CC Photo: James Leon and Willa Mae Ricker by Gjon Mili
What do you think of when you hear the words "swing dancing"? Many people picture guys throwing girls wearing poodle skirts in the air and Elvis Presley playing in the background.
Swing dancing's origins actually go back a lot farther then the 50's. The first true swing dance, called lindy hop, was created by African Americans in Harlem at the Savoy Ballroom. The dance got its name when a famous lindy hopper by the name of Georg "Shorty" Snowden was asked by a reporter what the name of the dance was. On impulse Shorty answered with "Lindy Hop" in reference to Charles Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
"Shorty" George Snowden and his partner Big Bea can be viewed performing HERE.
Lindy hop was formed from many different dances, but mostly from tap moves, the Charleston dance, and the Foxtrot, which was popular in the 20's. The defining move of the dance known as lindy hop is the swing out. The move consists of the leader guiding the follower out to a point on the dance floor where the two are connected by only one hand. At this point the follower shows off her own dance moves, usually swiveling her hips and legs from right to left.
Lindy hop gained recognition throughout the country and eventually the world through groups of performance troupes brought together by a man named Herbert "Whitey" White, who was the manager of the popular Harlem Savoy Ballroom. As these performance troupes grew in popularity so did the demand for more lindy dancers!
Whitey's lindy hoppers have been featured in motion pictures such as "Hellzapoppin" and "A Day at the Races". Whites were ironically band from participating in the dance at the Savoy ballroom, but eventually everyone was lindy hopping and national swing competitions included both black and white competitors. Lindy Hop swing dancing helped break barriers between races in the 1930's and 1940's, making this art form a very important part of history!
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