Lindy Hop is a street dance that grew out of the Charleston in the late 1920s. Legend has it that “Shorty” George Snowden was the first to be seen in public doing the dance. When asked by a reporter what he was doing, he glanced around and saw that Charles Lindbergh had just completed his solo trans-Atlantic flight, and declared, “I’m doing the Lindy Hop!” The first swing dance was born!

Lindy has metamorphosed hundreds of times since then, and even today exists in many different styles, and can be done to many different types of music. The one characteristic that unifies all different styles of Lindy and makes the dance so much fun is personal improvisation. Lindy was born with Jazz, and so will always have at heart the personal creativity of Jazz.

Come out and see it for yourself!

There are tons of swing dance videos floating around the 'net. Here are a couple good sources:

• Helzapoppin' video clip - Clip from the movie "Hellzapoppin'" from 1941. Hold on to your mouse, this clip is crazy! Probably the best Lindy Hop dancing there will ever be. Starring the famous Whitey's Lindy Hoppers who performed regularly at the Savoy Ballroom at the height of the swing era.
• Local DC Dancers
• Video Sites
• YouTube (Search for "Swing Dance")
• Google Video (Search "Swing Dance")
• Or head over to our photo and video gallery to get a taste of the kind of dancing we do in the club.

• The Beginning of the Lindy Hop
• Wikipedia - Swing Dance
• Swing History: Origins of Swing Dance
• Lindy Hop: Types of Swing