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!