The Most Sensual Dance Ever : TANGO

The last topic from this blog is the most sensual dance. When we do this dance we get unusual feeling like enjoy it and something pull us into this dance. Let’s talk about it ^^

Tango is earthy and dramatic. Although walking movements dominate, Tango walks, having a "stalking" or "sneaking" character, are unlike the walks of other ballroom dancers. Movements are sometimes slow and slithery, and other times sharp and stacatto, such as a quick foot flick or a sharp head snap to promenade position. Tango has the same counter clockwise flow of movement around the dance floor, but with a lesser sense of urgency in comparison to the smoother and more continuous ballroom dancers. American Style Tango, especially at highly-developed skill levels, makes great use of open and alternate dance positions to further showcase Tango's dramatic nature.

Tango History

Tango (the dance with the stop "Baille Con Carte") is one of the most fascinating of all dances. Originating in Spain or Morocco, the Tango was introduced to the New World by the Spanish settlers, eventually coming back to Spain with Black and Creole influences.

In the early 19th Century, the Tango was a solo dance performed by the woman. The Andalusian Tango was later done by one or two couples walking together using castanets. The dance was soon considered immoral with its flirting music!

Ballroom Tango originated in the lower class of Buenos Aires, especially in the "Bario de las Ranas". Clothing was dictated by full skirts for the woman and gauchos with high boots and spurs for the man.

The story of Tango as told is that it started with the gauchos of Argentina. They wore chaps that had hardened from the foam and sweat of the horses body. Hence to gauchos walked with knees flexed. They would go to the crowded night clubs and ask the local girls to dance. Since the gaucho hadn't showered, the lady would dance in the crook of the man's right arm, holding her head back. Her right hand was held low on his left hip, close to his pocket, looking for a payment for dancing with him. The man danced in a curving fashion because the floor was small with round tables, so he danced around and between them.

The dance spread throughout Europe in the 1900's. Originally popularized in New York in the winter of 1910 - 1911, Rudolph Valentino then made the Tango a hit in 1921.

As time elapsed and the music became more subdued, the dance was finally considered respectable even in Argentina.

Styles vary in Tango: Argentine, French, Gaucho and International. Still, Tango has become one of our American 'Standards' regardless of its origin. The Americanized version is a combination of the best parts of each. The principals involved are the same for any good dancing. First, the dance must fit the music. Second, it must contain the basic characteristic that sets it apart from other dances. Third, it must be comfortable and pleasing to do.

Phrasing is an important part of Tango. Most Tango music phrased to 16 or 32 beats of music. Tango music is like a story. It contains paragraphs (Major phrases); sentences (Minor phrases); and the period at the end of the sentence is the Tango close.

For exhibition dancing, a Tango dancer must develop a strong connection with the music, the dance and the audience. The audience can only feel this connection if the performer feels and projects this feeling. So it is when dancing for your own pleasure -- and your partner's!

"The Tango is the easiest dance. If you make a mistake and get tangled up, you just Tango on." (Al Pacino in "The Scent of a Woman.") Movies that featured Tango dancing include "The Scent of a Woman", Madonna's "Evita" and "True Lies" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis.

There is sexy, and there is not sexy.
Charlize Theron is sexy.
Josh Hartnett, who has had his 15 minutes of fame, is not.
The little black dress is sexy.
Harem pants, are not.
The lindy, the waltz, the electric slide, the watusi, the hokey pokey, the hustle and macarena are not sexy.
Tango, is sexy.
It is fitting that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, one of the sexiest couples in the world (before Brad Pitt started to look like Edward Norton), danced the tango (of sorts) in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Seething with raw sensuality, one feels almost voyeuristic observing the interworkings of their relationship as it totters playfully and dangerously between unbridled passion and contempt.
Tango is certainly passionate, to say the least. In just over 3 minutes, one can observe several years (or months if particularly volatile) of a relationship that often exists between a man and a woman. He pursues her, she feigns interest. He does not give up, and she relents. He treats her poorly, she tries to leave but is no match for the physical and emotional control he has over her. It’s all there: desire, passion, jealousy, anger, betrayal, suspicion. All you need is a mother-in-law and it’s a marriage.
While Camp Brangelina are certainly pleasant to the eyes, for more tango dancing and less foreplay, Antonio Banderas’ performance of tango in Take the Lead is captivating. If anybody could make the hokey pokey sexy, it would be Antonio Banderas.
As far back as 1921, one of Hollywood’s first and most famous sex-symbols, Rudolph Valentino danced the tango in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Since that time, Hollywood has considered tango to be the epitome of sexuality set to dance, and over the years notables such as Robert Duvall, Sean Connery, Kim Basinger, Madonna, Salma Hayek, Ashley Judd, Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and even Arnold Schwarzeneggar took to the dance floor to perform tango.
In his 50s, Al Pacino demonstrated that you don’t have to have the youth and beauty of Banderas or Pitt to be sexy when he danced the tango in Scent of a Woman, his only role to earn him an Oscar.

