History of Lindy Hop - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The History of Lindy Hop
Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American social dance, from the swing dance family. It evolved in Harlem, New York City in the 1920s and '30s 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...

begins in the African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

communities of Harlem

Harlem

Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...

, New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

during the late 1920s in conjunction with swing jazz. Lindy Hop is closely related to earlier African American vernacular dance

African American vernacular dance

African-American cultural dance has developed within African American communities in everyday spaces, rather than in studios, schools or companies. These dances are usually centered on folk and social dance practice, though performance dance often supply complementary aspects to this...

s but quickly gained its own fame through dancers in films, performances, competitions, and professional dance troupes. It became especially popular in the 1930s with the invention of aerials

Aerial (dance move)

An aerial is a dance move in Lindy Hop where one's feet leave the floor. The term has come to mean a wide range of special and unusual dance moves, including dips, slides, and tricks....

. The popularity of Lindy Hop declined after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, and the dance remained dormant until revived by European and American dancers in the 1980s.

Early influences (1900s-1920s)

Lindy Hop combined a number of dances popular in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

in the 1920s

1920s

File:1920s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Sean Hogan during the Irish Civil War; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal throughout the entire decade; In...

and earlier, many of which developed in African American

African American

communities. Just as jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

music emerged as a dominant art form that could absorb and integrate other forms of music, Lindy Hop could absorb and integrate other forms of dance. This hybridity

Hybridity

Hybridity refers in its most basic sense to mixture. The term originates from biology and was subsequently employed in linguistics and in racial theory in the nineteenth century. Its contemporary uses are scattered across numerous academic disciplines and is salient in popular culture...

is characteristic of vernacular dances, in which forms and steps are adapted and developed to suit the social and cultural needs of its participants in everyday spaces. Therefore, Lindy Hop was not originally the creative or economic project of formal dance academies or institutions.

Lindy Hop's genealogy

Genealogy

Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...

can be seen in the ideological themes, social uses, and specific steps that it has absorbed during its development. For many Lindy Hop historians, the Charleston

Charleston (dance)

The Charleston is a dance named for the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one...

is Lindy Hop's most influential predecessor, and Lindy Hop's basic footwork and timing reflects that of the Charleston. The transition from Charleston to Lindy Hop was facilitated by the Breakaway

Breakaway (dance)

From 1919 to 1927, Breakaway was a popular swing dance developed from the Texas Tommy and Charleston in Harlem's African American communities. The Breakaway was danced to jazz, and while it often began in closed position, the leader would occasionally swing the follower out into an open position,...

, a partner dance which introduced the 'throw out' and 'open position' of dances such as the Texas Tommy

Texas Tommy (dance)

After the great 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco, the Barbary Coast became more of a tourist attraction than its predecessor. Dance-floors and variety shows designed to shock the tourists replaced prostitution as the chief business and many of the dance crazes that swept America during...

to the 'closed position' and footwork of partnered Charleston. The development of Breakaway is largely associated with the dancer "Shorty" George Snowden

George Snowden

"Shorty" George Snowden was an African American dancer in Harlem during the 1920s and 1930s. He is popularly credited with coining the name "Lindy Hop" for a popular partner swing dance of the day...

in the late 1920s.

As jazz music in the late 1920s changed, so did jazz dances. The swung note of swinging jazz encouraged dancers to introduce a 'delay' in their timing which influenced the execution of footwork and approaches to tempo within Charleston and Breakaway.

Harlem and the birth of Lindy Hop

The Harlem Renaissance

Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...

of the 1920s raised the profile of African American vernacular culture in white communities within the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, particularly in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. The popularity of African American dance and music fed what became a fascination with the somewhat illicit nature of the ghetto

Ghetto

A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...

ised area. White patronage in the area brought much-need income to the bars, clubs and theaters of Harlem, as well as work for black artists in a city increasingly belabored by economic depression

Recession

In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...

.

