Stories, history, tips, and community voices from the world of Lindy Hop.
Reading Time: 12 minutesThis article is not dance-centered as it was originally writen by Candace Tillery, and posted in Redfin, but we resonate with its message and are sharing it as a way to say "thank you" for featuring us in it. Author’s Note: As a Black woman, I carry a heaviness writing about this. I was well…
Are you an aspiring dancer living in a place where dance classes, studios, and communities are as scarce as a unicorn in a desert? Fear not, fabulous friend! So, if you've got the will, we've got the way! Let's dive into the world of dance and unleash your inner groove, no matter where you hang…
In the world of jazz, few artists can captivate audiences with their voice and presence quite like Barbara Morrison. With a career spanning several decades, Morrison has become an iconic figure in the jazz community, known for her powerful and soulful vocals. In this blog post, we will delve into the life and career of…
Lindy Hop, with its origins deeply rooted in the pulsating rhythms of jazz music, is a dance that embodies the very essence of rhythm and improvisation. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon to see dancers who become overly focused on moves and what they look like that they inadvertently neglect the crucial aspect of rhythm in their…
It may seem impossible to squeeze in a dance class when your schedule is packed, but with a little determination, anything is achievable! Here are some tips to help you make room for an iLindy class when you're pressed for time: 1. Plan ahead Pre-select the iLindy classes you wish to take, save them to…
The Structures That Bind Us And Unseen Individual Participation So far I’ve been talking a lot about how we got to this point and why it matters. What I haven’t addressed yet is how it keeps going. Why haven’t we moved beyond this yet? Well, in my eyes, it comes down to two important considerations…
On the first part of this article, we discussed how the Charleston dance was born in the city of Charleston, in South Carolina, and the historical/social context of the city during that time. We also covered the main African American dances that influenced the development of this dance style. Now, on Part 2, we will…
How teachers and competitions stifle the scene If you read the subtitle of this part and are thinking, “I’m not a teacher or competitor, so this one isn’t for me!” Please sit, and enjoy this read with the others, I promise it will be worth your time. “Just don’t rock step” my teacher said as…
When people hear the word “Charleston,” they tend to picture a glamorous White flapper girl twisting her knees while puffing away on a cigarette. However, the origins of this fascinating dance couldn’t be further from this depiction.
It’s the 1930s, and the night is young. Walking down the streets of Harlem, you can’t miss the block-wide building lit up with a line out the door, The Savoy Ballroom. The Savoy Ballroom, a famous dance hall, was gaining a reputation for having the best bands and dancers. Artists who were on the cutting…
When the community puts Frankie on a pedestal, using closeness to him for clout, and using his words to keep today’s Black folk down, because people don’t want to have to actually deal with hard things, it hurts us all. I don’t think that’s the best way to show your love for this man or the dance. When you love something you love the good with the bad. You appreciate the strengths along with the flaws. You love the full picture, not just what you want to see.
Any true fan of Charleston or early jazz music (and movement) should be familiar with the Jenkins Orphanage Band. Whether this is news to you, or you only have heard of them in passing, this article is meant for you! This is a story of a band that helped shape the future of hundreds of…
You can not divorce these dances and this music from their culture without destroying them, or distorting them until they are no longer recognizable nor functioning the same. Blackness matters and no amount of colorblind treatment will change that. If there is to be a real conversation around race in Lindy Hop, there also must be one around who really owns this dance and who is a guest participating in it. And by that, I mean whose values will shape the dance and those who do it, moving forward.
Soon, swing was seen as not Black at all, but a white hobby. One with an embodiment of white ideals, values, and expectations. Although Black people have been speaking out about some aspects of this shift and their discomfort, they simply went unlistened to. Swing didn’t have a race, just as white people don’t. It was America's dance.