Buenos Aires, City of Tango

Certain cities are synonymous with certain things. While people travel to Paris for the Eiffel Tower, New York for the Statue of Liberty, Venice for the gondolas or Las Vegas for all three, there is only one destination where people go to experience tango: Buenos Aires, Argentina.
While you can see tango performed in locations throughout the world (it is insanely popular in Finland), you must come to Buenos Aires for the tango experience. Observing tango performed out of doors in the warm summer months in Plaza Dorrego of San Telmo, the crumbling facades that line the square is a perfect backdrop for showcasing tango.
The emotions displayed in tango are inherently part of the Argentine culture. Decades of despair, deprivation and despotic governments have produced an Argentine that displays sensuality and passion with an undercurrent of melancholy.
As foreigners in this exotic land, we can discuss great restaurants and comment on our observances of cultural aspects of life here, but understanding tango is more involved than learning the dance itself.

The distinction between sensual and sexual

  

Many people I speak to don't seem to be aware of this, and I was wondering how that was "wired" into your being...? I presume your partner is not threatened by your tango exploits, precisely because of this distinction? Whether I have been in a relationship or single, the experience of this distinction is ever present. Your observation of your own experience in this matter would be most appreciated.

This will be my fourth draft on this topic. It's such a difficult thing to write about and feel like I'm conveying what I mean to convey. I've tried twice before, here and here. And I still don't think I've done the topic justice.

I have told people this frequently, but until they experience it for themselves, it won't make any sense. Tango, the music and the dance, is both intimate and universal. Tango asks us our secrets, but not our name. We can reveal so much, certainly at times more than we intend to, that there is almost an understanding that crossing lines without invitation puts the freedom to express ourselves at risk.

Ninety-nine percent of the time the overtly sexual aspect is simply not relevant whereas the sensual aspect is absolutely everything. Does that make sense? I suspect that the fact that I'm married makes my situation different than if I were single. (And you are correct in assuming my non-tango dancing husband is very supportive of my dancing, and thankfully not threatened by it.) There is nothing to prove to me - I'm not looking for more than the dance. I've been told that takes some of the pressure off. Maybe that's the case and it changes things. It's really hard for me to know from my side of the embrace.

To me, in this dance we are constantly communicating with one another. There is a line that, once it's crossed - when the feeling goes from sensual to sexual, creates a very different conversation.

And this is only my experience, which is limited of course to where I dance, how long I've been dancing, and with whom I dance. My tango world is quite small, and maybe naive.

MOVIE TIME!!!

That's all

Thank You ^^

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Foxtrot and Quickstep, Flowing Like a River

Foxtrot

The foxtrot is a smooth progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music, and the feeling is one of elegance and sophistication. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is 4/4 instead of ¾ time. Developed in the 1920's, the foxtrot reached its height of popularity in the 1930's, and remains practiced today.

History

The exact origin of the name of the dance is unclear, although one theory is that took its name from its popularizer, the vaudeville actor Harry Fox.^[1]
Two sources credit African American dancers as the source of the Fox Trot: Vernon Castle himself, and then dance teacher Betty Lee. Castle saw the dance, which "had been danced by negroes, to his personal knowledge, for fifteen years," at "a certain exclusive colored club".^[2]

The dance was premiered in 1914, quickly catching the eye of the husband and wife duo Vernon and Irene Castle, who lent the dance its signature grace and style.