Upper and middle class white audiences were exposed to Harlem's working class entertainment, at first through white audiences attending black venues and shows in Harlem, but later through traveling shows, popular music and cinema and prompting a mainstream

Mainstream

Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....

thirst for "black" cultural forms. By the time dances such as the Lindy Hop reached mainstream white audiences, however, they had often been reworked by white teachers and film studios to accord with the aesthetics

Aesthetics

Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...

and social values of white mainstream America. White dancers such as Dean Collins

Dean Collins

Dean Collins was an American dancer, instructor, choreographer, and innovator of swing. He is often credited with bringing swing dance, or Lindy Hop, from New York to Southern California...

in Hollywood films played pivotal roles in popularizing Lindy Hop, and Collins' dancing not only spread the form across the United States, but also provided less 'risque' versions for more conservative American palates.

Harlem's increasing popularity as an entertainment district, as well as a vibrant creative center for African Americans in the 1920s and 30s eventually saw both the creation and popularizing of Lindy Hop, both in social dance spaces and on the stage.

Origin of the name 'Lindy Hop'

The origins of the name 'Lindy Hop' are much debated in Lindy Hop communities today, but Norma Miller is alive today to give much appreciated insights.

In one account it is argued that, in the slang of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a 'Lindy' was a young woman. The word "hop" was documented as early as 1913 as a term for swing dancing and was also, apparently, a term used by early Texas Tommy

Texas Tommy (dance)

dancers to describe the basic move for their dance.

In a more influential account, however, popular legend

Legend

A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...

has it that dancer "Shorty" George Snowden

George Snowden

"Shorty" George Snowden was an African American dancer in Harlem during the 1920s and 1930s. He is popularly credited with coining the name "Lindy Hop" for a popular partner swing dance of the day...

renamed the breakaway dance

Breakaway (dance)

as the Lindy Hop in a dance contest. In this version, Snowden was one of the 24 couples that competed in a negro dance marathon

Dance marathon

A dance marathon is an event in which people stay on their feet for a given length of time. It started as a popular fad in the 1920s and 1930s, when organized dance endurance contests attracted people to compete to achieve fame or win monetary prizes...

that began on June 17, 1928 at the Manhattan Casino, a ballroom that was located at 8th Avenue and 155th Street in Harlem. During the contest "as he remembers it - Snowden decided to do a breakaway, that is, fling his partner out and improvise a few solo steps of his own. In the midst of the monotony of the marathon, the effect was electric, and even the musicians came to life. ...Fox Movietone News arrived to cover the marathon and decided to take a close-up of Shorty's feet" and an interviewer then asked him "What are you doing with your feet?" Snowden, "without stopping, replied 'The Lindy'"

Whether Snowden intended it or not, Lindy Hop was associated with Charles Lindbergh

Charles Lindbergh

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...

's transatlantic airplane flight, completed in 1927. "Lindy" was the aviator's nickname. The reporter interviewing Snowden apparently tied the name to Charles Lindbergh to gain publicity and further his story. While Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic flight may or may not have inspired the name "Lindy Hop", the association between the aviator, George Snowden and the dance continues in Lindy Hop folklore

Folklore

Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

.

Often referred to as the "first generation" of Lindy Hop, dancers such as George Snowden

George Snowden

"Shorty" George Snowden was an African American dancer in Harlem during the 1920s and 1930s. He is popularly credited with coining the name "Lindy Hop" for a popular partner swing dance of the day...

, Leroy "Stretch" Jones, Twistmouth George and Edith Matthews inspired many other dancers and troupes (including Frankie Manning

Frankie Manning

Frankie Manning was an American dancer, instructor and choreographer. Manning is considered one of the founding fathers of the Lindy Hop.-Early years:...

) to take up Lindy Hop. Twistmouth George and Matthews are credited with inventing the "twist" that characterises the first few steps of the follower's footwork in the Swingout

Swingout

The swingout is the defining dance move of Lindy Hop. The swingout evolved from the breakaway, which in turn evolved from the Texas Tommy. The first documented mention of the swingout pattern that resembles breakaway was in 1911, to describe a "Texas Tommy Swing" show done at the Fairmont hotel in...

. By the end of the classic era Lindy Hop was danced across Harlem in ballroom

Ballroom

A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...

s, night clubs, cabaret clubs

Cabaret

Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...

, rent parties

Rent party

A rent party is a social occasion where tenants hire a musician or band to play and pass the hat to raise money to pay their rent, originating in Harlem during the 1920s. The rent party played a major role in the development of jazz and blues music...

