A Hot Hopper

Last night I swung to the sound of a swing band, and did my best ‘I don’t know how to lindy-hop but will do a bit of mad hopping anyway’ at the Royal Albert Hall. This was the scene:


How do other ladies dance with such energy and still look immaculate? After my wildly enthusiastic but clueless freestyle I looked as though I had been busting moves in a sauna. But oh the dances! Fifties skirts swirled, vintage headscarves quivered, baggy trousers and braces rock-stepped – the floor was a whirl of people. Half the fun was watching them (and then trying to join in!)

Lindy hop fuses the Charleston with the jazz era. It is mainly a partner dance, and can be highly energetic as ladies are swung around in the air, men jump over each other, and all sorts of dance shenanigans carry on at high speed. But there are lots of different moves that allow people of all ages and ability to enjoy the music – and what music! Songs like Happy Feet, music from the Glenn Miller era, Duke Ellington – fantastic to hear in such a wonderful venue.

For a bit of pure frantic lindy-hopping, here is the youtube snippet from the 1941 film Hellzapoppin’.



And since we are currently feeling so hot here in London, a big warm welcome to new followers – 202 of you lovely folk have now clicked the follow button! Picture me doing the Snoopy dance of happiness, with a little lindy circle thrown in. Thank you!

Snoopy pic credit: Charles M. Schulz