Dance: Lindy Hop & The Savoy Ballroom

The Savoy Ballroom opened its doors on March of 1926 in Harlem. The quality of the Savoy's jazz dancing and music gave it an unrivaled international reputation. Unlike other popular clubs, such as The Cotton Club, The Savoy Ballroom was the first integrated dance hall. Both black and white musicians, singers, and dancers came together and took a stand against the oppression and segregation of blacks. It was here that people of all different classes, creeds, and races came together for one common purpose: to dance. It was known as "Home of the Happy Feet" and it was here that the floors bounced and dances such as Lindy Hop became famous.

In conjunction with swing jazz, the Lindy Hop began in the late 1920's. The style emerged as another fusion of the the natural freeform style of African dance with the European notion of partnered or coupled dancing. The African influence can be found in the asymmetrical fluidity, shoulder and hip movements, stamping and hopping, and free spirit of improvisation.

Lindy Hop originated on the dance floor in places such as the Savoy Ballroom as hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dancers would compete to out-shine one another with newly developed “break-away” dance steps. This new dance absorbed and integrated many other forms of dance, such as the Charleston, and gave the dancers the freedom to try new things, take risks, and take dancing to new heights. As Jazz and Swing music evolved, so did the the dancing as new air steps were and fueled the Lindy Hop fire that eventually made its way from competitions into dance companies and feature films around the world.

http://www.savoyballroom.com/index.htm
http://www.kclindyhop.org/history_a.htm#savoy