Lindy Hop – The original Swing Dance – New York 1939
No one can really experience the feel of the 1940’s and not try the Lindy Hop dance. The original swing dance.
The Lindy Hop was inspired from headlines like Lindy Hops Atlantic after Charles Lindbergh’s flight to Paris back in 1927 . It’s also known as the Jitterbug. It is an unashamedly joyful dance. The embracing hold, and the turns from Europe, the body moves from Africa. This dance evolved along with the new swing music,
This little gem was filmed at the World Fair in New York in 1939. A nation as yet untouched by war.
Courtesy of the Prelinger Archive
This was so much fun! I played it three times! 30's and 40's magazines and catalogs are great, but to really get a feel for the fashion of the times, there's nothing quite like seeing ordinary people in action on the streets of New York. And the fact that this was at the historical 1939 World's Fair makes it all the more intriguing.
It's interesting to see all the women dancing together. (I chuckled every time I saw the two women at about 0:30, dancing cheek-to-cheek.) My sisters & I always dance together at weddings, but I didn't realize that it was so acceptable back then…
One last thing – Congrats on being selected by Ms. Zweig as one of the Top Ten Nostalgia Blogs!
Loved this short! Particularly the two ladies wearing the same dresses in blue and white print caught on camera like mirror images.
LOVED THIS VIDEO! Thanks for posting. It was great to see their outfits and dancing! I must learn to do this dance.
To be truthful, there are couples in this movie who are NOT doing the Lindy.The couples who are facing forward and seem to be doing a walk to the music for a couple of steps before they change are going what was called at that time, "The Stroll". If you go to any big band dance today, you will see elderly couples still doing that — it's a variation of the Fox Trot, which is something that you are seeing other couples doing in the movie also. It's only in the middle where you see 3 or 4 couples in the center of the frame start to do the Lindy.
Very cool! I agree… even if I am "jitterbug challenged!" Foxtrots, slow waltzes, yes, but now, i may have to try the Hop!