In the late 1920’s in Harlem great new styles of dancing were breaking out wherever people were partying… But it wasn’t until after the opening of the Savoy Ballroom in 1926 that the exciting new dance got its home and ultimately its name. At the Savoy, the Lindy hop got hotter and hotter as people danced to the top Big Bands in the land. And it got better and better as the popular Saturday night competitions pushed good dancers to greatness. New steps were born every day. The styling got refined and was executed so well that the dance was a joy to watch as well as do. When it looked like it couldn’t get any better, a young dancer named Frankie “Musclehead” Manning created the first airsteps in 1935, and the Lindy hop soared.

The history of the Lindy hop is told in the archival resources of this site, through the biographies of the dancers and information on old film clips. Lindy hop became a dance craze worldwide, known as Jitterbug and had many spinoffs, such as West Coast Swing, Rock’n’Roll, and Boogie Woogie. But the authentic style, the original swing dance, will always be the Savoy Ballroom Lindy hop from Harlem, New York, USA.