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Dancing the Lindy Hop at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, Sacramento, California, USA (2006)

The Lindy Hop is an American dance that evolved in Harlem, New York City in the 1920s and 1930s and originally evolved with the jazz music of that time. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based on jazz, tap, breakaway and Charleston. It is frequently described as a jazz dance and is a member of the swing dance family.

In its development, the Lindy Hop combined elements of both partnered and solo dancing by using the movements and improvisation of black dances along with the formal eight-count structure of European partner dances. This is most clearly illustrated in the Lindy's basic step, the swingout. In this step's open position, each dancer is generally connected hand-to-hand; in its closed position, men and women are connected as though in an embrace.

Revived in the 1980s by American, Swedish, and British dancers, the Lindy Hop is now represented by dancers and loosely affiliated grass roots organizations in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

History[link]

The following text needs to be harmonized with text in History of Lindy Hop.

Swing era (1920s–1940s)[link]

The Lindy Hop was born in black communities in Harlem, New York in the United States from about 1927 into the early 1930s from four possible sources: the breakaway, the Charleston, the Texas Tommy, and the hop.^[1]

According to Ethel Williams, who helped popularize the Texas Tommy in New York in 1913, the Texas Tommy "was like the Lindy", and the basic steps were followed by a breakaway identical to that found in the Lindy. Savoy dancer "Shorty" George Snowden stated that "We used to call the basic step the Hop long before Lindbergh did his hop across the Atlantic. It had been around a long time and some people began to call it the Lindbergh Hop after 1927, although it didn't last. Then, during the marathon at Manhattan Casino, I got tired of the same old steps and cut loose with a breakaway..."^[1] Fox Movietone News covered the marathon and took a close-up of Shorty's feet. When asked "What are you doing with your feet," Shorty replied, "The Lindy". The date was June 17, 1928.^[1]

The first generation of Lindy Hop is popularly associated with dancers such as "Shorty" George Snowden, his partner Big Bea, and Leroy Stretch Jones and Little Bea. "Shorty" George and Big Bea regularly won contests at the Savoy Ballroom. Their dancing accentuated the difference in size with Big Bea towering over Shorty. These dancers specialized in so-called floor steps.^[2][3]

As white people began going to Harlem to watch black dancers, according to Langston Hughes: "The lindy-hoppers at the Savoy even began to practice acrobatic routines, and to do absurd things for the entertainment of the whites, that probably never would have entered their heads to attempt for their own effortless amusement. Some of the lindy-hoppers had cards printed with their names on them and became dance professors teaching the tourists. Then Harlem nights became show nights for the Nordics."^[4]

Charles Buchanan, manager of the Savoy, paid dancers such as Shorty Snowden to "perform" for his clientele.^[5] According to Snowden, "When he finally offered to pay us, we went up and had a ball. All we wanted to do was dance anyway." ^[1] When "Air steps" or "aerials" such as the Hip to Hip, Side Flip, and Over the Back (the names describe the motion of the woman in the air) began to appear in 1936, the old guard of dancers such as Leon James, Leroy Jones, and Shorty Snowden disapproved of the new moves.^[1]

Younger dancers fresh out of high school (Al Minns, Joe Daniels, Russell Williams, and Pepsi Bethel) worked out the Back Flip, Over the head, and 'the Snatch' '.^[1][3]

Frankie Manning was part of a new generation of Lindy Hoppers, and is the most celebrated Lindy Hopper in history. Al Minns and Pepsi Bethel, Leon James, and Norma Miller are also featured prominently in contemporary histories of Lindy Hop. Some sources credit Frankie Manning, working with his partner Freida Washington, for inventing the ground-breaking 'Air Step' or 'aerial' in 1935. One source credits Al Minns and Pepsi Bethel as among those who refined the air step.^[3] An Air Step is a dance move in which at least one of the partners' two feet leave the ground in a dramatic, acrobatic style. Most importantly, it is done in time with the music. Air steps are now widely associated with the characterization of lindy hop, despite being generally reserved for competition or performance dancing, and not generally being executed on any social dance floor.