W.C. Handy ("Father of the Blues") notes in his autobiography that Noble Sissle told a story that Handy's “The Memphis Blues” was the inspiration for the Foxtrot. James Reese Europe, the Castles' music director, would play slowly the Memphis Blues during breaks from the fast paced Castle Walk and One-step. The Castles were intrigued by the rhythm and Jim asked why they didn't create a slow dance to go with it. The Castles introduced the "Bunny Hug" in a magazine article. They went abroad and in mid-ocean sent a wireless to the magazine to change the "Bunny Hug" to the "Foxtrot."^[3] It was later standardized by Arthur Murray, in whose version it began to imitate the positions of Tango.

At its inception, the foxtrot was originally danced to ragtime. Today, the dance is customarily accompanied by the same big band music to which swing is also danced.

From the late teens through the 1940s, the foxtrot was certainly the most popular fast dance and the vast majority of records issued during these years were foxtrots. The waltz and tango, while popular, never overtook the foxtrot. Even the popularity of the lindy hop in the 1940s did not affect the foxtrot's popularity, since it could be danced to the same records used to accompany the lindy hop.

When rock and roll first emerged in the early 1950s, record companies were uncertain as to what style of dance would be most applicable to the music. Notably, Decca Records initially labeled its rock and roll releases as "foxtrots", most notably "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets. Since that recording, by some estimates,^{[says who?]} went on to sell more than 25 million copies, "Rock Around the Clock" could be considered the biggest-selling "foxtrot" of all time.

Over time, the foxtrot split into slow and quick versions, referred to as "foxtrot" and "quickstep" respectively. In the slow category, further distinctions exist between the International or English style of the foxtrot and the continuity American style, both built around a slow-quick-quick rhythm at the slowest tempo, and the social American style using a slow-slow-quick-quick rhythm at a somewhat faster pace. In the context of International Standard category of ballroom dances, for some time the foxtrot was called "Slow Foxtrot", or "Slowfox". These names are still in use, to distinguish from other types of foxtrots.

Quickstep

Much like a fast version of the Foxtrot, the Quickstep is a ballroom dance style composed of extremely quick stepping and syncopated feet rhythms in time to fast-paced music. Although difficult to master and perform, the Quickstep is lots of fun to watch.

Characteristics of Quickstep

Elegant, smooth and glamorous, Quickstep dancers are energetic while appearing extremely light on their feet. It should appear that the feet of the dancers barely touch the ground. Much like the Foxtrot, dancers should strive for elegance. Upper body posture must be straight and strong throughout each movement.

Quickstep Action

The Quickstep usually follows a 4/4 time pattern. The basic feel of the Quickstep is slow-quick-quick, slow-quick-quick, with "slow" taking beats one and two, and "quick-quick" taking beats three and four. Most of the "slow" steps are taken on the heel, while most "quick" steps are taken on the balls of the feet.

History of the Quickstep

The Quickstep was developed in the 1920s in England. During this time, many bands began playing the Foxtrot at a faster pace, earning the name Quick Foxtrot. The Charleston appeared after this, but lacked long-term potential. However, in 1927 the Charleston was combined with the Qucik Foxtrot resulting in a name that was much too long: the Quick Time Fox Trot and Charleston, so it became known simply as the Quickstep.

Distinctive Quickstep Steps

Distinctive to the Quickstep is an up-and-down, rise-and-fall swinging motion performed at a fast pace. Distinctive Quickstep steps include the following:

• Rise and Fall
• Lock Step
• Natural Hairpin
• Running Finish
• Outside Change
• Chasse'
• Hover Corte'
• V-6 Combination

Once dancers have mastered the basic Quickstep steps, turns, and runs are added to add variety to the dance.

Music and Rhythm

Music used for the Quickstep is usually jazz or swing with a brisk tempo of about 50 beats per minute. The tempo is a little faster than a brisk walking pace, although it seems much faster to beginners.

The Magnificent Paso Doble

Let's take a trip to Spanyol. I'm going to show you about the Spanish culture, like this dance. I hope you enjoy it and see the magnificent of this dace

Paso Doble

Pasodoble (literal meaning in Spanish: double-step) is a typical dance from Spain march-like musical style as well as the corresponding dance style danced by a couple. It is the type of music typically played in bullfights during the bullfighters' entrance to the ring (paseo) or during the passes (faena) just before the kill. It corresponds to the Pasodoble dance (traditional and ballroom).

Paso Doble or pasodoble is a lively style of dance to the duple meter march-like pasodoble music. It is modeled after the sound, drama, and movement of the Spanish and Portuguese bullfight.

