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Swing Dance Emerges
Swing dance began to emerge in the 1920's where the black community, while listening to contemporary Jazz, discovered the Charlston and the Lindy Hop. -
THe Savoy Ballroom Opens
The Savoy Ballrom, in New York, was an immediate success with its block-long dance floor and a raised double bandstand. Nightly dancing attracted most of the best dancers in the New York area. Stimulated by the presence of great dancers and the best black bands, music at the Savoy was largely Swinging Jazz. -
The Term 'Lindy Hop' was Established
A dance enthusiast named "Shorty George" Snowden who was watching some of the dancing couples was aproached by a newspaper reporter. The reporter asked him what dance they were doing, and it just so happened that there was a newspaper with an article about Lindbergh's flight sitting on the bench next to them. The title of the article read, "Lindy Hops The Atlantic," and George just sort of read that and said, "Lindy Hop" and the name stuck. -
Jitterbug!
In the mid 1930's, a bouncy six beat variant was named the Jitterbug by the band leader Cab Calloway when he introduced a tune in 1934 entitled "Jitterbug". With the discovery of the Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug, the communities began dancing to the contemporary Jazz and Swing music as it was evolving at the time, with Benny Goodman leading the action. Dancers soon incorporated tap and jazz steps into their dancing. -
Controversy in the Dance World.
As might be expected, the first reaction of most dancing teachers to the Lindy was a chilly negative. In 1936 Philip Nutl, president of the American Society of Teachers of Dancing, expressed the opinion that swing would not last beyond the winter. In 1938 Donald Grant, president of the Dance Teachers' Business Association, said that swing music "is a degenerated form of jazz, whose devotees are the unfortunate victims of economic instability." -
Whitey's Lindy Hoppers
"In the mid 1930's, Herbert White, head bouncer in the New York City Savoy Ballroom, formed a Lindy Hop dance troupe called Whitey's Lindy Hoppers. One of the most important members of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers was Frankie Manning. The "Hoppers" were showcased in the following films: "A Day at the Races" (1937), "Hellzapoppin" (1941), "Sugar Hill Masquerade" (1942), and "Killer Diller" (1948)." -
Competitions at Harnest Moon
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In 1938, the Harvest Moon Ball included Lindy Hop and Jitterbug competition for the first time. -
Dance Education
"The dance schools such as The New York Society of Teachers and Arthur Murray, did not formally begin documenting or teaching the Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Lindy, and Swing until the early 1940's. The ballroom dance community was more interested in teaching the foreign dances such as the Argentine Tango, Spanish Paso Doblé, Brazilian Samba, Puerto Rican Merengue, Cuban Mambo and Cha Cha, English Quickstep, Austrian Waltz, with an occasional American Fox-trot and Peabody." -
Teaching Swing
"In the early 1940's the Arthur Murray studios looked at what was being done on the dance floors in each city and directed their teachers to teach what was being danced in their respective cities. As a result, the Arthur Murray Studios taught different styles of undocumented Swing in each city." -
Western Swing
Lauré Haile, as a swing dancer and competitor, took note of what she noticed as far as dance trends in the white community. Currently, "Dean Collins was leading the action with Lenny Smith and Lou Southern in the night clubs and competitions in Southern California. Lauré Haile gave it the name of "Western Swing"." -
Jitterbug Instructional Video
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Groovie Movie" by Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1944 -
After the War..
"The soldiers and sailors returned from overseas and continued to dance in and around their military bases. Jitterbug was danced to Country-Western music in Country Western bars, and popularized in the 1980's. As the music changed between the 1920's and 1990's... the Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, and Swing evolved across the U.S. with many regional styles. "This time brought forth many dances that evolved from Rhythm & Blues music:" the Dallas whip, the Imperial Swing, and the Carolina Swag name a few. -
Dance Curriculum
"Lauré Haile first published her dance notes as a syllabus, which included Western Swing for the Santa Monica Arthur Murray Dance Studio. In the 50's she presented her syllabus in workshops across the U.S. for the Arthur Murray Studios. The original Lauré Haile Arthur Murray Western Swing Syllabus has been taught by Arthur Murray studios with only minor revisions for the past 44 years." -
TV!
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In the late 1950's, television brought "American Bandstand", "The Buddy Dean Show" and other programs to the teenage audiences. The teenagers were rocking with Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry leading the fray. In 1959, the California dance organizations changed the name of Western Swing to West Coast Swing so it would not be confused with country and western. -
Today
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Swing dance is still performed today! Many people enjoy the upbeat dance through clubs and dance studios.
