What is lindy hop?
Lindy Hop is the original swing dance — an exuberant African American partner dance that mixes eight-count and six-count patterns, the swingout, swivels, Charleston kicks and improvised jazz steps. Its stretch-and-compression connection lets partners play with the music in real time.
History
Lindy Hop was born in Harlem in the late 1920s; legend credits dancer George "Shorty" Snowden with naming it after Charles Lindbergh's 1927 transatlantic "hop." At the Savoy Ballroom, Frankie Manning introduced the first air steps and Whitey's Lindy Hoppers took the dance to film. A worldwide revival began in the 1980s when Swedish and American dancers sought out Manning and other original Savoy dancers.
Basic technique
- Swingout — the core eight-count figure
- Rock step, triple steps and the "lindy circle"
- Tuck turn, sendout and Charleston variations
- Solo jazz steps — Shim Sham, Big Apple, Tranky Doo
Music & tempo
Count Basie, Chick Webb, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald and modern swing bands — anywhere from 120 to 240+ BPM, with 140–180 the social sweet spot.
Songs for lindy hop
| Song | Artist | BPM | Key | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor Foo (smooth version) | Parov Stelar Trio | 120 | F minor | 2013 |
| Charleston Butterfly | Parov Stelar feat. Gabriella Hänninen | 120 | A# minor | 2006 |
| Room Service | Parov Stelar | 120 | A# major | 2006 |
| Teresina | Odjbox | 120 | G minor | 2011 |
| All in the Scheme of Things | Gordon Haskell | 120 | E minor | 2002 |
| I Concentrate on You | Steve Tyrell | 120 | C minor | 2006 |
| Night and Day | Steve Tyrell | 120 | D# major | 2006 |
| Rumba Fugaz | The Bahama Soul Club ft. Arema Arega | 120 | A# major | 2016 |
| Danse avec moi | Nôze | 120 | C minor | 2008 |
| Tattoos | Caravan Palace | 120 | C major | 2015 |
BPM as measured by audio analysis; some tracks read at half or double the danced tempo.
All 1,887 lindy hop songs by BPM →
What to wear
Suede or leather-soled shoes; comfortable vintage-style clothes are common.
How to get started
Most cities have a swing society with weekly dances and a drop-in lesson; festivals and exchanges are listed on our swing events page.
We list 9 studios that teach lindy hop, or browse all dance studios by state.
Key partner-dance terms
Movies featuring lindy hop
- Killer Diller (1948)
Recent research
- Joint action aesthetics. — PloS one, 2017
- Special Issue: Autoimmune Diseases: A Swing Dance of Immune Cells. — International journal of molecular sciences, 2025
- Can Samba and Forró Brazilian rhythmic dance be more effective than walking in improving functional mobility and spatiotemporal gait parameters in patients with Parkinson's disease? — BMC neurology, 2020
- The Energy Expenditure of Recreational Ballroom Dance. — International journal of exercise science, 2014
- A kinetic analysis of the triple step in recreational swing dancers. — Sports biomechanics, 2024
Books about lindy hop
- American Allegory by Black Hawk Hancock (2013)
- Frankie Manning by Frankie Manning, Cynthia Millman (2005)
- Let's Lindy by Simon Selmon (1994)
- Lindy made easy (with Charleston) by Dance Guild, inc., New York. (1956)
- This thing called swing by Christian Batchelor (1997)
- 1995 Neptune Plaza Concert Series collection by Beau Jocque (1995)
Encyclopedia summary
The Lindy Hop is an American dance which was born in the African-American communities of Harlem, New York City, in 1928 and has evolved since then. It was very popular during the swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Lindy is a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based on jazz, tap, breakaway, and Charleston. It is frequently described as a jazz dance and is a member of the swing dance family.
In its development, the Lindy Hop combined elements of both partnered and solo dancing by using the movements and improvisation of African-American dances along with the formal eight-count structure of European partner dances – most clearly illustrated in the Lindy's defining move, the swingout. In this step's open position, each dancer is generally connected hand-to-hand; in its closed position, leads and follows are connected as though in an embrace on one side and holding hands on the other.
There was renewed interest in the dance in the 1980s from American, Swedish, and British dancers and the Lindy Hop is now represented by dancers and loosely affiliated grass-roots organizations in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
Lindy Hop today is danced as a social dance, as a competitive dance, as a performance dance, and in classes, workshops, and camps. Partners may dance alone or together, with improvisation a central part of social dancing and many performance and competition pieces.
Lindy Hop is sometimes referred to as a street dance, referring to its improvisational and social nature. In 1932, twelve-year-old Norma Miller did the Lindy Hop outside the Savoy Ballroom with her friends for tips. In 1935, 15,000 people danced on Bradhurst Avenue for the second of a dance series held by the Parks Department. Between 147th and 148th street, Harlem "threw itself into the Lindy Hop with abandon" as Sugar Hill residents watched from the bluffs along Edgecombe Avenue.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Frankie Manning?
Frankie Manning (1914–2009) was a Savoy Ballroom dancer and choreographer who created the first Lindy Hop air steps and became the ambassador of the swing revival.
What BPM is Lindy Hop?
Socially 120–240 BPM, most commonly 140–180 BPM.
What BPM is Lindy Hop?
Lindy Hop is usually danced to music between 120 and 240 beats per minute. Browse 1,887 songs that fit on our Lindy Hop music page.
How many calories does lindy hop burn?
About 331 calories per hour for a 155-lb (70 kg) person, based on a MET value of 4.5 from the Compendium of Physical Activities. See calories burned lindy hop for every body weight.
Related styles
East Coast Swing
United States (simplified from Lindy Hop by dance studios)
Swing & Vintage Jazz DanceCharleston
African American communities of the South; named after Charleston, South Carolina
Swing & Vintage Jazz DanceBalboa
Southern California (Balboa Peninsula, Newport Beach)
Swing & Vintage Jazz DanceWest Coast Swing
California
Ballroom & DanceSportJive
United States (jitterbug) refined in English ballrooms
Swing & Vintage Jazz DanceCarolina Shag
Myrtle Beach and the Carolina coast
Swing & Vintage Jazz DanceHustle
New York City discos
Last reviewed October 2026 · Editorial policy