Famous bullfighters have been honored with pasodoble tunes named after them. Other tunes have been inspired by patriotic motifs or local characters

Paso Doble Characteristics

The Paso Doble is a theatrical Spanish dance. Traditionally, the man is characterized as the matador (bullfighter) and the lady as his cape in the drama of a Spanish bullfight. The dancers may choose to enact the role of the torero, picador, banderillero, bull, or Spanish dancer, and may change roles throughout the dance. Based on Flamenco dancing, the Paso Doble is both arrogant and passionate. The Paso Doble is performed more as a competition dance than as a social dance.

Paso Doble History

The Paso Doble originated in southern France and began gaining popularity in the United States in the 1930s. Because the dance developed in France, the steps of the Spanish Paso Doble actually have French names.

Paso Doble Action

One of the most dramatic of all the Latin dances, the Paso Doble is a progressive dance. In the Paso Doble, dancers take strong steps forward with the heels, and incorporate artistic hand movements. The forward steps, or walks, should be strong and proud. The man should also incorporate apel, a move in which he strongly stamps his foot, much like a matador strikes the ground in order to capture the attention of the bull. All moves of the Paso Doble should be sharp and quick, with the chest and head held high to represent arogance and dignity.

Distinctive Paso Doble Steps

In Spanish, "Paso Doble" means "two step" and refers to the marching nature of the steps. The dance consists of several dramatic poses that are coordianted with highlights in the music. The body is held upright with the feet always directly underneath the body. The following steps are distictive to the Paso Doble:

• Sur Place (on the spot)
• Separation
• Attack
• Huit
• Open Promenade to Open Counter Promenade
• Spanish Line
• Promenade Close
• Flamenco Taps

Paso Doble Rhythm and Music

Paso Doble music has strong Flamenco influences. The bold, inspiring music has a simple 1-2-1-2 march rhythm, with very few rhythm changes. The tempo of Paso Doble music is usually a brisk 60 beats per minute. The Spanish Gypsy Dance has become the universal anthem of the Paso Doble.



Ballroom

Paso Doble, like Samba, is a progressive International Latin dance. The Paso Doble is the Latin dance most resembling the International Standard style, in that forward steps are taken with the heel lead, the frame is wider and more strictly kept up, and there is significantly different and less hip movement.

A significant number of Paso Doble songs are variants of España Cañi. The song has breaks in fixed positions in the song (two breaks at syllabus levels,^{[clarification needed]} three breaks and a longer song at Open levels). Traditionally Paso Doble routines are choreographed to match these breaks, as well as the musical phrases. Accordingly, most other ballroom Paso Doble tunes are written with similar breaks (those without are simply avoided in most competitions).

Because of its inherently choreographed tradition, ballroom Paso Doble for the most part is danced only competitively, almost never socially — or at least not without sticking to some sort of previously learned routine. This said, in Spain, France, Vietnam, Colombia, Costa Rica and some parts of Germany to the west of the river Rhine, it is danced socially as a lead (not choreographed) dance. In Venezuela, Paso Doble is a must in almost every wedding or big party, being especially famous the song Guitarra Española by Los Melódicos.

WATCH THIS !!!!

The Unique of Samba

From Africa we have Samba. The unique of Samba is the rhythm, the step, and the big hat on their head. The simple bikini is also attractive. Their feet move so fast because the beat is pumped all their energy. Let’s see the beauty of Samba.

Samba is a lively, rhythmical dance of Brazilian origin in 2/4 time danced under the Samba music. However, there are three steps to every bar, making the Samba feel like a 3/4 timed dance. Its origins include the Maxixe.

The Samba music rhythm has been danced in Brazil since its inception in the late 19th century. There is actually a set of dances, rather than a single dance, that define the Samba dancing scene in Brazil; thus, no one dance can be claimed with certainty as the "original" Samba style.

Samba, an old Brazilian style of dance with many variations, is African in origin. It has been performed as a street dance at carnival, the pre-Lenten celebration, for almost 100 years. Many versions of the Samba (from Baion to Marcha) are danced at the local carnival in Rio. The ballroom Samba or Carioca Samba is derived from the rural "Rocking Samba" and has been known for many years. (The Carioca is a small river that runs through Rio de Janiero - hence the name Carioca refers to the people of Rio.) Today Samba is still very popular in Rio. During carnival time there are "schools of Samba" involving thousands of elaborately-costumed dancers presenting a national theme based on music typical of Brazil and Rio in particular.

