Lindy Hop is a dance style popularized in New York by African American dancers in a dance studio called Savoy Ballroom. Lindy Hop was born when Charleston dancers started to incorporate open positions into the traditional closed positions. This opening of position is in what is known as “Whip”, or “Swing Out”.
The name “Lindy Hop” emerged in 1927 in the Savoy Ballroom during a dance competition in commemoration of the famous pilot Charles Lindbergh, who traversed the Atlantic Ocean. Lindy would be the combination of Lindbergh and “hop”, which referenced the “hop” from one coast of the Atlantic to the other.
Lindy Hop spread across the entire U.S., but it wasn’t until Life magazine’s publication on August 23rd, 1943 declared Lindy Hop a “national dance” that it truly peaked. With time, Lindy Hop evolved into a variety of swing styles such as West Coast, Jive, Boogie Woogie, Balboa, Wendy, etc.