What is Lindy Hop & swing dancing?

Swing is an umbrella term that refers to a whole family of dances including, but not limited to, Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing, Jitterbug, Charleston, Balboa, West Coast Swing, Carolina Shag, Collegiate Shag, Rock and Roll, Jive, Rockabilly, and the list goes on.

Lindy Hop, is generally considered to be the original Swing dance. It was created in 1928 by the Black-American community in Harlem (New York City) as they danced to the swinging rhythms of big band jazz of the day.

During this era, the songs of popular bands would have lit up ballroom dance floors. Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Billy Eckstine, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Buddy Johnson, Woody Herman, Fletcher Henderson, Gene Krupa, Artie Shaw, and Chick Webb led some of the many popular bands of the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s.

Lindy Hop is known both as a social and performative dance. Its popularity was highlighted in American cinema with the premier dance troupe, “Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers”, who made appearances in many films. Marx Brothers’ movie “A Day at the Races” (1937), and lesser known films (unless you’re a Lindy Hop fanatic) such as “Hellzapoppin” (1941) are some of my personal favorites.

While Lindy Hop has continued throughout the years, other spin-off Swing dances splintered off in pockets and communities around the country. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s Lindy seemed to have gotten a second wind. Enthusiasts reconnected with the some of the original members of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, like Frankie Manning & Norma Miller. Both of them remain most notable and influential performers, teachers and icons of the Lindy Hopping world until their passing in 2009 & 2019 (respectively).

Today Lindy Hop has spread to nearly all corners of the world, and there has been incredible amounts of interest and time invested in seeking out other people who were around when the various Swing dances developed.

During the start of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013, communities, instructors and organizers began some very big conversations to gain better understanding of the rich and complex history and culture of this amazing and beautiful Black American art form, and creating spaces that are more inclusive and empowering for BIPOC & LGBTQIA+ communities.

While the work is far from done, communities continue to work hard to learn and spread their love of all Swing dances, and to compassionately understand and creatively solve the various systemic issues that continue through to today.

For the record, I am no historian. It’s hard for me to include a write up like this as I often feel the “I don’t know enough” of imposter syndrome (even after having been dancing, djing and teaching for a quarter century!). There are many other people out there who have a much better understanding of the cultural and historical context of these dances and the Black American communities that developed it. Nonetheless I feel it is my responsibility endure the discomfort, put out what I know, and admit my incomplete understanding, for those who may learn about this through me, my classes or my website.

So don’t stop here! Keep looking, keep learning, and I’ll do the same!