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With two "kidlets" at home, I am only responding to email
and updating the list about once a month. Thanks for your patience.
One of my biggest loves in life is Lindy Hop.
For those of you who may not know, Lindy Hop is the original
swing from the 1930's and 1940's done to the music of such greats as Cab
Calloway, Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Louis Jordan, and
such modern composers as, my personal favorite, Bill
Elliott (a local L.A. Band Leader/composer).
At the advanced levels, Lindy Hop is one of the most improvisational dances I've ever learned. It's basic step is an eight-count step, and Lindy is the precursor (to the best of my knowledge) to both East Coast Swing (what I think of as 1950's style swing -- it's mainly a six-count basic swing which is simpler to learn) and West Coast Swing (mainly an eight-count basic -- also a lot of six-count moves -- typically done to slower, sultry music and danced on a slot). Lindy Hop grew out of many of the dances of the 1920's.
Lindy Hop is also sometimes referred to as Jitterbug. However, you should be aware that there are regional and generational variations in what these dances are called. I have had people tell me they did Lindy Hop/Jitterbug and they were referring to the six-count swing which I would call East Coast swing.
There are two main styles of Lindy Hop, the Savoy style, which is characterized by long horizontal lines (Frankie Manning is a good example), and the G.I. style, which is more upright (Dean Collins is a good example). Of course, each couple brings their own personal style to the dance, although they are usually either trying to achieve the Savoy look, or the G.I. look.
If you want to find out more about the history of the dance and the people who were responsible for creating it originally check out the Archives of Early Lindy Hop created and maintained by Judy Pritchett. If you want another set of great links that can answer the question "What Is Lindy Hop?" Check out Dan's page of great links that shed light on this dance.
Check out the rest of my website if you are interested in learning more about Lindy Hop dancing in the L.A./Orange County/San Bernadino area or goto the Sign-on Page if you want to receive a weekly listing of places to dance Lindy Hop in L.A.
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