The History of Lindy Hop
If anyone really wants to know the history of Lindy Hop, they need to read Frankie Manning’s autobiography:
You can buy the book and read reviews here.
The shorter version however, is this. The Lindy Hop started in the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, NY in the 1920s. Dancers gathered to hear the big swing bands play such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and the Savoy Ballroom’s own Chick Webb. The Lindy Hop evolved from a combination of several popular dances at the time, such as the Charleston (a dance in its own right but often incorporated with Lindy) and the Breakaway (which became the Swing Out.) There would be contests between the dancers (for a top $2 prize…oh how times change) that inspired them to create many new and innovative steps for the dance. Frankie Manning along with his partner Frieda Washington were the first to create an Aerial, or Air Step, that move most non-swing dancers think of when they hear of the dance. It got its name from a Newspaper reporter asking one of the dancers what this new popular dance was called. The dancer remembered that morning’s headline, “Lindbergh hops across the Atlantic,” and so replied “The Lindy Hop!” Of course, the name stuck.
Shorty George and Big Bea. The way the Savoy Ballroom dancers ended their performances is what inspired Frankie Manning’s first Aerial.
During the Great Depression it became one of the few places people could escape for some enjoyment away from their troubles. It was also one of the only places in the world where Whites and Blacks could come together and interact without prejudice. An excerpt from Claude McKay’s poem “Negro Dancers” (that I discovered on JoJo Jackson’s blog) sums up the feeling amongst the dancers pretty well:
“But oh! they dance with poetry in their eyes
Whose dreamy loveliness no sorrow dims,
And parted lips and eager, gleeful cries,
And perfect rhythm in their nimble limbs.
The gifts divine are theirs, music and laughter;
All other things, however great, come after.”
As the dance took on popularity, there became a market for it in live performances and, later on, movies. Herbert White, called “Whitey” for a white streak in his hair, was a bouncer at the Savoy Ballroom who had an eye for talent. He picked out the best dancers there and started Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers. They included Norma Miller, Al Minns and Leon James. Frankie Manning often choreographed and starred in these performances. (There is actually a Lindy Hoppers Fund to assist the aging dancers of the Savoy generation.)
Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers perform in The Marx Brothers movie A Day at the Races.
When World War II broke out many of the male dancers left for war, and tastes in music changed towards Disco (yuck) and Rock n’ Roll. Swing dancing all but disappeared altogether until the 1980s. Two dance students were learning the Lindy Hop from Al Minns, one of the few remaining of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers. When he became too ill to teach them, he told them there was only one other of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers still living in New York City…Frankie Manning.
In the meantime, Frankie had long since retired from dancing and was working in a Post Office. When these two young dancers came to him and asked him to teach them, his initial response was no. However, their persistence paid off. They convinced him to teach them everything he could, and then they travelled across the country holding workshops to teach the lindy hop to others. Needless to say it took on strong and now every major city in America has a swing dance scene, not to mention in many countries abroad.
Photograph from a NY Times Article on Frankie Manning’s Memorial Service.
Frankie Manning became a celebrity and legend, continuing to teach until his death last year, a month shy of his 95th birthday. There was a gigantic celebration planned in New York City that became a look back at the life of this remarkable man and all the lives he touched. Dancers poured in from all over the world. There was a Second Line parade through the streets the likes of which have rarely been seen outside of New Orleans. For the Memorial Service, many came to the church and danced in the aisles and pews, while telling stories of how his life and willingness to continue Lindy Hop’s legacy so deeply affected them. It was the largest gathering of Lindy Hoppers there have ever been and probably ever will be.
