August 23
LINDY HOP DAY
On this day in 1943, LIFE magazine spotlighted a dance craze that was sweeping the U.S.A. -- the Lindy Hop. The Lindy was named after American aviation hero Charles A. Lindbergh; and began its entry into the American lifestyle in 1927. The Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, New York was really jumping when George ‘Shorty’ Snowden, one of the Savoy’s famous dancers, started doing twists, turns, jumps and twirls to the music of greats like Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald. Snowden told everyone he was doing the Lindy Hop.
The jitterbug, swing or Lindy as it was called by white dancers became an integral part of Hollywood’s golden era and was picked up by the youth of America during WWII, as exhibited on the LIFE cover.
The Lindy Hop was still being danced in the 1950s to rock ’n’ roll at sock hops; and was the jump start for the dance styles of the 1960s and 1970s. In fact, people throughout the world still do the Lindy ... or Boogie Woogie, Rock ’n’ Roll, Le Roc, Ceroc, etc. (current variations of the first acrobatic social dance).
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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