Lindy Hop entered mainstream American culture in the 1930s, gaining popularity through multiple sources. Dance troupes, including the Whitey's Lindy Hoppers (also known as the Harlem Congaroos), Hot Chocolates and Big Apple Dancers exhibited the Lindy Hop. Hollywood films, such as Hellzapoppin' and A Day at the Races began featuring the Lindy Hop in dance sequences. Dance studios such as those of Arthur Murray and Irene and Vernon Castle began teaching Lindy Hop. By the early 1940s the dance was known as "New Yorker" on the West Coast.^[6]

Lindy Hop moved off-shore in the 1930s and 40s, again in films and news reels, but also with American troops stationed overseas, particularly in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other allied nations. Although Lindy Hop and jazz were banned in countries such as Germany, both were popular in other European countries during this period.^{[citation needed]}

In 1944, due to continued involvement in World War II, the United States levied a 30 percent federal excise tax against "dancing" nightclubs. Although the tax was later reduced to 20 percent, "No Dancing Allowed" signs went up all over the country.^[7]

Post-swing era (1950s–1960s)[link]

Arthur Murray's 1954 edition of How to become a Good Dancer included four pages of instruction for Swing: the Basic Lindy Step, the Double Lindy Hop, the Triple Lindy Hop, the Sugar Foot Walk, and the Tuck-In Turn.^[8] A chapter is devoted to Lindy Hop in the 1953 and 1958 editions of Dancing Made Easy.^[9]

The 1962 Ballroom Dancebook for Teachers included an entire chapter on "Lindy".^[10]

According to the book Social Dance, copyrighted in 1969, by 1960 The Lindy Hop was known as swing.^[11]

Revival (1980s and 1990s)[link]

Sandra Cameron and Larry Schulz of the Cameron Dance Center Inc in New York were instrumental in bringing Al Minns and Frankie Manning back into teaching Lindy Hop at their dance center.^[12] Minns joined the dance center and began a swing program there in 1981. Frankie Manning joined the Center in 1985.^[13]

Al Minns' early students formed the basis for the New York Swing Dance Society, established in 1985.^[12]

In the 1980s, American and European dancers from California, New York, London and Sweden (such as Sylvia Sykes, Erin Stevens, Steven Mitchell, Terry Monaghan and Warren Heyes who formed London's Jiving Lindy Hoppers performance troupe, and Stockholm's Rhythm Hot Shots / Harlem Hot Shots) went about 'reviving' Lindy Hop using archival films such as Hellzapoppin' and A Day at the Races and by contacting dancers such as Frankie Manning, Al Minns, Norma Miller, Jewel McGowan and Dean Collins. In the mid-to-late 1990s the popularity of neo swing music of the swing revival stimulated mainstream interest in the dance. The dance was propelled to wide visibility after it was featured in movies such as Swing Kids in 1993 and in television commercials for GAP in 1998. The popularity led to the founding of local Lindy Hop dance communities in many cities.^{[citation needed]}

Current status[link]

There are thriving communities throughout the world, and Lindy Hop can today be found in almost every large westernized city.

The small village of Herräng in Sweden (north of Stockholm) has unofficially become the international mecca of Lindy Hop thanks to the annual Herräng Dance Camp run by the Harlem Hot Shots, with an attendance from around 40 countries.^{[citation needed]} Lindy Hop tends to be concentrated in small local scenes in different cities in each of these countries, although regional, national, and international dance events bring dancers from many of these scenes together. Local swing dance communities in each city and country feature different local cultures. The concept of a Lindy exchange, a gathering of lindy hop dancers in one city for several days to dance with visitors and locals, enables different communities to share their ideas with others.

Lindy Hop today is danced as a social dance, as a competitive dance, as a performance dance, and in classes, workshops, and camps. In each, partners may dance alone or together, with improvisation a central part of social dancing and many performance and competition pieces.

Popular culture[link]

Lindy Hop has been featured in popular media since its inception. Variants include the Double Lindy^[14] and Triple Lindy.^[15]

It is featured in several music videos, including Marilyn Manson's "Mobscene", the 2002 music video to Elvis Presley vs. JXL remix of "A Little Less Conversation", the 2007 music video to Christina Aguilera's song "Candyman",^{[citation needed]} the 2008 video release from Millencolin; Detox and the music videos to Movits!'s songs "Fel Del Av Gården" and "Sammy Davis Jr.".

The Lindy Hop was performed by Homer Simpson while dressed up as a panda in The Simpsons episode "Homer vs. Dignity"; however, the actual step shown in the animation is the Charleston.

The Harlem Lindy Hop dance club and zoot suit culture forms a colourful backdrop in the early part of Spike Lee's film Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington. Spike Lee's character is called "Shorty".^[16]

In the 2009 Strictly Come Dancing final the Lindy Hop was performed by the two remaining contestants.

