The Joy of Dance by Carole Edrich

Author:Carole Edrich
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Summersdale Publisher

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Lindy hop, jitterbug and jive

‘Wherever you go swing dancing everybody on the floor has one thing in common – a great big smile.’

SIMON SELMON

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What’s it all about?

It is said that in 1927, in New York’s Savoy Ballroom, a reporter asked one of the dancers what dance was being performed. The enthusiast, named ‘Shorty’ George Snowden, who was reading about Charles Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight to Paris, shortened part of the newspaper title he was reading ‘Lindy hops to Paris’ into ‘lindy hop’ and the name of the dance was born. Lindy hop, referred to as a happy dance, is known for its fast tempo, lifts, improvisation and rhythmical play, and is sometimes more than 300 beats per minute.

Jitterbug and lindy hops are essentially the same thing but different terms were used due to the cultural divisions of the times. American GIs brought the dance form to Europe and, with little or no formal teaching, the dance slowly changed. The big bands got smaller and the dancing evolved with the music, increasing the diversification of the dance throughout Europe. The UK transformed the dance into what we know today as jive and rock ‘n’ roll, Italy adopted the moniker boogie-woogie (although this is now a distinct style) and Sweden’s jive dance became the buug.

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