About Lindy
By Emily Franda
People have danced since the beginning of time - whether as a form of communication, or to simply to keep healthy. Swing dancing is a social dance - a way to meet people and have fun. Furman Swingers focuses on type of swing called the Lindy hop. There are other forms of swing including jitterbug, west coast, east coast, balboa, Charleston, jive, bop, shag, and imperial. For specific definitions go to History of Swing Dancing by Lori Heikkila or Out to Dance. One dancer, Leonard Reed, commented...
"'All the dancers would hang out, and they would trade ideas. That was affectionately called 'stealin steps.' Everybody did it. That's how you learned. You would do something, and you'd say to the other dancers, 'You tryin' to steal it? Alright, do it.' 'Let me see you do this!' And they'd try it. Of course, when they did it, it was slightly different." (Malone, 97)
We can pin point the term Lindy hop to 1927. A reporter asked "Shorty George" Snowden for the name of his moves and supposedly was told that the dance was celebrating Charles Lindbergh's "hop" across the Atlantic. But the dance was really a compilation of many earlier dances. The percussive aspect of African dance (brought to America by the slaves) was a main component in influencing the music and the basic essence of swing. European social dances like the waltz contributed to the form and the steps of swing. Langston Hughes described Lindy hopper Bill "Bojangles" Robinson's dancing as "human percussion. No dancer ever developed the art of tap dancing to a more delicate perfection" (Emery, 233).
How did Lindy hop become a dance? As Langston Hughes accurately described the culture of the early 20th century, "the Negro was in vogue". The Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, an integrated ballroom, was considered to have some of the best entertainment. "It seems likely that had the Savoy not been integrated, Americans would never have discovered one of the world's most popular and famous social dances" (Thomas). In 1935, Herbert White, the manager of the Savoy Ballroom, "brought together the top Savoy Ballroom Dancers into a professional performance group to be called Whitey's Lindy Hoppers" ("Frankie"). Frankie Manning, a member of this group, turned the Lindy hop moves into ensemble routines and also invented the aerials so important in differentiating Lindy hop from other swing dances of the time.
A big impact on spreading this dance came when Dean Collins brought Lindy hop to the movies in Hollywood. "Between 1941 and 1960, Collins danced in, or helped choreograph over 100 movies which provided at least a 30 second clip of some of the best California white dancers performing Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Lindy and Swing" (Heikkila). "For the first time a dance that was all the rage in New York or Philadelphia or Chicago could, within a few weeks, be all the rage with the residents of Indianapolis, Indiana, or Atlanta, Georgia" (Thomas).
With the revival of swing in the 1980's, swing societies all over the world have formed. Of course it helps that some of the original Lindy hoppers are still alive and dancing. Lindy hop has evolved and branched in many forms of swing dances since 1927, but with luck all cultures will continue to dance.
"Great musicians inspire great dancers - and visa versa - until the combination pyramids into the greatest performances of both" (Stearns, 325).
Works Cited
Emery, Lynne. Black Dancing in the United States From 1619 to 1970. National Press Books. 1972.
Frankie Manning: Ambassadors of Lindy Hop. Written and researched by Judy Pritchett with Frankie Manning. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2007.
Heikkila, Lori. "History of Swing Dancing." Centralhome.com Company Inc. 1996 - 2008. (accessed Dec. 3, 2008).
Malone, Jacqui. Steppin' on the Blues:The Visible Rhythms of African American Dance. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. 1996.
Stearns, Marshall & Jean. Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance. New York: Da Capo Press. 1968.
Thomas, Bob. "The Hop, Lindy, Jitterbug." Bobethomas.com. 1990. (accessed Dec. 3 2008).
Frankie Manning: Ambassadors of Lindy Hop. Written and researched by Judy Pritchett with Frankie Manning. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2007.
Heikkila, Lori. "History of Swing Dancing." Centralhome.com Company Inc. 1996 - 2008. (accessed Dec. 3, 2008).
Malone, Jacqui. Steppin' on the Blues:The Visible Rhythms of African American Dance. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. 1996.
Stearns, Marshall & Jean. Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance. New York: Da Capo Press. 1968.
Thomas, Bob. "The Hop, Lindy, Jitterbug." Bobethomas.com. 1990. (accessed Dec. 3 2008).