Lindy Hop features in the 2010 Taiwanese film Au Revoir Taipei, in which Amber Kuo's character goes to dance classes at night. One of these classes is seen at the end of the film.

In 2011, satirical news organization The Onion claimed that the Lindy Hop was a form of anti-semitism devised to terrorize Jewish shop-owners, and that its name derived from aviator and Nazi sympathizer Charles Lindbergh.^[17]

See also[link]

• Hollywood-style Lindy Hop
• Jitterbug
• List of lindy hop moves
• Savoy-style Lindy Hop
• Swing Camps

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• DeFrantz, Thomas. Dancing Many Drums: Excavations in African American Dance. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 2001.
• Emery, Lynne Fauley. Black Dance in the United States from 1619 to 1970. California: National Press Books, 1972.
• Friedland, LeeEllen. "Social Commentary in African-American Movement Performance." Human Action Signs in Cultural Context: The Visible and the Invisible in Movement and Dance. Ed. Brenda Farnell. London: Scarecrow Press, 1995. 136 – 57.
• Gottschild, Brenda Dixon. Digging the Africanist Presence in American Performance. Connecticut and London: Greenwood Press, 1996.
• Hazzard-Gordon, Katrina. Jookin': The Rise of Social Dance Formations in African-American Culture. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990.
• Jackson, Jonathan David. "Improvisation in African-American Vernacular Dancing." Dance Research Journal 33.2 (2001/2002): 40 – 53.
• Malone, Jacqui. Steppin' on the Blues: The Visible Rhythms of African American Dance. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1996.
• Manning, Frankie; Cynthia R. Millman (2007). Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press. ISBN 1-59213-563-3. http://www.frankiemanning.com. 
• Szwed, John F., and Morton Marks. "The Afro-American Transformation of European Set Dances and Dance Suites." Dance Research Journal 20.1 (1988): 29 – 36.
• Spring, Howard. "Swing and the Lindy Hop: Dance, Venue, Media, and Tradition". American Music, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Summer, 1997), pp. 183–207.
• Thomas, Amy. "Infinity Dance: The Move That Never Ends". California: National Press Books, 2006
• Batchelor, Christian, This Thing Called Swing. Christian Batchelor Books, 1997, ISBN 0-9530631-0-0

External links[link]

The Wikibook Swing Dancing has a page on the topic of Lindy Hop

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lindy Hop

Lindy Hop history

• Savoystyle Archives of early Lindy Hop – resource for Lindy Hop history, sanctioned by Frankie Manning
• Dancehistory.org resource for Jazz Dance history
• Lindy Hop Terms
• History of the Swing Revival in DC
• Lindy Hop and Retro Lifestyle

Lindy Hop dancing today

• The Lindy Hop resource listing of many Lindy Hop links including teachers, communities, and forums.
• Yehoodi: The website for the hardcore hep-cat swinger! international discussion forum for all things lindy hop.
• I am Lindy Hop stories from modern day Lindy Hoppers on Lindy Hop today

Lindy may refer to:

• Lindy (opera), opera by Moya Henderson
• Lindy (singer), Canadian musician
• Lindy, Nebraska
• Lindy (name), a list of persons called Lindy
• Lindy Electronics
• Lindy Legendary Fishing Tackle
• Lindy Hop, swing dance
• Charles Lindbergh
• Lindy's, New York City restaurant

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Look up hop in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Hop or hops may refer to:

• Hop, a kind of small jump, usually using only one leg
• Humulus, a genus of climbing flowering plants
  • Humulus lupulus, a species of plants which is grown commercially in many countries to produce hops
  • Hops, the female flower clusters of one species of hop (Humulus lupulus and varieties), used primarily as a flavouring and stability agent in beer
• Hop, a type of dance, including:
  • Lindy Hop, a swing dance of the 1920s and 1930s
  • Sock Hop, an informal dance
• Hóp, a Viking name for what was possibly a part of the North American coast: see Vinland
• Hóp, an Icelandic lake
• Hop River, a river in Connecticut, USA
• Hop, informal term for opium, a narcotic drug
• Hop (software), a web broker and programming language
• Hop (networking), next gateway along a path to a destination host
• Hop (protein), the Hsp70-Hsp90 organizing protein
• Hop (telecommunications), a telecommunications term in several different contexts
• Hop (film), a 2011 film

See also[link]

• Hopper (disambiguation)
• Hopping (disambiguation)
• Hip hop

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.