White Lindy Actions and Black Lindy Realities Welcome to Let’s Talk About Lindy Hop And Blackness, a seven-part series discussing race, specifically Blackness in the Lindy Hop community. Over the last few years, there has been a slow increase in discussions about being Black in the swing dance community. Yet, there has also been a…
Dancer girls at the Mary Bruce Dancing School circa 1938. Harlem dance legend, Mary Bruce, was an African-American woman who operated her own dance school studio giving dance and music training to thousands of youth, and helped build public awareness of dance and music in the Black community. For fifty years she taught ballet…
Upcoming Events Have you met…?: Ms. Barbara Billups >> Click here to register for the event! << The Black Lindy Hoppers Fund and Collective Voices for Change present our third edition of Have you met…? with Lindy Hop legend Ms Barbara Billups. Ms Barbara Billups was the third runner up at the Harvest Moon…
"Sonny Allen the last of the World's Famous Savoy Ballroom Harvest Moon Lindy Hop Champion, plus Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, Sugar Sullivan, Barbara Billups, Al Minns, Pepsie Bethel, etc." Some of the remaining (and greatest) Lindy Hoppers from the Savoy Ballroom had a reunion on April 9, 1983 at Sandra Cameron's Dance Studio in New…
Wynton Marsalis' Music is Life Internationally acclaimed musician, composer and bandleader, Wynton Marsalis talks about music, his mentors and the irreplaceable role of art and creativity in American culture. Part question and answer, part meditation on life, it was all magic at IdeaFestival® 2014. Check out some of the golden moments from this interview by…
Upcoming Events Taking Action For Black Lives Masterclass This class will explore the actionable ways to honor, respect, and value Black people in your daily life. >> Click here for class access << It's Time To Make Your Support Of Black Lives A Daily Practice In this class, we will explore: The unconscious ways…
The Twist Dance: Chubby Checker, Oct. 10, 1961, Toronto, Canada (Photo by Gerry Barker/Toronto Star/ZUMA Press). Chubby Checker is an American Rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles including The Twist dance style with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters' R&B song "The…
The Savoy Ballroom, more than just the home of Happy Feet “If you loved music and you loved dancing, the Savoy was the place to go.” (Frankie Manning in his autobiography) If you consider yourself a Lindy Hopper, then you have probably heard of the great Savoy Ballroom, in Harlem, NY. It was one of…
Happy Birthday, Peg Leg Bates – Born October 11, 1907 Clayton (Peg Leg) Bates (October 11, 1907 – December 6, 1998), a below-knee amputee from the age of 12, Bates grew up disabled and Black in the Jim Crow South. As a teenager in the 1920s, latched onto the vaudeville circuit, he moved onto minstrel shows…
“In the past year and a half, we have been confronted with some uncomfortable truths, and many of us have had to do some deep soul searching. Last summer, in response to the need of this community, Move Together hosted a panel to amplify black voices, teachers, academics, musicians, dancers and scene leaders. As we…
Originally posted on the Frankie Manning Foundation website. Questions for Event Organizers, Teachers, and Scene Leaders in the Lindy Hop Community There have been some important discussions taking place in the Lindy Hop community about recognizing the Black origins of the dance. Julia Loving has created a list of some questions for event organizers to…
Upcoming Events SW!NG OUT Acclaimed choreographer Caleb Teicher brings the best of the swing dance world to The Joyce, with live music by Eyal Vilner Big Band. Conceived by Caleb Teicher alongside their brain trust of collaborators Evita Arce, LaTasha Barnes, Nathan Bugh, Macy Sullivan, and Eyal Vilner, SW!NG OUT features…
iLindy is committed to expanding our learning about the black community. One way we are doing that is by attending virtual events like Build Back Better, hosted by MoveTogether. The aim of the event is to boost black voices from the Lindy Hop community. We've summed up some of the key takeaways that made the most impact on us.
iLindy is committed to expanding our learning about the black community. One way we are doing that is by attending virtual events like Build Back Better, hosted by MoveTogether. The aim of the event is to boost black voices from the Lindy Hop community. We've summed up some of the key takeaways that made the most impact on us.
iLindy is committed to expanding our learning about the black community. One way we are doing that is by attending virtual events like Build Back Better, hosted by MoveTogether. The aim of the event is to boost black voices from the Lindy Hop community. We've summed up some of the key takeaways that made the most impact on us.
Integrated Rhythm – Hope-timistic As a fan of podcasts, Integrated Rhythm has been such an outstanding resource for all of us here at iLindy. “What’s this podcast about?” you ask. Here’s what the creators have to say: Integrated Rhythm is a weekly podcast where “Two besties navigate race and the Black Experience in…
iLindy is committed to expanding our learning about the black community. One way we are doing that is by attending virtual events like Build Back Better, hosted by MoveTogether. The aim of the event is to boost black voices from the Lindy Hop community. We've summed up some of the key takeaways that made the most impact on us.
