World Lindy Hop Day Date in the current year: May 26, 2024

The swing era in the United States lasted from 1933 to 1947. During that time, big band swing music was the most popular music genre in the country. Hundreds of social dances that developed during the swing era are collectively known as swing dance. Only four of them have survived to our day: Balboa, Charleston, Collegiate Shag, and Lindy hop.

Lindy hop began to evolve in the African American communities of Harlem, New York City in the late 1920s. The name of the dance is believed to be a reference to Charles Lindbergh’s famous nonstop transatlantic flight from New York City to Paris that took place in 1927. According to popular legend, Lindy hop was named so by African American dancer George “Shorty” Snowden, but there is no evidence that it was indeed so.

However, it was Snowden and his fellow dancers at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem that made Lindy hop widely popular. Known as the Savoy Lindy Hoppers, they helped take Lindy hop to ballrooms, night clubs, dance competitions, and even Broadway shows.

After World War II, Lindy hop experienced a decline in popularity and was replaced by other social partner dances such as rock and roll, East Coast swing and West Coast swing. Its revival began in the 1980s thanks to swing dancers in the United States (California and New York City), Sweden, and the UK, who, independently from each other, reached out to original Lindy hoppers. A group of Lindy hop stars came out of retirement and taught Lindy hop to a new generation of dancers.

Today, Lindy hop is danced around the world as a social dance, a performance dance, and a competitive dance. Improvisation is the central part of Lindy hop as a social dance and an important part of many competition and performance Lindy hop pieces.

The exact origins of World Lindy Hop Day are unclear, but it seems to have been observed since the revival of Lindy hop. Its date, May 26, commemorates the birthday of the renowned American dancer, dance instructor and choreographer Frankie Manning, who is considered one of the founders of Lindy hop and is widely regarded as the most celebrated Lindy hopper in history. It was Manning who performed the first aerial, i.e. a move in Lindy hop where a dancer’s feet leave the floor.

On the occasion of World Lindy Hop Day, Lindy hoppers around the globe organize dance parties, free workshops and demonstrations, jazz concerts, and other events that aim to raise awareness of Lindy hop among the general public and encourage people who are passionate about dance to join the global Lindy hop community.

You can celebrate World Lindy Hop Day by attending an event near you or even organizing an event of your own, watching Lindy hop videos online, signing up for a demo Lindy hop class at your local dance studio, and spreading the word about the holiday on social media with the hashtags #WorldLindyHopDay and #LindyHopDay.