Before 1914 it was known under a Brazilian name "Maxixe". As early as 1923 an international meeting of professors of dancing took note of the rise of the Samba's popularity, particularly in France. A French dance book published by Paul Boucher in 1928 included Samba instructions. The dance was introduced to United States movie audiences in 1933 when Fred Astaire and Dolores Del Rio danced the Carioca in Flying Down to Rio and several years later, Carmen Miranda danced the Samba in That Night in Rio. A Samba exhibition was given at the November 1938 meeting of the New York Society of Teachers of Dancing. General interest in the Samba was stimulated at the 1939 World's Fair in New York, where Samba music was played at the Brazilian Pavilion. A few years later the Brazilian composer Ary Barroso wrote the classic Samba, "Brasil," which quickly became a hit, and in 1944 he went to Hollywood to write the score for the musical Brazil.

Samba has a very specific rhythm, highlighted to its best by characteristic Brazilian musical instruments: originally called tamborim, chocalho, reco-reco and cabaca. Much of Samba music came from daily life in Rio, the first famous example being "Pelo Telefone" composed by Donga. To achieve the true character of the Samba a dancer must give it a happy, flirtatious and exuberant interpretation. Many figures, used in the Samba today, require a pelvic tilt (Samba tic) action. This action is difficult to accomplish, but without it the dance loses much of its effect. Principal characteristics of the Samba are the rapid steps taken on a quarter of a beat and the pronounced rocking motion and sway of the

dancing couple.

The Samba (also known as the Brazilian Waltz) is now a moderately popular ballroom dance, limited pretty much to experienced ballroom dancers because of its speed.

There are many type of Samba.

1.      Samba no pé is a solo dance that is most often danced impromptu when samba music is played. The basic movement involves a straight body and a bending of one knee at a time. The feet move very slightly - only a few inches at a time. The rhythm is 2/4, with 3 steps per measure. It can be thought of as a step-ball-change.It can be described calling it and-a-one, and-a-two, then back to one. This is the type of Samba one sees in the Brazilian Carnival parades and in other Samba carnivals over the world. This is also one of the most popular sambas.

2.      Samba de Gafieira is a partner dance considerably different than the Ballroom Samba. It appeared in the 1940s and it gets its name from the gafieira - popular urban nightclubs of Rio de Janeiro at that time. From its inception to nowadays the Samba de Gafieira has incorporated many acrobatic movements and has evolved to become today's most complex dancing style of Samba in Brazil.

3.      Samba Pagode is another Samba partner dance that resembles the Samba de Gafieira but has less acrobatic movements and tend to be more intimate. It became a dance style after the appearance of the Pagode and it started in the city of São Paulo.

4.      Samba Pagode is another Samba partner dance that resembles the Samba de Gafieira but has less acrobatic movements and tend to be more intimate. It became a dance style after the appearance of the Pagode and it started in the city of São Paulo.

5.      Samba Reggae also originated from Bahia, it's a mix of reggae beats with Samba drums. Very popular in songs by Daniela Mercury, who catapulted the rhythm to the world with songs like "Sol da Liberdade" "O Reggae E O Mar" and "Perola Negra". Samba Reggae is the second most popular samba style in Bahia, with followers all over Brazil.

6.      Samba rock is a playful form of the samba, and it originates in São Paulo. It is a Latin nightclub dance. Samba rock resembles a bit of samba de gafieira, Forró, Zouk-Lambada and Salsa.

7.      Sambe de roda ("Samba of roda") is a traditional Afro-Brazilian dance performed originally as informal fun after a Candomblé ceremony, using the same percussion instruments used during the religious ceremony. The typical drum is the atabaque; drummers improvise variations and elaborations on common patterns, accompanied typically by singing and clapping as well as dancing. The Samba de Roda is a celebratory event incorporating music, choreography and poetry.

After we know the type, let’s learn the step. It’s easy and burn a lot of calories.

There are several types of samba danced in Brazil. The two leading samba forms in Rio today are the street samba dance called samba no pe, which is a solo dance and samba gafieiro, which is a partner dance.

There are several types of samba danced in Brazil. The two leading samba forms in Rio today are the street samba dance called samba no pe, which is a solo dance and samba gafieiro, which is a partner dance.