, private apartment

Apartment

An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...

s, and street parties

Street party

A street party can mean any type of social event taking place on a road.In Britain, these have historically been held to commemorate momentous events, such as VE Day or the Queen's Silver Jubilee, with "bunting, trestle tables covered with sandwiches and cakes, and children playing in the street"...

— almost anywhere people came together with music to dance.

Aerials era (1935 to 1941)

In 1935 Lindy Hop - with swing music - had become increasingly popular throughout America, attributable in part to the success of musicians such as Benny Goodman

Benny Goodman

Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...

, Count Basie

Count Basie

William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...

, and Chick Webb

Chick Webb

William Henry Webb, usually known as Chick Webb was an American jazz and swing music drummer as well as a band leader.-Biography:...

.

Ballrooms across the United States hosted the big bands of the day, with Chick Webb

Chick Webb

William Henry Webb, usually known as Chick Webb was an American jazz and swing music drummer as well as a band leader.-Biography:...

leading one of the most popular at the Savoy Ballroom

Savoy Ballroom

The Savoy Ballroom, located in Harlem, New York City, was a medium sized ballroom for music and public dancing that was in operation from March 12, 1926 to July 10, 1958. It was located between 140th and 141st Streets on Lenox Avenue....

. It was with his orchestra that the teenage Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...

first gained fame. These ballrooms continued a national tradition of sponsoring contests where dancers invented, tested and displayed new steps for prizes. At first banning lindy hoppers because they took more space than other dancers and often kicked nearby couples, the Savoy eventually relented and welcomed them as an attraction for other guests. As the 'Home of Happy Feet', the Savoy became the hottest ballroom in New York City, if not the world.

The first air steps

Head bouncer at the Savoy Herbert "Whitey" White (an African American man nicknamed for a white streak in his hair) managed a team of local dancers that included George Snowden. White arranged for dancers to perform at professional engagements, including parties and shows, all over the city and country. George Snowden's absence from the ballroom with these performances gave a new generation of dancers the opportunity to shine, Frankie Manning among them. With the most popular dancers returning to the Savoy between engagements, rivalries soon developed between different groups, particularly between Shorty George and his friends and newer dancers such as Manning. These rivalries were often played out in formal competitions between groups. It was at one such competition that the first air steps were performed.

Since the beginning of jazz dance

Jazz dance

Jazz dance is a classification shared by a broad range of dance styles. Before the 1950s, jazz dance referred to dance styles that originated from African American vernacular dance. In the 1950s, a new genre of jazz dance—modern jazz dance—emerged, with roots in Caribbean traditional dance...

, acrobatics

Acrobatics

Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...

were an essential part of vernacular dance, commonly known as flash dancers who toured with bands across United States during the first part of the 20th century. In the early 1930s, however, they had not yet been introduced to Lindy Hop. The precise history of events cannot be ascertained, yet the most popular story of the development of aerial steps in Lindy Hop is told by dancer Frankie Manning.

Determined to out-do rival dancers, Frankie Manning devised the Over the Back air step with his partner, Frieda Washington, for a dance competition designed to resolve the rivalry between Snowden and Manning's dancers. Shorty George and his partner, Big Bea, often finished dances with Big Bea picking Shorty George up on her back and carrying him off the floor while he kicked his feet in the air. Manning planned the Over the Back aerial to top Shorty George and Big Bea's trademark move. The Over the Back not only won Manning and Washington the competition, but saw the beginning of Lindy Hop's most famous family of steps.

However, Al Minns

Al Minns

Al Minns , was a prominent American Lindy Hop and jazz dancer. Most famous for his film and stage performances in the 1930s and 1940s with the Harlem-based Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, Minns worked throughout his life to promote the dances that he and his cohorts helped to pioneer at New York's Savoy...

rebutted Manning's story and claimed that he himself was the first dancer to do aerials in the Savoy Ballroom.

Manning went on to dance extensively with one of the most influential Lindy Hop troupes, the Whitey's Lindy Hoppers

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers was a professional performing group of Savoy Ballroom swing dancers, started in 1935 by Herbert "Whitey" White. The group took on many different forms, with up to 12 different groups performing under this name or one of a number of different names used for the group over the...

