Lindy HopA Brief History

1 Welcome to a very brief introduction to the history of the original swing dance, Lindy Hop!

In the beginning there was…

2 Before there was Lindy Hop, there was…

The Charleston1923

3 The Charleston would have started appearing and evolving in the late 1910s or early 1920s in Charleston (South Carolina USA), from which it gets its name. But the date we usually cite as the beginning of the Charleston craze is 1923, as this is the date that James P. Johnson wrote the famous song “The Charleston”, as part of a Broadway musical called “Runnin’ Wild.”

4 It was originally an African American dance, but like all great black culture, it was appropriated by white America and quickly spread around the world. It was the greatest dance fad the world has ever known.

5 VIDEO: Charleston archival footage from the 1920s. Charleston was a dance you could do on your own, or with a partner. Here’s what it looked like danced with a partner in the early to mid 1920s. Notice it’s danced in a closed embrace, in the European Ballroom style, and it’s quite upright and stiff in the upper body.

6 The Charleston was danced to early jazz music. In the early 1920s jazz was still catching on, but by the late 1920s it was the most popular music in America. Jazz evolved rapidly, getting more complex. The bands got bigger and more organised, and the rhythm started to swing. By the late 1920s, the best bands were all in New York City - Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington. Even Louis Armstrong left New Orleans for New York. The African-American neighbourhood of Harlem in uptown Manhattan had become the centre of swing music, and with music came dancing.

The Savoy BallroomHome of Happy Feet

7 In 1926 the grandiose Savoy Ballroom opened its doors in Harlem, occupying an entire city block from 140th to 141st Streets. It was called “The Home of Happy Feet”.

8 Most ballrooms in America at this time were segregated - black dancers were not allowed to enter white ballrooms. Many ballrooms and nightclubs in New York barred black people from entering. But The Savoy was special. It was integrated - anyone could dance there, regardless of the colour of their skin. So it became the great gathering place for Harlem’s African-American community. (If any of you are Ella Fitzgerald fans, she got her start singing with Chick Webb’s band at the Savoy Ballroom.)

9 In the Savoy Ballroom the Charleston evolved into something new and different. The Big Bands were starting to have a smoother swing rhythm, so the dance became smoother too. Here is a video of what the Charleston had evolved into by 1925…

10 VIDEO: After Seben (1929) This is something like what Charleston had evolved into around 1925/1926. Notice the breakaways from the closed ballroom embrace out to what we call “open position”. You can see this makes the dancers stretch away from each other then slingshot back in. There is also more rotation now, the dancers swinging around each other in circular motions. To cope with this new dynamic, the hand grip changes from the high ballroom hand hold, to a unique waist-height grip.

So where did the name Lindy Hop come from?

11 So sometimes we historians identify this early stage of Lindy Hop that we just watched as “The Breakaway”, but that’s a modern label, they didn’t call it that back then. But we generally recognise the evolution as from The Charleston to The Breakaway to The Lindy Hop. But the Savoy Ballroom dancers probably started calling it The Lindy sometime around 1926. So where does this come from?

Aviator Charles LindberghDance named in honour of “Lucky Lindy”

12 Aviator Charles Lindbergh was one of the greatest celebrities, heroes and legends of the 1920s with his pioneering solo flights across the globe. His nickname was “Lucky Lindy”. So it’s likely that the Savoy Ballroom dancers starting calling the new dance The Lindy around that time. But there is one good story, that may or may not be true, about where the name Lindy Hop came from.

13 The story goes that in 1927 a dancer in the Savoy Ballroom named George Snowden, was asked by a reporter what the name of the dance was. Having no answer, he looked around and spied a newspaper, the headline of which read “Lindy Hops the Atlantic”. So George turned to the reporter and said, it’s the Lindy Hop, and the name was born. It might not be a true story, but it’s a good story.