We’d like to offer our deepest condolences to the family of Lindy Hop legend George Sullivan. Mr. Sullivan was born in Augusta, Georgia, and moved to Harlem when he was 13. George started dancing Lindy Hop with his ex-wife, Sugar Sullivan, entering the Harvest Moon Ball after she broke her finger and was abandoned by…
During the past year and a half, we at iLindy have been doing a lot of listening, learning, and growing. It has not been a comfortable journey, but it has been a necessary one. We are sorry that we’ve been slow to publicly respond to events around the world – we have been working through…
A couple dancing, photographed in Uganda somewhere between 1890 and 1956, from the Ham Mukasa Archives. Social dance held in a photograph, a century before anybody filmed a Lindy Hop.
Internationally recognized Black American Social Dance Tradition-Bearer, LaTasha Barnes, presents The Jazz Continuum. “This new work centers Jazz music and dance as the foundation of globally-celebrated dance forms like House, Hip-Hop, Waacking, Jazz, and Lindy Hop that are not commonly recognized as threads of the same fabric. From August 11-15 on the Henry J. Leir…
Learn how to Charleston! The dance is an important part of Black American History and one of the biggest dance crazes of all time…
This original post was published on February 1st, 2020. We have since made some updates for 2021. Black history is Lindy Hop history. Black History is World History. Black History is 365 days of the year. Black History has roots and legacy. Black History *is* Lindy Hop history. If 2020 has taught us anything, it's…
Learn how to Charleston! The dance is an important part of Black American History and one of the biggest dance crazes of all time…
Whether you’re looking for beginner Lindy Hop music, you're an experienced dancer, or you’re an aspiring Lindy Hop DJ, we’ve got some music tips for you to start building your music library.
Have you wondered “what is Lindy Hop?” or about swing dancing in general? Maybe you’ve heard the name “Lindy Hop” before but unsure what it’s all about? Well, pull up a chair and grab a hot beverage! We’re here to tell you all about Lindy Hop: the dance, the history, and its cultural legacy! What…
Are you preparing to compete on video for an upcoming event like ILHC? Or maybe you’re recording a performance for a virtual show. Either way, we have a few tips to help make your competition entry or performance as successful on video as possible.
Have you always wanted to learn Lindy Hop, the original swing dance? If you’ve wondered if it’s possible to learn Lindy Hop online, it absolutely is! Learn from world-renowned Lindy Hop teachers from the comfort of your own home.
What lies ahead for the future of health and safety in Lindy Hop? Disclaimer: This post is not to give advice or specific guidelines. It’s to gather discussion points about Covid-19 and health practices as they relate to social reintegration. We’ll provide some updates here as the situation progresses globally. We highly encourage Lindy Hop…
When you get a hold of how 6- and 8-count steps can work together in the music, you’ll be able to piece those steps together fluidly.
A critical skill that every dancer needs in their arsenal is understanding the importance of musical phrasing and being able to create within the framework.
This post was originally published on February 1st, 2020. Thank you to our friends in China for also translating this content — Chinese translation Black history is Lindy Hop history. Black History is World History. Black History is 365 days of the year. Black History has roots and legacy. Black History *is* Lindy Hop history.…
This blog post is an extension of our previous post: Empowering Followers in Lindy Hop. We talked about a lot of important philosophical ideas in that post. Now we’d like to get into the nitty-gritty and talk about what’s possible in the dance. There are two kinds of responsibility: personal responsibility partnered responsibilities PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITIES…
Photo by Dan Erez, taken at the Sofia Swing Dance Festival There are a lot of different views of what Leading and Following in Lindy Hop are all about. How should the Follower’s role really work? Are Leaders “in charge” within the dance or is that a limited way of thinking? It’s not just…
Cover photography by Sergey Shirokov How much Charleston do you regularly include in your social dancing? As with most music and movement, what comes in and out of vogue is cyclical. Depending on how long you’ve been in the scene, you’ve experienced multiple trends in the dance. You may have even gone through revisiting some…
How’s your solo jazz? No, really. Sometimes people think that doing a few Boogie Backs and Fall off the Log for one song during a class warm-up is enough, like a Lindy Hop checkbox you’re “supposed to” tick without really emphasizing its’ value. You might feel like you can get by in your Lindy Hop…
No Partner? No Problem! Want to improve as a dancer, but don’t have a dance partner? Do you feel like it’s challenging to work on your own dancing solo? We get it, not everyone has a dance partner, and even if you do, it can be hard to find the time and space to practice…
Edit: hey! If you're looking for beautiful shoes at a special iLindy price, click here and use the code ILINDYSW15 for 15 EUR OFF Let’s talk about getting fancy: it starts with your feet and can make or break an outfit. That’s right, I’m talking about shoes. In this post, I’m going to talk about…