What's that smell? New shoes.
The Dances[]
Swing dancing encompasses a whole spectrum of dances that developed primarily in response to the Big Band swing music of the 1930's and 1940's in the United States. Most of the dances trace their roots to African-American dances, with partnered aspects influenced by the European dances, and the broader umbrella includes blues dancing, which predates the swing dance era, and other potentially independently derived regional/folk dance styles.
The History[]
Swing Era Dance History[]
- Lindy Hop was a dance rooted in African-American dance forms that was developed in the Harlem Ballroom during the 1930s
Post Big-Band Era Swing Dancing[]
- Lindy Hop and Swing Dancing continues at the Savoy ballroom, as documented in The Spirit Moves
- Lindy hop dancers continue to dance in New York, and are sometimes invited to teach
- Swing Music and Dancing spreads to Europe with dancers (often attributed to American GIs) but also musicians (e.g. Sidney Bechet) who cross the Atlantic.
International Interest in Lindy Hop[]
- Sometimes referred to as the "Revival" period
- Mid-80s Santa Barbara Swing/Balboa (300 people, Sylvia Sykes), interest from Swedish Lindy Hoppers
- Frankie Manning retires as a postal worker and starts teaching lindy hop internationally.
External Resources
- Kansas City Lindy Hop Society Lindy Hop Information page (Wayback Machine)
- Artistry in Rhythm series: J.S. Almonte's Wandering and Pondering blog
Video Bibliography[]
- The Swing Thing (BBC Documentary 2013)
- The History of Swing (Unknown TV Documentary)
- Norma Miller on Swing Music: Chck Webb, Ella, Whitey
- Swing Out: A Swing Dancing Documentary: Washtenaw Community College
- A very, very brief history of swing: Part 1 of "From Swing to Chicago Step"
- history of swing dance in 3 minutes (Savannah Smith)
Book Bibliography[]
- Frankie's Bibliography
- Normal Miller's Bibliography
Academic Papers[]
- Harri Heinilä, An Endeavor by Harlem Dancers to Achieve Equality – The Recognition of the Harlem-Based Jazz Dance Between 1921 and 1943 (Helsinki, Finland: Unigrafia, 2015)
- Terry Monaghan’s “Stompin’ At the Savoy” -Remembering, Researching and Re-enacting the Lindy Hop’s relationship to Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom, (Dancing At The Crossroads. African Diasporic Dances in Britain. Conference Proceedings 1-2 August 2002).