Lindy Hop

Lindy Hop is a street dance that evolved in Harlem, Manhattan, New York in the late 1920s through the early 1940s, that emerged with swing jazz.

Lindy Hop is a fusion of many dances from all over the U.S. from the early 1900s, but is mainly based on the Charleston. Lindy hop combines the movements and improvization of African dances with the formal 8-count structure of European dances. African dances usually separate the men from the women. Europeans invented partner dancing.

Social and Performance Dancing

Lindy Hop is a primarliy eight-count (also made up of 6 beat patterns etc), partner dance popular in America and much of Europe. Practitioners congregate to dance socially, in performances, or in competitions.

Social Dancing

The purpose of social dancing is to have fun, socialize, and celebrate a shared love of movement and music. Historically, it was traditional for the man to ask the woman to dance, but at contemporary swing dances, both men and women ask each other. As with other partner dances, most partnerships are with a male lead and a female follower, but other combinations do occur.

Learning to lead or follow is akin to learning a new language. Leaders and followers must learn both to hear what their partner is communicating through their body (where their center of movement is located, how well they are balanced, where they are ready to move, etc.) and to communicate the same. These skills are the building blocks of the lead-follow language. As a dancer learns more moves she expands her vocabulary. Eventually dancers begin combining their vocabulary in new and creative ways to respond to the ideas they hear in the music and the creative ideas of their partner. This kind of improvisation frequently results in new movement vocabulary, and the language grows. As with spoken languages, dancers from the same geographic area tend to develop a distinctive way of communicating. Individual areas will have their own style of leading and following, consisting of both unique movement expressions, and unique ways of leading or following more universal moves.

While all dancers use the movement language of leading and following to communicate, spoken language can also be very important. Many dancers use varying degrees of spoken language to discuss the moves they are about to do. Frankie Manning (NCLS workshop, 2003) stated that he always asks each partner which moves she knows.

Dancers at social events usually have a wide range of skill levels, so cooperating with one's partner matters as much as dancing skill. Dancing with a new partner is a study in flexibility and calibration. What can the new partner do? What are his or her limitations? What does he or she like to do? Dancing with a regular partner is an opportunity to play and catch up on news. Dancing with beginners is an opportunity to practice the basic moves. Dancing with advanced dancers is an opportunity to try difficult and unusual moves, and to improvise.

Social dancing has characteristics typical of many social scenes. A wide variety of personalities from friendly to ornery are easily found. Individual dancers have close friends and acquaintances. Cliques have insiders and outsiders. There are dance snobs who refuse to dance with beginners, but this attitude is generally frowned upon. In general, on the dance floor, social status matters less than dance skill. Newcomers are encouraged to come, dance, and meet people.

Some dancers dress in vintage clothing from the 1920s, 1930s, or 1940s. Some dancers dress in their best formal clothing. Other dancers wear jeans and t-shirts.

Lindy hop is typically done at social events, bars, clubs, dance studios, or private parties. Most clubs and studios provide lessons for beginners who want to start and for others who want to improve.

Sometimes clubs and events have jam circles, where one person or a small group of people dance, alternating partners, when others steal in. Jam circles often recognize birthdays and special occasions or visitors and other dignitaries. When an especially fast-tempo song is played a jam circle will occasionally form in which various couples take turns showing-off their skills. After a particularly skilled demonstration, humor is typically the strongest hand to play.

Social events sometimes have DJs and sometimes have live jazz bands. DJs usually play a spectrum of music from the 1920s to today, but especially big band jazz from the 1930s and 1940s. Bands can play a wide variety of music from big band standards to new arrangements and original compositions.

Performance Dancing

Lindy Hop is fun to watch. Choreographed routines are performed at clubs, at private parties, on stage, and in movies. Performances are opportunities for dancers to show off their best moves and aerials.

Performance groups include

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, New York, founded in 1935
Big Apple Lindy Hoppers, New York
Rhythm Hot Shots, from Sweden, founded in 1985, now the Harlem Hot Shots
Swing Cats, from California, founded in 1998?
San Francisco Jitterbugs, from California
Zoots and Spangles, London
Scat Pack, Melbourne Australia

There are many reasons to perform publicly. Performances are opportunities to work with other excellent dancers, to practice moves that rarely happen while social dancing, and to show off.

Competition Dancing

The two main forms of competition are Jack and Jill competitions and Showcase competitions.

Jack and Jill: Jack and Jill competitions imitate social dancing. Dancers perform 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 different songs. The songs are often 1 to 2 minute clips with different speeds and textures. The songs are usually not announced ahead of time. Sometimes, dancers will have the same partner for all songs, and other times, dancers have a different partner for each dance. Sometimes dancers choose their partners, and other times, dancers are paired randomly. Some clubs (Broadway in San Francisco) hold Jack and Jill competitions about once a month.

