Swing dancing is back and Lindy Hop is the star of the show
You like dancing? Have you considered dance as a way to meet people, exercise, and improve your social skills? If you answered yes, or are even thinking about it, then “Swing Dancing” is a beautiful way to express yourself, it is simply full of heart and emotion. Swing Dancing began in the 1930s and 1940s during the big band era when Benny Goodman was in his prime and America was young and filled with the promise of the future. So, just like today, swing dancing is great exercise and probably the best social icebreaker you will probably find anywhere in America or in cities around the world.
Swing dancing at its roots is improvisation and began to creep into competitions years ago when dancers (competitors) began looking for ways to stand out, for the judges to notice. It’s not easy when the floor was filled with excellence, but they tried it by moving their torso to one rhythm, their hips to another, and finally cascading down to their knees, with another twist and turn. Wow, the King would have loved it and who knows; maybe that twisted hip of hers had its roots in Swing Dancing.
A dynamic form of swing dance is called Lindy Hop.and it is, in a word, unique. It started as an African American dance movement in the late 1920s in the city of cities … New York, but it quickly crossed the boundaries of the race as it was full of energy and rhythm and was based on jazz music. In those days, news (and social mores) didn’t travel with web speed, but even so, word got out when dance troops like the Lindy Hoppers, Hot Chocolates, and Big Apple Dancers incorporated the Lindy into their routines. . The audience was amazed and fascinated by seeing twists that they had never seen (or even imagined) before. It wouldn’t be long before the famous Arthur Murray dance studio (yes, the one you’ve heard of) started teaching The Lindy and the rest is history; well, maybe it’s not history as Swing Dancing and The Lindy are making a comeback in dance studios and clubs across the country.
There was a time when Rock and Roll dominated (let’s have a quiet moment for “The King”) and Lindy and Swing disappeared or at least diminished from our culture. That sometimes happens over the years, but there are always those who remember those golden days (swing dancing was featured in the movies, which may have sparked the revival) since American troops stationed overseas brought swing dancing to Distant “ports of call”. .
The actual term “swing dance” is perhaps a misnomer, since (at the time) it referred to a group of dances from the early 20th century, namely … Lindy Hop, Charleston, Shag, Balboa and Blues, which They gave rise to the rhythm of Dixieland jazz, but grew to encompass other forms of music.
FACTOID: The Black Bottom and The Charleston, although not technically part of Swing Dancing, are considered part of the family. And a not-so-distant cousin is tap dancing.
We will always have debates about what kind of music REALLY defines “Swing Dancing”, can you dance to rock and roll (I don’t know, I haven’t tried it)? But across the country, right now, as you read this, someone, somewhere, is playing music that you may not consider appropriate, but it is if it fits. And perhaps that is the true beauty of “Swing Dancing”, it fits in with so many genres of music that almost anyone can enjoy.
Perhaps “Swing Dancing” is an example where … the repetition of history is a positive statement, giving new life to Benny Goodman (the sound of the big band) and others of his time and musical persuasion.
Swing Dancing has proven the test of time and the expression “it’s so old it’s new again, it has taken hold and become a dance fad across the country, although most swing dancers are still concentrated on the west coast, but as travel and the news are spread, it won’t be long before The “swing dance” may be happening on the same street. And no matter what style you see: Lindy Hop, Charleston, Shag, Balboa and Blues, or what music you listen to. , everything is swing dancing at its finest.
