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| THE LINDY HOP |
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Widely considered as the most exciting and fun partner dance, Lindy Hop is the grand daddy of all Jive and Swing partner dances and was developed in the 1920's by African American dancers in Harlem, New York, at a time when the Charleston was all the rage.
During the 20's - 30's the Lindy Hop was seen as the latest street dance, where the Harlem dancers mixed together a variety of former Jazz dances such as the Breakaway, Charleston, Texas Tommy, Turkey Trot, Apache Dance, Black Bottom, The Shimmy, Cake Walk and Tap (OK, you know that one !)
Click HERE to see how it was orginally done and how it is done today! |
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The Savoy Ballroom, which opened in 1926 on Lennox Avenue, was the key venue for Lindy Hoppers to hit the floor, hosting regular swing bands such as Chick Webb and dancers such as Al Minns, Frankie Manning, Leon James & Norma Miller.
Lindy Hop is danced to "Swing music", which was inspired by Ragtime and New Orleans Jazz, as developed by some of the great jazz musicians such as Fletcher Henderson, Count Basie, Duke Ellington ,Chick Webb and Benny Goodman.
However with the growth and evolution of Lindy Hop amongst the younger generation today, it is often seen danced and mixed with Hip Hop, Street dance and blues and celebrated at 1940's events in the UK |
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| REVIVAL OF THE LINDY HOP |
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The Lindy Hop influenced many other dances such as the Jitterbug (as it all became commonly known), Rock n Roll, West coast Swing and more recently in the UK Modern Jive (known as (Leroc, Ceroc etc,.) although they do not neccesarily dance to swing music these days.
After the war, the dance reduced in popularity, but experienced a revival began back in the 1980's, led by the USA, England and Sweden. In UK, the Lindy Hop saw an upsurge in it's popularity as a partner dance, during the 90's, following media coverage with "Swing Kids", the "Gap" Adverts, Robbie Williams, Monica's Wedding in "Friends" and soared again in 20i0's with popular family TV shows, such as the BBC's "strictly dance fever", MTV, Christina Aguilera's "Candy Man" and numerous adverts on the TV.
Some may argue that today, the Lindy Hop is now much bigger that it ever has been, with lots of Lindy Hop classes, social dances and Swing Dance Weekends around the globe, such as GNSH for example, where many dancers of every age, race and culture from various countries meet together for a weekend of fun, classes and social dancing. |
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| 20s CHARLESTON |
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The Charleston is a dance named for the city of Charleston, South Carolina . The rhythm is a traditional one from West Africa , popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States of America by a 1923 tune called The Charleston by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one of the most popular hits of the decade. While it developed in Afro-American communities in the USA, the Charleston became a popular dance craze in the wider international community in the 1920s . Despite its black history, Charleston is most frequently associated with flappers and the speakeasy . Here, these young women would dance alone or together as a way of mocking the "drys," or citizens who supported the Prohibition amendment, as Charleston was then considered quite immoral and provocative.
Charleston was one of the dances from which Lindy Hop developed in the 1930s, though the breakaway (dance) is popularly considered an intermediary dance form. A slightly different form of Charleston became popular in the 1930s and 40s, and is associated with lindy hop . In this later Charleston form, the hot jazz timing of the 1920s Charleston was adapted to suit the swing jazz music of the 30s and 40s. This style of Charleston has many common names, though the most common are 'lindy Charleston', 'Savoy Charleston', '30s or 40s Charleston' and 'swing(ing) Charleston'. In both '20s Charleston' and 'swinging Charleston' the basic step takes 8 counts and was danced either alone or with a partner.
sources: text - wikipedia.org, |
NB: This is only a brief overview, just to get you started and not a document written by an Historian. If anyone reading this feels that there is anything incorrect or missing, please let us know.
Update:July 2005 |
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Boogie Shack Fridays
Friday 16th May 2008.
Monthly Social Dance / Freestyle nights, with swing DJ's ( or Live Band )
more about event.
Lindy Hop Workshop
Sunday 29th June 2008
Small workshop aimed at those wishing to progess to the next level of Lindy Hop.
more about the event.
Stompin East Weekend
6th -9th June 2008
A fun, friendly and intimate dance weekend in a cosy hotel. Classes, Band, Parties, with internationl teachers.
more about event.
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Teaching Schedule 2008
Check out where Joseph & Trisha's are teaching next..
click here.
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