Showcase: Showcase competitions are for choreographed performance routines. Showcase competitions are usually done at regional and national events. Showcases can be for pairs or groups.

The History of Lindy Hop

Lindy Hop is a fusion of American dances that emerged in the late 1920s, and continues evolving today.

In the 1920s and 1930s, ballrooms across the U.S. sponsored dance contests, where dancers invented, tried, and competed with new moves. In the 1910s and 1920s, at the circuit of Vaudeville halls across the U.S., professionals honed their skills in Tap and other dances of the era.

In the 1910s through the 1950s, Harlem was an entertainment district, where people from all walks of life, all races, and all classes came together. The Cotton Club featured black performers and catered to the rich, glamorous, and white clientele, while the Savoy Ballroom catered to average, working, and mostly black clientele. So of course, Swing jazz and Lindy Hop evolved at the Savoy.

Electric lighting and air conditioning made evening social entertainment available to everybody. This was a new era of dance halls and live music.

Pre Lindy Era (1920 to 1927)

Lindy hop primarily evolved out of Breakaway, with influences from Charleston, Tap, and many other dances. This era ended when the Black Bottom dance craze took hold of the country in 1926, sweeping away interest in the Charleston.

Breakaway (1919 to 1927)

From 1919 to 1927, Breakaway (the original swing) was like couple Charleston with a twist. Breakaway was Charleston danced mostly in closed position, with occasional breakaways into open position so that dancers could show off their Tap skills. Breakaway was a black dance, danced to colored or blues music. The center of Breakaway was Harlem.

In the middle 1920s, George Snowden was the reigning king of Breakaway in New York City competitions.

External link: http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3brkawy.htm

Tap dance (aka Jazz) (1900 to 1955)

Tap dance was invented in the mid 1800s. Possibly in New York City, where Irish, Scottish, African immigrants competed with each other in dance contests. The fusion of foot dances from many sources created tap.

From 1900 to 1955, tap dance was the dominant performance dance form in the U.S. The Vaudeville and T.O.B.A. (Black Vaudeville) circuits hired many professional tap dancers. There were skilled tap dancers in every city in the U.S. Vaudeville performers toured in circuits, performing in cities across the U.S. Travelling performers were exposed to dances all over the country, which laid the ground work for the fusion called Lindy Hop.

In the early 1900s, tap dance was called Jazz dance. Flying swing outs and flying circles are Lindy Hop moves with tap footwork.

Charleston (1922 to 1926)

The Charleston was invented by 1903, but may have developed from a much older dance called The Branle. The Charleston was danced to Ragtime jazz. Females who danced the Charleston were called flappers.

The Charleston was featured in Harlem stage productions in 1913. On Broadway in 1922, the Charleston was featured in the Zeigfeld Follies. The next year both the play Liza and the Aubrey Lyles show Runnin' Wild featured the Charleston on Broadway. A nationwide craze for the Charleston began in 1922 as a result of these shows.

External link: http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3chrlst.htm

Black Bottom (1926 to 1927)

Black Bottom was a dance from New Orleans around 1900. In 1924, the stage play Dinah introduced the Black Bottom to the New York public. In 1926 and 1927, the George White Scandals featured Black Bottom at the Apollo theatre. Black Bottom swept the country in 1926 and 1927 and replacing Charleston as the most popular social dance.

Other Dances

The influences of other dances can be seen through the specific moves that remain in Lindy Hop, like shag basics, and the Texas Tommy and Apache swing out.

Apache: This dance was danced in closed position, except for the move where the follow moved out in an apache spin.

Texas Tommy: This dance is remembered for the Texas Tommy spin.

Tap Charleston (1925 to 1926): Leonard Reed was said to have invented Tap Charleston after he learned tap in 1925. Tap Charleston was the Charleston with breaks into open position to do tap steps. The connection between Breakaway and Tap Charleston is murky. It could be the same thing attributed to Leonard Reed or something else.

Other: Other dances that influenced Lindy Hop include Collegiate Shag.

Classic Era (1927 to 1935)

This era was inspired by Ragtime jazz. Lindy Hop evolved from the combination of Breakaway and Charleston. Dancers, like George Snowden (Shorty George), that opened up Breakaway and Charleston. The partners moved closer together and further apart while spinning, to make the moves more interesting, eventually creating the swing out.

George Snowden renamed the dance from Breakaway to Lindy Hop at dance contests at the Harvest Moon Ball in Central Park in September 1927 or at the Savoy Ballroom in 1928 (the story varies). Lindy Hop was named in honor of Charles Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic airplane flight in 1927. In slang of the late 1800s and early 1900s, a lindy was a young woman; it was also the popular nickname of aviator Lindbergh, often called "Lucky Lindy" (although he personally disliked the nickname).