The typical type of samba danced in the Rio carnival is samba no pe. But according to some samba dancers there is a slightly distinction between Samba no pe and the performance dance used during the Rio carnival. Samba no pe is also often seen as the most original samba. Even then others may argue that there is no such thing as an original samba dance.

Samba no pe is done in a 2/4 rhythm where the dancer takes three steps to every bar. This could make the samba to feel like a 3/4 timed dance. Samba no pe could be danced either alone or in a group. The dance consists of one basic step. The basic step basically requires a straight body and a bending of one knee at a time.

In samba no pe men and women are dancing samba with different steps and emphasis on different things during the dance. The male samba dancers often do a lot of acrobatic tricks with their feet. It is said that a good samba dancer speaks with his feet.

The female dance can be characterized as quick symmetrical feet movement with each foot twisting on the heel. All the time the females samba dancers put emphasis on their femininity by using their hips and shoulders very much.

The male and female dancers can dance together but they do not touch each other. Often the men dance around the women including spins, hops and jumps. The dance has a high tempo and is complicated combination of the basic steps, different variation and improvisation.

The dance is often done unaccompanied and begins straight away when the samba music appears. The tempo of the moves change with the pace of the music, some samba dances are very fast and other samba dances move at a more normal pace.

The dance consists of jumps and turns. It's important that when you jump you should not jump too high. It's not easy to pick up the samba dance the first time you try. You should not be disappointed if you don't get the hang of it the first time. It's important that you stop looking at you feet and that you keep the body straight and at the same time start to relax.

   That's all....

 ^^ Thank You ^^

MOVIE TIME

 

The Energetic, Lindy Hop

Let's talk about Lindy Hop. Strange name for ballroom dance, but intersting and unique.

What is Lindy Hop?

Lindy Hop was so named after Charles Lindbergh's flight to Paris in 1927, when the newspaper headline read: "LINDY HOPS THE ATLANTIC". The dance has no "hop" in it. On the contrary, it is smooth and solid, and while there is a constant rhythmic 8-count "pulse" that you feel in your bones, there is no hopping, bopping, or prancing in the dance.
Lindy Hop, also known as Jitterbug, is the authentic Afro-Euro-American Swing dance. It is an unabashedly joyful dance, with a solid, flowing style that closely reflects its music -- from the late 20's hot Jazz to the early 40's Big Bands. Just as Jazz combines European and African musical origins, Lindy Hop draws on African and European dance traditions. The embracing hold, and the turns from Europe, the breakaway and solid, earthy body posture from Africa. The dance evolved along with the new swing music, based on earlier dances such as the Charleston and the Black Bottom, by black people in Harlem.
Lindy Hop is a social dance. Partners are connected smoothly and gently to each other, while relating closely to the music, in feeling, improvisation and phrasing. The core tempo range is 120-180 beats per minute.
Films such as Hellzapoppin and Day at the Races, as well as Malcolm X and Swingkids show seemingly reckless airsteps (aerials), often done at very fast musical tempos. Far from being just acrobatic antics, airsteps are in fact smooth, extremely precise, and perfectly in synch with the music. They require a superb degree of expertise and are not danced socially, but only for performance, if only inside a protective ring of spectators, as in the Cats' Corner jams at the Savoy Ballroom. Airsteps are impressive and spectacular, so that's what you see in the movies!

Savoy style Lindy Hop, as taught by Frankie Manning and Steven Mitchell, has the lightest, gentlest, and smoothest connection of all the common Swing dances! It is solid, low, relaxed and energetic.

The Forerunners of Lindy Hop
Looking back on where the Lindy Hop came from is an amazing study of American history and of the global cultural shift facilitated by the American GI's that traveled in World War II.
The influences of the Charleston and Tap dance are evident still in the Lindy we do today and the dance is also sited to have come from an early version of the Foxtrot. Remnants of older dancers such as the Cakewalk, Texas Tommy, Black bottom and popular "animal" dances such as the Turkey Trot and the Buzzard Lope are also expressed. What is interesting is that these came from African social dance culture, and some, like the Cakewalk was created when blacks imitated and mocked the formal dance structure of the whites, which they would then use in their entertainment routines. Ironically, the white spectators would then copy the entertainers, and a social dance that bridged the divide emerged.
Luckily, the two cultures found a common ground, called the Savoy Ballroom in New York. It was here that Lindy was fine tuned and grounded, and where the "Savoy style" that was to influence the world grew up.

