![]() The quick witted answer was that it was the "Lindy Hop" and the name stuck. A great dancer by the name of George "Shorty" Snowden was at the end of a long marathon when a reporter watching asked what this crazy dance was called. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh was daring the first ever solo flight from New York to Paris, and people were absorbed with his "Hop" across the Atlantic. Audiences were amazed to sight the first Aerial move (or airstep) created by Frankie Manning and his partner Freda Washington for these competitions.ĭance Marathons were also popular, and it is during one of these that the Lindy apparently got its name. Weekly competitions promoted friendly rivalry between dance troupes and dancers were inspired to create new, more exciting moves to wow the crowd and win over the judges. The atmosphere of the Ballroom must have been electric as the top dancers would meet in "Kats Corner" and take turns to show off and play with the rhythms. The players would feed off the dancer's improvisation as much as the dancers fed off the music. Names such as Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and Count Basie made music history in the battle of the bands held there. Jazz was in its heyday, since a night out dancing was cheap, and recorded music was not yet readily assessable. The bandstand at each end accommodated two live bands every night, 7 nights a week. The sprung floor was replaced every 3 years and came to be known as "the Track" due to its elongated shape. The Coat check could serve up to 5,000 patrons, and it needed to, with 70,000 patrons a year dancing at the "home of happy feet". Lindy flourished there, partly because it was one of the few racially integrated ballrooms where White and Black could dance, be inspired and shared moves like no other place. The Savoy was huge, taking up the whole block at 141st Street and Lenox Ave. In New York City, ballrooms dominated Harlem, but one, The Savoy was to become the king of Swing. It was here that Lindy was fine tuned and grounded, and where the "Savoy style" that was to influence the world grew up. Luckily, the two cultures found a common ground, called the Savoy Ballroom in New York. Ironically, the white spectators would then copy the entertainers, and a social dance that bridged the divide emerged. What is interesting is that these came from African social dance culture, and some, like the Cakewalk was created when blacks imitated and mocked the formal dance structure of the whites, which they would then use in their entertainment routines. Remnants of older dancers such as the Cakewalk, Texas Tommy, Black bottom and popular "animal" dances such as the Turkey Trot and the Buzzard Lope are also expressed. The influences of the Charleston and Tap dance are evident still in the Lindy we do today and the dance is also sited to have come from an early version of the Foxtrot. Looking back on where the Lindy Hop came from is an amazing study of American history and of the global cultural shift facilitated by the American GI's that traveled in World War II. ![]() Now the Lindy Hop and other Swing dances and variations are part of a world wide trend to get back on the dance floor. The Lindy Hop has enjoyed a revival since the mid 1980's, when Swing Legend Frankie "musclehead" Manning, an influential choreographer and performer of the era, was rediscovered. Although the lineage and history of Lindy may be muddled, it is certain that it was born from the blending of African rhythms and movements with European structured dance. Modern dancers, interested in cultural history are piecing together the roots of Lindy through the tales and film footage of the original dancers, now in their 70s and 80s. The Lindy Hop is considered a cultural phenomenon that broke through the race barrier when segregation was still the norm. The most important aspects of it are that it is danced with your partner, to the music, and that you enjoy it! The dance can be wild and spontaneous, with frenzied kicks and body movements, or it can be cool and sophisticated. The Dance itself consists of both 8 and 6 count steps and it includes footwork borrowed from the Charleston and Tap. The Lindy Hop (or Lindy) is a partner dance that originated in 1920's and 30's Harlem, New York. To join: Enter your e-mail address and click 'Join'.
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