Many dance events at the turn of the century were called lindy dances or lindy hops by (who?). So the trans-atlantic flight may not have been the origin of the name, but it sanctioned and popularized the name. It gave a white identity to a black dance, making it possible for the whole country to enjoy.

Lindy Hop dancers were originally banned from the Savoy Ballroom, because they took more space than other dancers and they often kicked other dancers. The cat's corner began when Lindy Hop dancers went to the [northeast?] corner of the Savoy ballroom to dance. As Lindy Hop became popular, the Savoy relented and welcomed Lindy Hop dancers. (According to Frankie Manning NCLSworkshop interview, January 2002)

The most notable dance troupe of the classic era was the Shorty George Trio, which inspired many other dancers and troupes to take up Lindy Hop.

Prohibition ended in 1933 and Cab Calloway was stolen from the Savoy to the Cotton Club in 1934. These and other events sparked a change in generation of musicians and dancers.

[[1] (http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3lindy.htm)]

Aerials Era (1935 to 1941)

Lindy Hop exploded in 1935 with a new generation of musicians and dancers. Swing music became popular nationwide, thanks to the Benny Goodman Orchestra. The Savoy was the hottest dance club in New York City, which meant it was the hottest club in the world. Chick Webb was the leader of the house band at the Savoy. His vocalist was the teenage Ella Fitzgerald. Frankie Manning turned 21, invented aerials, and challenged George Snowden as the leading dancer at the Savoy.

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers formed before aerials. Whitey was the head bouncer at the Savoy and he arranged for dancers to perform at parties. George Snowden had been away, performing professionally, so a new generation of dancers became active. A rivalry and a challenge sprang up, over whether Shorty George and his crowd or Frankie Manning and his crowd were the better dancers.

Shorty George and his partner Big Bea often finished dances with a move where Big Bea picked Shorty George up on her back and carried him off the floor while he kicked his feet. Frankie Manning wanted to outdo Shorty George, so he convinced his partner Freda Washington to do a back-to-back flip. This became the first Lindy Hop aerial and won the contest. When Shorty George asked Frankie Manning where he got the move, he said, "from you." Frankie Manning then had to explain.

The most notable dance troupe of the aerials era was Whitey's Lindy Maniacs; also known as Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, the Congeroos, and other names; which was led by Hubert White and starred Frankie Manning and Norma Miller, among others. The troupe performed around the world from 1935 to 1941. They performed at private parties and on Broadway. They danced in many movies, including Hellzapoppin and the Marx Brothers' A Day at the Races. They performed for the King and Queen of the United Kingdom.

This era ended when World War II began and the country became preoccupied with other things.

World War 2 Era (1941 to 1945)

During the war, many top performers were drafted into military service. Lindy hop became a wartime recreation. It was imported (in a bastardised form) into Europe by American soldiers.

In 1943, Life magazine featured Lindy Hop on its cover and called it America's National Folk Dance.

Post War Era (1945 to 1984)

After the war, music changed. Jazz musicians wanted patrons to pay attention and listen, not to dance. Jazz became more complex and not danceable.

Lindy hop spawned both East Coast Swing and West Coast Swing and influenced many other dances, like Carolina Shag, which thrived.

Lindy hop dancing appeared in movies throughout the 1940s. Frankie Manning eventually couldn't keep steady work as a dancer after the war, so he joined the post office. Lindy hop appeared infrequently in movies ever since then.

During this era, east coast swing was adopted as a part of the Ballroom repertoire. It was codified and simplified. It adopted ballroom concept of frame.

Music changed from swing to rock. Television gave people more distractions than ever before. Lindy Hop slowly faded away to memory.

Revival Era (1984 to Present)

Lindy Hop never really died out, as it continued to be occasionally danced by older couples who had learned the dance as teenagers in the 1940s, and by a few small groups of new young dancers. But it was no longer a well-known fad.

Lindy hop revived when a group of Swedish dancers (later The Rhythm Hot Shots) travelled to Harlem New York City seeking any original lindy hoppers who were still living. They had seen the old movies with Lindy hop and wanted to know more from the original dancers. They found Al Minns, one of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers.

Californian dancers Steven Mitchell and Erin Stevens visited Frankie Manning in 1984, on a similar mission.

Within a year, these dancers sparked a Lindy Hop revival that continues today.

Al Minns, Frankie Manning and Norma Miller came out of retirement and toured the world teaching Lindy Hop.

There was a globalization of Lindy Hop as well as swing music and culture.

The Rhythm Hot Shots from Sweden performed all over the world. The 1993 movie Swing Kids about Lindy hop dancers in pre-war Germany was a hit. The 1996 movie Swingers has a climactic swing dance scene. The 1998 Gap commercial khaki-a-go-go caused a boom that lasted for several years in the U.S.

The major styles of Lindy danced today are Savoy-Style Lindy Hop which keeps the original New York style and Hollywood-Style Lindy Hop which resembles West Coast Swing.