The Savoy Ballroom

	The Savoy Ballroom

In New York City, ballrooms dominated Harlem, but one, The Savoy was to become the king of Swing. The Savoy was huge, taking up the whole block at 141st Street and Lenox Ave. Lindy flourished there, partly because it was one of the few racially integrated ballrooms where White and Black could dance, be inspired and shared moves like no other place.
The Coat check could serve up to 5,000 patrons, and it needed to, with 70,000 patrons a year dancing at the "home of happy feet". The sprung floor was replaced every 3 years and came to be known as "the Track" due to its elongated shape. The bandstand at each end accommodated two live bands every night, 7 nights a week.
Jazz was in its heyday, since a night out dancing was cheap, and recorded music was not yet readily assessable. Names such as Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and Count Basie made music history in the battle of the bands held there. The players would feed off the dancer's improvisation as much as the dancers fed off the music. The atmosphere of the Ballroom must have been electric as the top dancers would meet in "Kats Corner" and take turns to show off and play with the rhythms. Weekly competitions promoted friendly rivalry between dance troupes and dancers were inspired to create new, more exciting moves to wow the crowd and win over the judges. Audiences were amazed to sight the first Aerial move (or airstep) created by Frankie Manning and his partner Freda Washington for these competitions.

	Shorty 'George' Snowden

Dance Marathons were also popular, and it is during one of these that the Lindy apparently got its name. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh was daring the first ever solo flight from New York to Paris, and people were absorbed with his "Hop" across the Atlantic. A great dancer by the name of George "Shorty" Snowden was at the end of a long marathon when a reporter watching asked what this crazy dance was called. The quick witted answer was that it was the "Lindy Hop" and the name stuck.
The atmosphere at the Savoy permitted a situation that was ripe for dancers to perfect their craft, and for something spectacular to come from The Savoy…

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers

	Whiteys Lindy Hoppers

The Spectacular something was a "Whitey's Lindy Hoppers". Herbert White or "Whitey", the head bouncer at the Savoy, was skilled at drawing together the best dancers from the Savoy to join his dance troupe. He arranged performances and competitions all over the country, and got his group into many films, such as "A day at the Races" and "Hellzapoppin".
The Lindy then had an audience across the Nation, by which it inspired and influenced other dance styles. And it is this film footage still amazes and inspires the dancers of today.

The Granddaddy of Swing
"Lindy Hop" refers to this particular dance done and Swing was the music they would dance too. The term "Swing" is now commonly used to include many styles of dance: Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Balboa, Shag, East and West coast swing, Boogie Woogie, and has also inspired Jive, Rock and Roll, Ceroc, Le-Roc with regional differences in each dance family.
Many may say that Lindy Hop was the granddaddy of them all, but that should not imply that no one was dancing any form of Swing before Lindy swept the country. People were already creating dances to their local bands. The variations in the music and the conditions they were dancing in impacted on the dance that was created in that region. The performances that came out of the Savoy Ballroom however, must have rocked their world when they saw them on stage or at the flicks! They only had one chance to see a move before reinventing it for themselves, so the moves would evolve and become something new, and the dances would blend to accommodate the new fashion.

The Jitterbug
One such blending is the Jitterbug, which is so close to the Lindy hop that one might call it the same dance. The Jitterbug though, referred to a different styling, and may also refer to the way the white kids danced the Lindy Hop - as if they had been drinking an illegal moonshine called "Jitter juice". Nowadays, the term Jitterbug can be used to mean different dances in different places, but Lindy Hop still refers to the Savoy Style of dance.

Hollywood Style

	Dean Collins and Martha Raye from the movie Hellzapoppin (1941)

Dean Collins inspired what we now know as "Hollywood" and "Smooth" style Lindy. Dean had learnt Lindy in New York in the early 30's before moving to LA and taking the Savoy Style Lindy Hop with him.
Once in LA, Dean smoothed out the dance and put his own emphasis on it. This lead him to choreograph and perform in many films including "Lets make Music", "Chool Song" and "Buck privates". Dean also broke the dance into teachable components, Arthur Murray being one of his students.
In more recent swing history, Sylvia Sykes and Jonathan Bixby rediscovered Dean Collins, and perfected the art of "smooth style" directly from its master. The swing revival has also prompted Erik and Sylvia Robison to coin the term "Hollywood Style", to refer to the style of dancing seen in movies of the era, including those starring Dean Collins.

