lindy Hop — and he soon tried it, excelled and, he said, it transformed his life to one of joy.

Some dancers interviewed in the film claimed that dancing will keep one alive for a long time. Indeed, the film showed a number of original Lindy Hop dancers in their 80s and 90s still able to move nimbly on a dance floor.

The film includes wonderful stock footage of dancers from the past, as well as some recent video of unbelievably talented swing dancers.

Perhaps one of the most profound points in the movie was made by the DecaVita sisters, a dance duo, who said that they both were practicing psychologists in Sweden, when they began performing the Lindy Hop together. They said they eventually decided that they could bring more joy to people by teaching them to dance than by counseling them in psychotherapy sessions, so they both became full-time professional dance teachers and competition dancers.