(also known as Whitey's Lindy Maniacs, Whyte's Hopping Maniacs, The Harlem Congaroos, The Hot Chocolates, and other names). The troupe was based at the Savoy and managed by White. They performed around the world from 1935 to 1941 at private parties and in stage shows and films; contributing to the spread of Lindy across America

Dean Collins and Hollywood

See Dean Collins
Dean Collins
Dean Collins was an American dancer, instructor, choreographer, and innovator of swing. He is often credited with bringing swing dance, or Lindy Hop, from New York to Southern California...

and Hollywood-style Lindy Hop
Hollywood-style Lindy Hop
Hollywood-style Lindy Hop is a variety of Lindy Hop, an American vernacular dance. It is also sometimes referred to as Dean Collins or Smooth-style, but these terms also sometimes refer to different styles of Lindy Hop....

for further details

Lindy Hop's movement into the American and international mainstream is largely attributed to four factors: Hollywood films, dance studios and instructors such as Arthur Murray

Arthur Murray

Arthur Murray was a dance instructor and businessman, whose name is most often associated with the dance studio chain that bears his name....

, touring dance troupes, and ordinary people (e.g., American troops in WWII bringing Lindy Hop to new countries). One of key figures in Lindy Hop's move to Hollywood was Dean Collins.

Dean Collins learned Lindy Hop from his sisters in New Jersey and became a high profile dancer of this style on the west coast of the United States

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

, appearing in a number of Hollywood films that capitalized on the popularity of swing music and dancing. Frankie Manning and other African American

African American

dancers also appeared in key films of the era, such as Hellzapoppin'

Hellzapoppin' (film)

Hellzapoppin' is a 1941 Universal Pictures adaptation of the musical of the same name directed by H.C. Potter. The cast includes Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson , Martha Raye, Mischa Auer, Shemp Howard, and The Six Hits.The credits for the movie assert that "any resemblance between Hellzapoppin and a...

and A Day at the Races

A Day at the Races (film)

Further reading* Elisabeth Buxbaum: Veronika, der Lenz ist da. Walter Jurmann – Ein Musiker zwischen den Welten und Zeiten. Mit einem Werkverzeichnis von Alexander Sieghardt. Edition Steinbauer, Wien 2006, ISBN 3-902494-18-2-External links:*...

, however, their films were not as numerous and they frequently had inferior working conditions.

World War II era (1941 to 1945)

During the war many top performers were called to military service

Conscription

Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...

, including many Lindy Hoppers and musicians. Frankie Manning and other members of the Whitey's Lindy Hoppers were drafted, prompting the disbanding of the group.

Lindy hop became a wartime recreation, with white dancers developing as the most well-known and common faces in popular musical films.

In 1943, Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....

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

In 1944, due to continued involvement in World War II

World War II

, the United States levied a 30 percent federal excise tax

Excise

Excise tax in the United States is a indirect tax on listed items. Excise taxes can be and are made by federal, state and local governments and are far from uniform throughout the United States...

against "dancing" nightclub

Nightclub

A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

s. Although the tax was later reduced to 20 percent, "No Dancing Allowed" signs went up all over the country.

Post-war era (1945 to 1984)

After the Second World War, music changed. Jazz

Jazz

clubs, burdened by new taxes and legislation limiting venues' ability to employ musicians and dancers or host dancing, employed only smaller bands and filled dance floors with tables. Musicians, immersed in the new world of bebop

Bebop

Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...

and cool jazz

Cool jazz

Cool is a style of modern jazz music that arose following the Second World War. It is characterized by its relaxed tempos and lighter tone, in contrast to the bebop style that preceded it...

wanted patrons to pay attention and listen, not dance. The rise of rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

and bebop in the 1950s saw a further decline in the popularity of jazz for dancing, and Lindy Hop slipped from the public eye, replaced by Rock and Roll dancing

Rock and Roll (dance)

Acrobatic Rock'n'Roll is a very athletic, competitive form of dance that originated from lindy hop. Unlike lindy hop, however, it is a choreographed dance designed for performance. It is danced by both couples and groups, either all-female or 4-8 couples together...

, East Coast Swing

East Coast Swing

East Coast Swing is a form of social partner dance. It belongs to the group of swing dances. It is danced under fast swing music, including rock and roll and boogie-woogie....

