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Lindy Hop can be accurately described as a Partner Jazz Dance.
Partner= European dance tradition, with it varied repertoire of moves,
steps and techniques
Jazz = African-American tradition with expressive full body free solo
movement.
"Dance" of course, is something all people from all cultures do and have been
doing since time immemorial. We're talking movement that is a part of the music,
expressing the music, in a musical conversation and play with a partner.
A Brief History of Lindy Hop - Savoy Style
From the late 1920s to the mid 1940s, hundreds of large dance halls sprang up
across the USA, hiring a similarly huge number of traveling big bands. But, the
center of creative magic was Harlem's 4000-capacity Savoy Ballroom on Lenox
Avenue and 140th Street. In the 21st century, dancers often talk about "Savoy
Style."
 Want to dance Savoy Lindy Hop correctly?
Then, according to two of the original legends Leon James and Frank Manning, don't be real concerned
about "correctness!" It's primarily NOT about styling, moves or patterns: all
that is secondary. Dancers in the 21st century tend to get hung up on copying
dance moves, thinking that this is "Savoy Style." On the contrary, constant
personal creation of new moves, and even new dance styles, was the real core of
"Savoy Style." ("I never could copy the other guys anyway!"- Leon James). No
particular posturing or imitating truely conveys the true "heart" of Savoy Style
Lindy Hop.
A variety of Lindy styles have survived into the 21st century. Some refer to
only one these as "Savoy Style," whereas several current major Lindy styles
originated in that famous dance hall. Let's also keep in mind, that as far as
number of dance styles go, there were in fact over 500 unique "Savoy Styles."
Numerous other popular nationally and internationally known instructors teach
historically accurate and contemporary evolutions of Lindy variations.
An early divergence in "Savoy Style" occurred when frisky Frank Manning
debuted the first aerial move (a back-to-back flip) at a Savoy contest against
teammate "Shorty" George Snowden. From that time forward, many teenagers began
to explore acrobatic and dance moves. Others, including Shorty though, dedicated
themselves to moves that stayed on the floor. In the 21st century, repeated
injuries prompted some the most gifted legends to stay on the ground and leave
the more high flying moves to a younger generation. However, aerials in varying
degrees remain the inviolable birthright of the young and frisky.
An All Star Dance Troupe - Whitey's Lindy
HoppersWhitey's Lindy Hoppers was one of the most famous; an all-star team of
manager/agent Herbert White's 12 Lindy dance troupes. Original Lindy Hopper
Frank Manning is one of the few living sources of info we have on this style.
Fortunately, this style is kept alive in the 21st century by Sweden's Rhythm Hot
Shots, among others.
Steven Mitchell & Virginie Jensen, prime-mover in the Lindy Hop revival, is
currently teaching a very free and open approach to the dance. He has gone back
to the essence of the dance as partnered jazz-dance. Although at one time a key
player in defining a particular style of Lindy as "it," he has seen into the
very core of the dance: the music, your own body, and your partner are your only
guides.
The influence of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers re-emerged in the mid 1980s
when team members Leon James and Al Minns helped fuel the Lindy revival in NYC.
As of 2005, the main choreographer Frankie Manning at the age of 91, maintains a busy international teaching schedule.
Dancers at the top of this page are: Leon James and Willa Mae Ricker, 1943 LIFE
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