Lindy Hop
What is Lindy Hop?
Lindy Hop is the original swing dance. Born in Harlem, NY in the excitement of the jazz era, Lindy Hop evolved as the fusion of many other dance forms of the day to become the most popular way to dance to the Big Band Jazz music, or "Swing music," of the 1930's and 1940's. Often described as "partnered Jazz dance," Lindy Hop combines the rhythmically rich dance movements of West Africa with the partner dancing traditions of Europe to create one of the most complex, improvisational and addictive partner dances in the world. Revived in the 1980's and 1990's by vintage swing dancing enthusiasts, Lindy Hop has spread all over the world and is enjoyed by dancers of all ages and cultures, from Seattle to Singapore.
Origins
Lindy Hop grew out of a time when dancing was a national passion, and new dances sprouted like dandelions. Dancers were always interested in learning the newest step and stealing cool moves from each others, which meant that dances evolved very quickly. The insanely popular Charleston, Black Bottom and Collegiate dances contributed to the creation of Lindy Hop, along with the Jig Walk, the Texas Tommy, Cake Walk and many others. Lindy Hop's defining point was as Charleston gave way to a new dance called the "Breakaway." Based on the Charleston (and of course a few other influences), the Breakaway was distinguished by the fact that the dance partners opened up to dance apart, joined only by one hand. Previously most of the popular dances had used a "closed position" embrace that allowed less personal interpretation. With the introduction of the Breakaway, partners would separate temporarily and improvise their own steps before coming back together. In about 1926, the Breakaway became known as the "Lindy Hop" and continued evolving into the dance we know today. Legend credits "Shorty" George Snowden with naming the Lindy Hop, when he won a contest and was asked by a reporter about that "new step" he'd done. Shorty George thought he was referring to an improvised move he'd done involving a jump, and inspiring himself with the headlines of the day referring to Charles Lindberg's famous flight across the Atlantic, he said it was the "Lindy Hop." The reporter thought he was referring to a whole new dance, and the name stuck.
Jitterbug
Lindy Hop was also called Jitterbug. Originally "jitterbug" was a pejorative term, used by some band leaders to refer to crazed swing dancers, or by some dancers to refer to wild and unskilled dancers. Eventually the term became accepted by swing dancers who sometimes referred to themselves as "jitterbugs." While the term Jitterbug can essentially refer to any style of swing dancing, as Lindy Hop spread around North America, the term Jitterbug began to refer to each area's local style of Lindy Hop. More on Jitterbug dancing.
Related Dances
Due to the extreme popularity of Lindy Hop around the world, many other dances were influenced by it, and over time Lindy Hop evolved into other dances in different cities. The original LA Swing dancers were influenced by the Lindy Hop they saw in movies, even before Lindy Hop reached California.
As popular music changed, dancers adapted the moves they knew and invented new steps to fit the music. In the Carolinas Lindy Hop eventually evolved into Carolina Shag and was done to beach music. Across the US, dancers adapted their local form of Jitterbug to the new Rock and Roll music and eventually called it Jive, and on the West Coast dancers began enjoying slower music and created West Coast Swing.
Lindy Hop today
Lindy Hop is back! Enjoyed by thousands of dancers worldwide, Lindy Hop has become once again a popular way to enjoy dancing with a partner. Characterized by freedom, improvisation, and a unique degree of partner connection, Lindy Hop is easy to start and hard to stop!
Lindy Hop in Ottawa with Swing Dynamite
If you're looking to start dancing Lindy Hop in Ottawa, check out our Swing I (Beginning Swing) class! We've got the quickest, easiest way for you to start dancing Lindy Hop, and we'll teach you the fundamental technique used by the best dancers in the world! Sign up for classes here.