, West Coast Swing

West Coast Swing

West Coast Swing is a partner dance with roots in Lindy Hop. It is characterized by a distinctive elastic look that results from its basic extension-compression technique of partner connection, and is danced primarily in a slotted area on the dance floor...

and other dances.

Revival era (1980s)

Lindy Hop was revived in the 1980s by dancers in New York City

New York City

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, and the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Each group independently searched for original Lindy Hop dancers and, for those who lived outside of New York City, traveled to New York City to work with them. Al Minns

Al Minns

, Pepsi Bethel

Pepsi Bethel

Alfred "Pepsi" Bethel was a jazz dancer, choreographer, and leader of his own dance troupe, the Pepsi Bethel Authentic Jazz Dance Theater, which he founded in 1960....

, Frankie Manning

Frankie Manning

Frankie Manning was an American dancer, instructor and choreographer. Manning is considered one of the founding fathers of the Lindy Hop.-Early years:...

and Norma Miller

Norma Miller

Norma Miller is an American swing dancer known to many people as The Queen of Swing. The daughter of parents from Bridgetown, Barbados, Miller was born and raised in Harlem, New York. She was interviewed along with dance partner Frankie Manning in Ken Burns documentary Jazz...

came out of retirement and toured the world teaching Lindy Hop, later to be joined by dancers such as George and Sugar Sullivan.

British revival

Louise "Mama Lou" Parks was a hostess at the Savoy Ballroom

Savoy Ballroom

that had promised Charles Buchanan that she would continue holding the Lindy Hop portion of the Harvest Moon Ball dance competition after the Savoy Ballroom closed.
She helped preserve the dance by teaching the performance and competition aspects to a new generation of dancers, and in doing so, helped a generation of youngsters living "in the 'hood" from getting in trouble with the law.
After Mama Lou Parks contacted Wolfgang Steuer of the World Rock 'N' Roll Federation in Germany about sponsoring the winners of her Harvest Moon Ball at their international swing dance competition, she started to become more well known in Europe and eventually caught the attention of the British TV company London Weekend Television

London Weekend Television

London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...

. "In 1981 they paid for one of Mama Lou's events to be re-staged at Small's Paradise Club on 7th Avenue in Harlem

Harlem

."
The program aired in late 1982 on the arts program The South Bank Show

The South Bank Show

The South Bank Show was a television arts magazine show, originally made by London Weekend Television , presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast on ITV and seen in over 60 countries worldwide — including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States...

and featured Mama Lou Parks, her Traditional Jazz Dance Company, and the Lindy Hop.
The TV show sparked so much interest in the dance that Mama Lou Parks and her Traditional Jazz Dance Company toured the UK in 1983 and 1984.
Terry Monaghan and Warren Heyes met each other at her workshops in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

in 1983. Afterwards, they decided to form the British dance company The Lindy Hop Jivers, later renamed to the Jiving Lindy Hoppers.
During the 1980s, the Jiving Lindy Hoppers were instrumental in spreading Lindy Hop throughout the UK by teaching and performing at shows, festivals and on TV.

January 1984, the Jiving Lindy Hoppers started teaching Lindy Hop in London. After the first few classes, Ryan Francois joined the classes and later that year, he became a member of the Jiving Lindy Hoppers.
During the 1990s, Ryan Francois became considered one of the most talented modern Lindy Hoppers and traveled internationally to teach and perform the Lindy Hop with his dance company Zoots and Spangles Authentic Jazz Dance Company (formed in 1987).

March 1985, the Jiving Lindy Hoppers (Warren Heyes, Terry Monaghan, Ryan Francois, Claudia Gintersdorfer, and Lesley Owen) traveled to New York City on their first research visit. Their goal was primarily to meet Al Minns

Al Minns

but when they arrived, they learned that he was in the hospital and not expected to live much longer. (Al Minns died on 24 April 1985.) Through Mama Lou Parks, they met Alfred "Pepsi" Bethel

Pepsi Bethel

Alfred "Pepsi" Bethel was a jazz dancer, choreographer, and leader of his own dance troupe, the Pepsi Bethel Authentic Jazz Dance Theater, which he founded in 1960....

and trained with him for two weeks in New York City followed by another week in London. While in NY, they also met two former members of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers

, Frankie Manning and Norma Miller, dance historians Mura Dehn

Mura Dehn

Mura Dehn documented African-American social jazz dancing at the Savoy Ballroom in New York between 1920 and 1940, a time that she referred to as the "Golden Age of Jazz." She also worked as a producer and documenter up until her death, and was co-artistic director of Traditional Jazz Dance...

