--- title: The Lindy Hop: An American Dance Since the 1920s description: Before the dawn of YouTube, aspiring amateur dancers relied on magazine spreads to learn each move. canonical: https://time.com/3739226/lindy-hop/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-16T12:00:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:47:55.108Z og:title: The Lindy Hop: An American Dance Since the 1920s og:description: Before the dawn of YouTube, aspiring amateur dancers relied on magazine spreads to learn each move. og:url: https://time.com/3739226/lindy-hop/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt973354415792067e/69878304e20a87360aa8580a/150310-lindy-hop-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: The Lindy Hop, 1943 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Lindy Hop: An American Dance Since the 1920s twitter:description: Before the dawn of YouTube, aspiring amateur dancers relied on magazine spreads to learn each move. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt973354415792067e/69878304e20a87360aa8580a/150310-lindy-hop-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Dance One of _Dancing With The Stars’_ Jazziest Performances  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Mar 16, 2015 12:00 PM UTC  Caption from LIFE. Improvisation. Caption from LIFE. Improvisation.Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Mar 16, 2015 12:00 PM UTC Boogie, Suzy-Q, Mooch and Shorty George may sound like nicknames for a group of after-school buddies from the 1950s—and they may well have been—but they are actually some of the building blocks of the Lindy Hop, a dance that developed during the 1920s and ’30s. LIFE proclaimed in 1943 that with the Lindy Hop, “A true national folk dance has been born in U.S.A.” And though the editors overlooked an entire history of Native American dance, it is true that beyond the diverse array of Native American traditions, and with the exception of tap dancing, most American dance in the early 20th century derived from European influence. The Lindy Hop, like jazz, was born in Harlem—and like jazz, it dealt in improvisation. It got its name, according to LIFE, from dancer “Shorty George” Snowden, who saw couples improvising an off-time dance on the day Charles Lindbergh completed his transatlantic flight to Paris in 1927. “To elders the gyrations of jitterbugs may appear disordered and vulgar,” LIFE wrote. But the dance was taking hold, popular enough to warrant a cover story and several pages of instructions to teach aspiring Lindy Hoppers each move. And though it’s fallen in and out of favor through the years, you can still see it on Monday nights as _Dancing With the Stars_ choreographs modern, and highly sequined, renditions of an old classic. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@LizabethRonk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Caption from LIFE. Improvisation. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Borrowing from ballet repertoire, Leon James executes a pirouette. First he kicks to pick up momentum, then spins backward to his right, pivoting on his heel. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Leon goes into a slide, steadied by Willa Mae. This is his specialty. Under proper conditions he can coast length of ballroom floor poised on heel and toe. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. While Willa Mae twirls, Leon does a reverse jump. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Leon James and Willa Mae Ricker demonstrating a step of The Lindy Hop. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Kaye Popp and Stanley Catron demonstrating a step of The Lindy Hop. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In this variation of jig-walk, boy shines by interpolating a kick while his partner twists, boy goes into a knee-drop, a stirring climax for a hot break. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. The tip is an open step which faintly resembles the old-fashioned cakewalk with right hand up, the shuffle called "trucking" conveys repressed ecstasy. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Fast swing-outs can be just as graceful as ballet pirouettes when they are properly performed. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  LIFE Magazine, August 23, 1943. Gjon Mili—LIFE Magazine  LIFE Magazine, August 23, 1943. Gjon Mili—LIFE Magazine  LIFE Magazine, August 23, 1943 Gjon Mili—LIFE Magazine  LIFE Magazine, August 23, 1943. Gjon Mili—LIFE Magazine  LIFE Magazine, August 23, 1943. Gjon Mili—LIFE Magazine  LIFE Magazine, August 23, 1943. 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