Rapper sword (also known as the "Short Sword" dance) is a variation of sword dance that emerged from the pit villages of Tyneside in North East England, where miners first performed the tradition.

The dance requires five performers who coordinate themselves whilst using "rapper swords" made from flexible steel. The accompanying music is traditional folk music and the dancers wear specially-designed shoes that allow for percussive foot movements. Mental alertness, in additional to physical agility, is required in order for dance participants to effectively utilize the swords without causing harm to themselves or the other performers.

Whilst substancial evidence for the origins of the rapper sword tradition do not exist, as of 2012 it is generally accepted that the dance was originally performed in the mining villages of the Northumberland and Durham coalfield in North East England, with an intensity of activity traced to Tyneside. A "hilt-and-point" sword dance also existed in Yorkshire, where rigid longswords were used, and a documented account of this dance has been located in a 1715 article in which a fairly accurate description can be read.

The Blue Diamonds were a Dutch 1960s doo-wop duo, best known for their million-selling chart-topping single, "Ramona". Indo (Dutch-Indonesian) brothers Ruud de Wolff (May 12, 1941 – December 2000) and Riem de Wolff (born April 15, 1943) founded the group shortly after immigrating to the Netherlands in 1949. They were born in Batavia (now Jakarta), Indonesia.

Called the 'Dutch Everly Brothers', The Blue Diamonds covered many Everly Brothers songs, but became famous in 1960 with their version of "Ramona", a song originally written for the 1928 film, Ramona. The song was written for promotional appearances with Dolores del Río (star of the film) but not featured in the film itself. The Blue Diamonds up-tempo version of it reached the American Billboard Hot 100 at #72. It sold over 250,000 copies in the Netherlands (the first record to ever do so) and over one million copies in Germany by 1961.

Although their last hit was in 1971, they continued to perform together up until Ruud de Wolff died at the end of year 2000. Riem de Wolff continues to perform and release albums.