, Sally Sommer, and Ernie Smith, as well as dance enthusiasts that had just formed the New York Swing Dance Society in 1985.

In 1986, Simon Selmon started taking Lindy Hop classes from Warren Heyes, his previous rock and roll dance instructor who had now converted to Lindy Hop.
The dance classes inspired Simon Selmon to travel to New York City later that year, where he met Margaret Batiuchok, one of the founders of the New York Swing Dance Society.
Upon his return to London, he started the London Swing Dance Society in a similar manner to the New York Swing Dance Society.
Later, Simon Selmon traveled throughout Europe, America, and Japan teaching Lindy Hop.

On 31 October 1987, Simon Erland, a sculptor and dance enthusiast, started Jitterbugs London, a Lindy Hop and Swing club in London.
Ryan Francois and Julie Oram taught Lindy Hop classes followed by DJed music from the 1930s, 40s, ad 50s. Sing Lim, "an extra enthusiastic and energetic dancer",
became good friends with Ryan and Julie and in 1991, she started to help run Jitterbugs. Sing Lim taught the dance classes when Ryan and Julie were out of town performing for Zoots and Spangles, as well as helped advertise and promote the club.
When Sing Lim returned to Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

in 1994, she started Jitterbugs Swingapore and helped spread Lindy Hop to Singapore, Australia, and Japan, as well as parts of the US.

Swedish revival

Three Swedish dancers who later formed an influential performance and teaching group called The Rhythm Hot Shots

The Rhythm Hot Shots

The Hot Shots is a collective name for two closely related Swedish dance companies based in Stockholm, Sweden: The Rhythm Hot Shots and the Harlem Hot Shots. The Hot Shots specialize in faithful reproductions of African-American dance scenes in American films from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s...

traveled to New York City

New York City

in April 1984 in search of Al Minns

Al Minns

, one of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers

. They invited Al Minns to Stockholm

Stockholm

, where he held a dance workshop in 1984 for the newly created Swedish Swing Society. When Al Minns died in 1985, they found Frankie Manning. The Swedish Swing Society and The Rhythm Hot Shots helped spread Lindy Hop throughout Sweden and the rest of the world, partly through the Herräng Dance Camp

Herräng Dance Camp

Herräng Dance Camp is the largest annual dance camp that focuses on African American jazz dances such as Lindy Hop, boogie woogie, tap, authentic jazz, and balboa...

held every summer since 1982 in the town of Herräng

Herräng

Herräng is the northernmost locality in Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 443 inhabitants in 2005. It is located along the coast at the bay Singöfjärden, 40 kilometres north of the municipal seat Norrtälje....

American revival

In 1982, Al Minns was convinced to start teaching Lindy Hop at the Sandra Cameron Dance Center in New York City. California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

n dancers Erin Stevens and Steven Mitchell flew to New York City to take classes with him in 1983 and 1984. When Al Minns died in 1985, they learned about Frankie Manning through Bob Crease, a board member of the New York Swing Dance Society. They visited Frankie Manning in 1986 and are credited with convincing him to begin instructing Lindy Hop. Erin Stevens and Steven Mitchell helped spread Lindy Hop to California and other locations within the US. With Frankie Manning out of retirement, he continued where Al Minns left off at the Sandra Cameron Dance Center. Eventually the demand for his dance instruction increased and Frankie Manning started to travel and teach worldwide spreading his joy of Lindy Hop.

Neo-swing era (1990s)

The 1990s saw the rise of popular neo-swing bands such as Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is a contemporary swing revival band from southern California. Their notable singles include "Go Daddy-O", "You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight ", and "Mr. Pinstripe Suit". The band played the Super Bowl XXXIII half-time show in 1999.The band was originally formed in Ventura,...

