Lately I've been trying to do things that scare the bajeezuz out of me. At the top of the list: dancing. Around the corner from the usual Wednesday night life drawing hangout is the Century Ballroom. A friend who I go to life drawing with is a fan of Lindy Hop and it so happens that the ballroom has an open Lindy Hop dance every Wednesday night, with a short beginners class beforehand. Hmmm.
Lindy Hop evolved in Harlem from the late 20's to early 30's. A member of the swing dance family it is said to be a fusion of jazz, tap, breakaway and charleston. The story goes that its name was inspired by Charles Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic. Headlines in the newspapers read "Lindy hops the Atlantic." One of the dances founders, Shorty George Snowden, was asked by a reporter at a competition what dance he was doing and he said, "I'm doing the Lindy Hop." Here is a prime example of the dance from the 1941 movie Hellzapoppin.
The beginners class I attended was great. They started with the basic rock step, triple step and went on to twirling your partner out and back in. I was quite horrible but could see some improvement over the half hour. After life drawing I went back to checkout the open dance. It was fun watching all the different styles that people develop. I only saw a few throwing moves, most couples sorta resembled the goings ons in this video.
What fascinates me is the rapid communication that goes on between the lead and follow. From what I understand there is a neutral frame pose that both dancers return to and which the lead manipulates to tell the follow where they are going next. Similar I'm sure to other couples dancing. The really good couples, although totally improvising, looked like they had choreographed their dance prior. I'm seriously considering taking more lessons.
Here is a fun clip of a Lindy showdown.