The Neo-Swing revival
The original Lindy Hop died off as the music changed to Be-Bop and Rock and Roll. An entertainment tax made live big bands expensive and as recorded music became affordable, dance halls became smaller and more crowded, and the style of dancing had to change to accommodate this.
In the mid 1980's some of the original members were rediscovered by new dancers inspired by their film footage Steven Mitchell & Erin Stevens found Frankie Manning. The Rhythm Hot Shots found Al Minns, and The Jiving Lindy Hoppers found Mama Lu Parks.
Since then, Frankie Manning has come back on the dance scene, teaching new Swing dancers around the globe. The retro dance returned, along with neo-swing bands and vintage fashion. Lindy hit the movies yet again with "Malcolm X", "Swing Kids", "A League of Their Own", "The Mask" and "Swingers". The TV also favoured the new Lindy dancers, with appearances on Ally McBeal and the GAP advert.

Events
Social dancing events run by dancers are diverse and vary in duration, theme and venues between local communities. Social dancing events run by dancers are Diverse and Vary in duration, theme and venues Between local communities. Dancers usually distinguish between regular events or 'after-class' practice sessions, dancing to live bands at 'public' events not run by dancers(known as "Lindy Bombing", in which a group of dancers shows up at an event not originally intended as a dance event) and special 'dances' or the more formal ball . Dancers usually distinguish Between regular events or 'after-class' practice sessions, dancing to live bands at the 'public' events not run by dancers (known as "Lindy bombing", in the which a group of dancers shows up at an event not originally intended as a dance event) and special 'dances' or the more formal ball . Social dancing events may be held as part of a lindy exchange or camp, or be regular parts of the scene's calendar. Social dancing events may be held as part of a Lindy exchange or camp, or be regular parts of the scene's calendar. Live bands frequently provide the opportunities for social dancing in many new or small scenes, and attract groups of dancers attending gigs at local bars or clubs to dance socially. Live bands frequently Provide the opportunities for social dancing in many new or small scenes, and attract groups of dancers attending gigs at local bars or clubs to dance socially.

Social, dancer-run lindy hop dances are held in a range of spaces, from private parties to church and town halls, bars, gymnasiums, university halls, night clubs, pub function rooms, and any other space with enough room for a dance floor. Social, Lindy hop dancer-run dances are held in a range of spaces, from private parties to church and town halls, bars, gymnasiums, university halls, night clubs, pub function rooms, and any other space with enough room for a dance floor . Individual events may attract anywhere from ten to a thousand dancers, and may run from as little as half an hour to all night. Individual events may attract anywhere from ten to a thousand dancers, and may run from as little as half an hour to all night. Music may be provided by DJs , by live bands, or by music left to play unattended on a sound system, depending on the local scene's conventions and the nature of that particular event. Music may be provided by DJs , live bands by, or by music left to play unattended on a sound system, depending on the local scene's conventions and the nature of that particular event. DJs and bands may play a range of music from the 1920s to today, tending to concentrate on big band music from the 1930s and 1940s. DJs and bands may play a range of music from the 1920s to today, tending to concentrate on big band music from the 1930s and 1940s. Live bands play a wide variety of music for lindy hoppers, from big band standards and blues to original compositions. Live bands play a wide variety of music for Lindy Hoppers, from big band standards and blues to original Compositions. There are ongoing debates about the types of music most appropriate for lindy hop and other swing dances, with the discussions focussing on whether the music should be historically accurate (ie matching a dance style with the popular music of the day) or include other musical styles and forms. There are ongoing Debates about the types of music most Appropriate for Lindy Hop and other swing dances, with the discussions focussing on whether the music should be Historically accurate (ie matching a dance style with the popular music of the day) or include other musical styles and forms.

Events

Social dances attract dancers from a range of ages and backgrounds, and dress may range from rigorously 'vintage' or historically accurate to a particular 'swing era' (1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s, etc.) to casual sports or street wear, again depending on local culture and the event itself. Social dances attract dancers from a range of ages and backgrounds, and dress may range from rigorously 'vintage' or Historically accurate to a particular 'swing era' (1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s, etc.) To casual sports or street wear, again depending on local culture and the event Itself.

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