Lindy Hop can be danced in a wild fashion or can be cool and sophisticated depending on your mood and the music. The flips and jumps often associated with this dance are only a part of a performance, as opposed to the social style we teach in our Lindy Hop Class. 

Of all of the social dances, Lindy Hop offers dancers the greatest amount of room for improvisation and personal expression. Lindy Hop was revolutionary for the freedom it allowed to improvise and do different movements during break-away steps. During break-away steps, partners separate and are connected by a single handhold. Previously, partner dances, were danced only in the closed position. The ability to “break-away” gives Lindy Hop a dramatically different and highly dynamic look from dances like the Foxtrot and the Waltz.

You can learn the Lindy Hop in the regular Monday night Swing Dance and Lindy Hop Classes. Swing is offered for beginers and Lindy Hop is offered for intermediate and advanced levels.

History of Lindy Hop

Lindy Hop is the granddaddy of all of the Swing Dances. It started in the huge ballrooms in Harlem in the 1920s, 30s and 40s. Lindy Hop developed hand-in-hand with the music of the time, Jazz. Lindy Hop’s roots stretch deep into the past and include African rhythms and movements and European partner dancing. Charleston also was a huge influence and many Charleston moves are incorporated into Lindy.

Norma Miller and Frankie Manning, early innovators of the dance and members of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, the premier Lindy Hop performance troupe, were featured in Hollywood films of the era including A Day at the Races, Hot Chocolates and Hellzapoppin’.

Sine the 40s, Lindy Hop, Swing and Jazz have all spread throughout the United States and as they did different styles and varieties of Swing dancing have evolved.