, Royal Crown Revue

Royal Crown Revue

The Royal Crown Revue is a band formed in 1989 in Los Angeles, California. They are often credited with starting the Swing Revival movement. Live, RCR has been extremely successful: They participated in 1998's Vans Warped Tour, opened for the B-52s and The Pretenders and played at major US Jazz...

, Dr. Zoot, and Brian Setzer

Brian Setzer

Brian Setzer is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He first found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly revival group The Stray Cats, and revitalized his career in the late 1990s with a jazz-oriented big band.-Career:Setzer was born in Massapequa, New York...

in the swing revival

Swing Revival

The Swing Revival was a late 1990s and early 2000s period of renewed popular interest in swing and jump blues music and dance from the 1930s and 1940s as exemplified by Louis Prima, often mixed with a more contemporary rock, rockabilly or ska sound, known also as neo-swing or retro...

, and many other artists moving on from ska

Ska

Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...

and punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

based music to a reworking of swinging jazz musical themes and standard songs such as Cherry Poppin' Daddies

Cherry Poppin' Daddies

The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American band established in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989. Formed by Steve Perry and Dan Schmid , the band has experienced many membership changes over the years, with only Perry, Schmid and Dana Heitman currently remaining from the original line-up.The Daddies' music...

. Almost overnight, neo-swing bands and clubs popped up in most large cities in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, with the music's popularity growing internationally, with bands such as The Louisville Sluggers

The Louisville Sluggers

The Louisville Sluggers, also known as The Sluggers, were an Australian Swing Revival band from Sydney formed in the late '90s by Glenn 'Nugget' Scott and his sister, 'The Boss'....

in Australia and many others.
Neo-swing music was a modern interpretation of jazz and swing incorporating modern elements of rock, rockabilly

Rockabilly

Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...

, jump blues

Jump blues

Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...

and ska

Ska

rhythms played with blazing horns and over-the-top presentation.

Film such as Swing Kids
Swing Kids (film)
Swing Kids is a film produced in 1993, directed by Thomas Carter and starring Christian Bale, Robert Sean Leonard and Kenneth Branagh. The runtime is approximately 112 minutes. The film is considered as being part of the Lindy Hop revival of the 1980s and 1990s...

(1993) and Swingers
Swingers (1996 film)
Swingers is a 1996 comedy-drama film about the lives of single, unemployed actors living on the 'eastside' of Hollywood, California during the 1990s swing revival...

(1996) capitalized on the popularity of neo-swing, with the former discussing youth resistance to the Nazi party in Germany through jazz and Lindy Hop, and the latter becoming a cult-hit story of love and misadventure in Los Angeles. The popularity of films such as Swingers (which featured the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and landmark Lindy Hop venue The Derby) prompted the American Gap commercial "Khaki Swing" in 1996 exploited the popularity of neo swing music with a sequence of swing dancing and the song "Jump Jive and Wail".
Many swing dancers who came to Lindy Hop in the 1990s cite these films, advertisements and bands as key factors inspiring them to take up lindy hop. Neo-swing dancers often dressed up with fancy zoot suit

Zoot suit

A zoot suit is a suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. This style of clothing was popularized by African Americans, Mexican-Americans, and Italian Americans during the late 1930s and the 1940s...

s and many accessories. The dance - in order to be made simpler and easy to sell - was mainly taught as a six-count form based on East Coast Swing.

Revivalist Lindy Hoppers such as The Rhythm Hot Shots

The Rhythm Hot Shots

in Sweden and Sylvia Sykes

Sylvia Sykes

Sylvia Sykes is a swing dancer, dance instructor, judge and choreographer. In particular she is considered by most to be the leading authority on the dance Balboa....

in the United States were able to offer classes in Lindy Hop and other swing dances to interested young people in the late 1980s and 1990s.

As the fad died towards to end of the 1990s, the numbers of dancers dwindled and Lindy Hop was taught again as a jazz dance, and dancers had turned back to jazz music and continued to develop their dance. The neo-swing era, with all its problems, had one important contribution to Lindy Hop - popularizing the dance revivalists were researching and learning, and bringing it once again to the general public and creating a popular basis that has been a firm foundation for the continuation of the art form into the 21st century.

External links

Transcript of an interview with Frankie Manning and Normal Miller for Ken Burn's Jazz documentary, 1997. Retrieved 12 July 2006.

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