14 Lindy Hop continued to evolve in the Savoy Ballroom, and became a national craze, spreading around the country and soon the world too. It was danced by young Americans, black and white. At some point in the 1930s the name Jitterbug started to be used for the dance, referring to its bouncy jittery motion. Often white dancers called it The Jitterbug, and black dancers continued to call it Lindy Hop or The Lindy.

1943 LIFE Magazine

Lindy Hop: A true national folk dance

15 By the mid-1940s, it was completely entrenched in American culture. You can see here the August 1943 issue of LIFE magazine featured Lindy Hop on its cover, with a beautiful photographic essay inside. It declared “A true national folk dance has been born in USA”

16 VIDEO: Groovie Movie (1944) By the 1940s, swing music had got smoother and so had the dance. A twisting motion or “swivel” became the signature style for women dancing the Lindy Hop. The idea is to do a twist or swivel anytime you are in open position, to make your skirt fly. Dancers in video: Lenny & Kay Smith, Chuck Saggau & Irene Thomas, Arthur Walsh & Jean (Phelps) Veloz

17 The Savoy Ballroom dancers always dominated the dance contests and were featured in Hollywood films, on Broadway and famous revues like the Cotton Club. They were especially known for their acrobatics and high flying airsteps. That isn’t a part of social dancing Lindy Hop, that’s more for shows and competitions. Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you to do any backflips today! But just for fun, let’s finish by watching the best Savoy Ballroom dancers in 1941, dancing in a film called Hellzapoppin. This is generally considered to be the greatest recording of Lindy Hop ever captured.

18 VIDEO: Hellzapoppin’ (1941) Dancers: William Downes & Francis 'Mickey' Jones, Billy Ricker & Norma Miller, Al Minns & Willa Mae Ricker, Frankie Manning & Ann Johnson

Frankie Manning

1914-2009

19 The final dancer, in the overalls, was a man named Frankie Manning. He was the leader of the team, and the choreographer. He was also my teacher! He came out of retirement in the 1980s to teach Lindy Hop when it had been almost forgotten and lost. He helped revive the dance and shape the modern swing dance community. He was still dancing & teaching all the way up until he died at the age of 95 in 2009.

Basic Terms

“Swing Dancing” means any dance done to swing music, usually with a partner.

“Swing Music” is the swinging jazz music of the 1930s and 40s.

“Lindy Hop” is the original swing dance, which was popular from the late 1920s to the late 1940s.

“The Jitterbug” is another, later name for Lindy Hop.

There are other swing dances like The Balboa, St Louis Shag, etc

Many other dances later evolved out of Lindy Hop. These include Jive, Rock & Roll, Ceroc, Boogie Woogie, Rockabilly and West Coast Swing.

20 So let’s recap the basic terms: “Swing Dancing” means any dance done to swing music, usually with a partner.“Swing Music” is the swinging jazz music of the 1930s and 40s.“Lindy Hop” is the original swing dance, which was popular from the late 1920s to the late 1940s.“The Jitterbug” is just another (later) name for Lindy Hop.There are other swing dances like The Balboa, St Louis Shag, etcMany other dances later evolved out of Lindy Hop. These include Jive, Rock & Roll, Ceroc, Boogie Woogie, Rockabilly and West Coast Swing.

Important Concepts

Lindy Hop is a rhythmic dance

Lindy Hop is an improvised dance

Lindy Hop is a street dance

Lindy Hop is a social dance

21 Lindy Hop is rhythmic: we dance to the beat, we think like tap dancers. Lindy Hop is improvised: at a swing party we improvise. No routines. We learn the skill to lead/follow and then we can dance with anyone, even if you’ve never met them before. Lindy Hop is a street dance: that means there is no one particular way you have to look. You don’t need to look like your teachers. Lindy Hop is about finding the style that is uniquely you. Lindy Hop is a social dance: it’s a social activity! Everybody dances with everybody, and it is a very friendly, welcoming community. In classes, you will change partners so that you can meet and dance with lots of people. And at a party, you will dance with many partners in one night.