Lindy Hop Origins by Jeff P Miller adapted from various sources. The time was the roaring 1920's. The place was the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, New York. The dancer was Frankie "Musclehead" Manning. The dance was the Lindy Hop.

With the new dance craze breaking out wherever people were partying... but it wasn't until the opening of the Savoy Ballroom that the people were dancing to the swinging music of the Big Bands in the area. Swing Dance was formed.

A young dancer named Frankie "Musclehead" Manning was creating the first aerial or "airsteps" in 1935. At the same time airplane pilot, Charles Lindburgh,was making his own newspaper headlines reading "Lindy Hops Across The Atlantic". When asked, Frankie Manning gave reference to this by calling his dance steps as a "Lindy Hop".

At the Savoy, the Lindy Hop got hotter and hotter. And it got better and better, as the popular Saturday night competitions pushed good dancers to greatness. Every day, new steps were created. And new moves were born. The additions of "styling" or intricate refinements of positioning, made the dance not only pure joy to watch, but also fun to be a part of.

The history of the Lindy Hop is told through the biographies of the dancers and information on old filmclips. (You might try starting with Whitley Hoppers. ) Lindy Hop became a dance craze worldwide, known as Jitterbug. It evolved into many forms, such as West Coast Swing,  Rock'n'Roll, and Boogie Woogie. But the authentic style as die-hard swing dancers claim, the original style, will always be the Savoy-style from Harlem, USA.