LINDY HOP

The grand-daddy of them all, the roots of jive! Named at New York's famous Savoy Ballroom in Harlem by 'Shorty' Snowden. Shorty was one of the top dancers, who when asked by a reporter what was the name of the dance he was doing said, 'The Lindy Hop' - to commemorate Charles Lindbergh’s 'hop' across the Atlantic. The year was 1928. The Savoy Ballroom took up a whole city block , having a vast dance floor. Capable of holding 5000 people, it was home to Whitey's Lindy Hoppers ('Day at the Races' and  'Hellzapoppin') and in a competition between the Savoy's dancers and Whitey's, a young Frank Manning (Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers) brought the whole place to a standstill and won the competition hands down when he threw his partner over his back and created the first airstep. During his life he danced in and choreographed for both film (Hellzapoppin, Stompin at the Savoy, Malcolm X and Swing Kids) and Stage (Black and Blue). The dance he helped create is the root of any swing or jive based partner dance you care to shake a stick at.