lindy hop

The tradition & historical record

The Lindy Hop is an American dance which was born in the African-American communities of Harlem, New York City, in 1928 and has evolved since then. It was very popular during the swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Lindy is 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 African-American dances along with the formal eight-count structure of European partner dances – most clearly illustrated in the Lindy's defining move, the swingout. In this step's open position, each dancer is generally connected hand-to-hand; in its closed position, leads and follows are connected as though in an embrace on one side and holding hands on the other. There was renewed interest in the dance in the 1980s from American, Swedish, and British dancers and the Lindy Hop is now represented by dancers and loosely affiliated grass-roots organizations in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Lindy Hop today is danced as a social dance, as a competitive dance, as a performance dance, and in classes, workshops, and camps. ¹

The first dances named as lindy hop were born around the time the aviator Charles Lindbergh made his groundbreaking flight across the Atlantic Ocean in May 1927. The most famous lindy hop dance, which is not connected to the other lindy hop dances, was born in the Harlem dance marathon in 1928 where George Snowden and Mattie Purnell reinvented the breakaway pattern by accident. That started a process in which their invention became bigger than it initially suggested. The Harlem dance is the only one of the lindy hop dances that survived in the long run. The Harlem lindy hop developed probably from four possible sources, or some combination thereof: the breakaway, the Charleston, the Texas Tommy, and the hop. A recorded source of the non-Harlem-connected lindy hop dances is the famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, nicknamed "Lucky Lindy", who "hopped the Atlantic" in 1927. After Lindbergh's solo non-stop flight from New York to Paris in 1927 he became incredibly popular and many people named songs, recipes and businesses among several other things, after him. Te Roy Williams and His Orchestra recorded the song "Lindbergh Hop", written by Ted Nixon and Elmer Snowden, on May 25, 1927 (Harmony Records). The Memphis Jug Band on September 13, 1928 recorded "Lindberg Hop- Overseas stomp," written by Jab Jones and Will Shade (on Victor Records). The first of the lindy hop-named dances was probably the "Lindbergh Hop" which was referred to as lindy hop in the headline of an article in Pittsburgh Gazette Times on May 25, 1927, just four days after Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget. The dance was reported to be Broadway's tribute to Lindbergh, and it included six basic steps. Later, a "lindy hop" dance was described by columnist Gilbert Swan. ¹

When by 1936 "air steps" or "aerials" such as the Hip to Hip, Side Flip, and Over the Back (the names describe the motion of the follow in the air) began to appear, the old guard of dancers such as Leon James, Leroy Jones, and Shorty Snowden disapproved of the new moves. 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". 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 Manning, working with his partner Freida Washington, for inventing the ground-breaking "air step" or "aerial" in 1935. One source credits Minns and Bethel as among those who refined the air step. However, early versions of air steps in the lindy hop were performed already from the very beginning of the 1930s. 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. ¹

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 A Day at the Races (1937) and Hellzapoppin' (1941) began featuring the lindy hop in dance sequences. Dance studios such as those of Arthur Murray began teaching lindy hop. By the early 1940s the dance was known as "New Yorker" on the West Coast. Jazz-loving youths were enamored with the bands of the time, influenced by radio stations and the film industry showcasing clips. In Nazi Germany, the Swingjugend, young rebels, defied the regime's cultural restrictions by embracing banned swing music. Similarly, in California and other parts of the country, Mexican-Americans, Japanese-heritage individuals, black, and white youth all adored jazz music and wanted to learn the new dance steps. This African American dance would be integral in shaping the aesthetics of contemporary African American culture and tradition. The swing dance was influenced by a variety of other different dances during the time like the Charleston, jazz and tap. It would soon be influential in overall pop-culture and dance at the time. During the creation of this dance, segregation was in place. Even with these limitations the African American community is still able to celebrate their heritage and black musical traditions with a dance that embodies elements of improvisations and musicality, while surviving as a reminder of the historical context from which black art forms emerged. In 1943, lindy hop was featured on the cover of Life magazine, becoming America's National Folk Dance and a recruitment tool for the military. ¹

Savoy-style Lindy Hop is characterized by a high energy, circular, rotating style. This particular style of lindy hop was most frequently associated with dancers from the 1930s, such as Frankie Manning. The term "Savoy-style lindy hop" applies a generic relationship between all African American lindy hoppers (and aficionados of their styles) which ignores the variety and diversity of lindy hop in the 1930s and 1940s. ¹

In describing Savoy style lindy hop, observers note that the follower is led out of the basic swingout sideways as a default. This is not the case, however, as leading a follow out backwards or forwards is just as likely. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Lindy Hop”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

lindy hop is American dance, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 10 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²