Today, Lindy Hop continues evolving with influences from Hip Hop (styling and music) and Salsa (dance).

Moves and Musicality

The two basic dance moves of Lindy Hop are the swing out, an 8-count move that usually starts and ends in open position, and the Charleston, an 8-count move that usually starts and ends in closed position. Both moves have many variations. Lindy Hop uses 8-count steps extensively, reflecting the structure of Swing music, as well as other counts. The traditional movement is clockwise, which is the opposite of ballroom.

See "Lindy Hop moves" article for the list of Lindy Hop dance moves.

Musicality:

Skill: New dancers focus on moves, independent of the music. Advanced dancers focus on musicality which fits the moves to the music. Musicality requires knowing the moves cold and knowing the structure of the music.

Lead and follow - Connection - Musicality

Related Line Dances

- Shim Sham - Jitterbug Stroll - Lindy Chorus - Madison

The Music of Lindy Hop

Lindy is most interesting when danced to live bands. Traditionally, Lindy Hop is danced to Swing jazz, but dancers also enjoy Ragtime jazz, Bebop, Blues, Rhythm and Blues, Rockabilly, and Rock and Roll, and Rap, that has a moderate speed. With live bands, dancers cannot predict the songs so easily, so they must pay closer attention which helps them improvize. Originally, musicians would imitate the dancers. (Frankie Manning, NCLS workshop interview, 2002)

Music - Jazz - Swing music - Dance music

Chicago Bands

Rhythm Rockets, Lesley Byers & The Jazz Cats (http://www.lesleybyers.com/), Yoko Noge’s Jazz Me Blues (http://www.jazzmebluesmusic.com/).

Los Angeles Bands

Los Angeles bands include The Hollywood Combo, with frontman Mark Tortorici: see: http://www.swinginrecords.com

New York Bands

Harlem Renaissance Orchestra
George Gee Swing Orchestra - http://www.georgegee.com
Ron Sunshine - http://www.ronsunshine.com
Swing Mavens
Swing Doctors
J. Walter Hawkes Combo
Crescent City Maulers - http://www.crescentcitymaulers.com
Blue Saracens - http://www.bluesaracens.com
Nick Palombo and the Flipped Fedoras
The Camaros - http://www.thecamaros.com
Eldridge Taylor and the Marvel Comets
Flying Neutrinos - Write something
Peter Davis and Lindy Hop Heaven - http://www.peterdavis.biz/

Portland, Oregon Bands

Lily Wilde and Her Orchestra - http://lilywilde.com/
Porkpie - http://petepetersen.com/

San Francisco Bands

In San Francisco, local swing bands in 2002 include

Swing Session http://www.swingsession.com/
Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums http://www.luckylounge.com/
Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers http://www.lavaysmith.com/
Lee Presson and the Nails http://www.leepresson.com/
Johnny Nocturne and Kim Nalley http://www.johnnynocturne.com/
Blue Room Boys http://www.blueroomboys.com/
Mood Swing Orchestra http://www.moodswingorchestra.com/

Touring bands that visited San Francisco in 2002 include

Brian Setzer http://www.briansetzer.com/
Barbara Morrison http://www.barbaramorrison.com/
Cab Calloway Orchestra http://www.cabcalloway.cc/
Glenn Miller Orchestra http://www.glennmillerorchestra.com/
Yoko Noge (from Chicago)

Seattle Bands

Solomon Douglas Swingtet
Lunch Money, with frontman Kevin Buster
Casey McGill and the Spirits of Rhythm

Worth mentioning here would be the Boilermaker Jazz Band; definitely one of the most active and engaging bands for the swing dancing community today. They are based out of Pittsburgh, but play frequently in Washington DC, and travel a lot. http://www.boilermakerjazzband.com

References

stretswong.com dance history archives (Lindy) (http://www.streetswing.com/homepage.htm)
Lindy Hop History (http://www.lindycircle.com/history/lindy_hop/)
http://dancing.org/lindy-what-is.html

To Do

What was the first year of the modern swing out?

What were the other clubs in Harlem in 1927, 1935, and so on? (numerous) Other cities?

Who were the leading dancers and styles at each club and city?

1935: Who else moved to the Savoy in 1935? Perhaps the change in generation in 1935 coincided with improvement in the economy. (Look up)

Get a link to the Gap commercial. The Gap commercial and other video clips (http://www.swing-music.com/coolstuff.html)

What happened to George Snowden?

What happened to everyone in Whitey's Lindy Hoppers?

Harlem Renaissance

Rock and Roll dancing

Vaudeville (PG) versus Burlesque (R)

Frankie Manning's "Can He Dance" Famous people showed up at the Savoy all the time, including movie stars like Clark Gable. The dancers were unimpressed. The main question was, "Can he (she) dance?"