Dancing to the biggest hits of the 1940s might seem like a relic of another era, but the vintage dance style known as Lindy Hop never fully disappeared. The scene is far smaller than it was during its heyday in the 1930s, when jazz was pop music, yet it remains alive in communities across the country, including Hampton Roads.
Jae Sinnett, a jazz DJ for WHRO, traces swing's roots to New York. "Coming out of the the 20s, like [Duke] Ellington at the Cotton Club in Harlem, you know, was really starting to get into that Harlem Renaissance period," he said. Jazz in the 1920s was still evolving from ragtime, but it began to swing in the following decade, and audiences could not get enough. Dancers translated that rhythm into movement, performing triple steps, three steps in two beats, and improvising together the way jazz musicians do. Lindy Hop is defined by moments of tension, with partners stretching away or compressing together to build momentum.
"By the time the early '30s hit, then you had the big bands, the larger ensembles, like Ellington had, and things were really, really focused on dancing," Sinnett said.
At the time, Black audiences were shut out of many venues, but Harlem's Savoy Ballroom welcomed the Black community. Dancers from that era recall music pouring into the street, with underage kids dancing on the sidewalks as big band sounds echoed off nearby buildings.
Michael Quisao, a Lindy Hop DJ who brings jazz sets to dancers around the country, emphasizes that Lindy Hop and jazz are Black art forms. "They were coming out of a place that is not the most joyful. that was coming out of the migration after the Civil War. So one of the things that people were doing to continue living at that time is trying to find joy in things like music, and in dancing, and community, and togetherness," he said. Those values echo in Duke Ellington's "Jump for Joy," a song about escaping the South during the Great Migration, with lyrics that begin, "Fare thee well, land of cotton, cotton lisle is out of style, honey child, jump for joy!"
That spirit still resonates with modern dancers at Harbor City Swing in Norfolk, where stepping onto the dance floor offers a chance to set aside troubles and connect with another person. Lizzy Corey leads the group, which holds beginner and intermediate classes every Wednesday at Coalescence Coffee in Ghent.
"We love new dancers and new attendees. We always try to create a welcoming atmosphere, and part of that is knowing that maybe on your first night you don't get everything right," Corey said. "So we try really to foster a welcoming community where people want to come back a second time because they're going to meet really really cool people and have people who are encouraging to learn." That welcoming spirit extends to the social dance hour after class, which ends with a "snowball" dance: one couple starts in the middle, then splits off to find new partners each time an organizer calls "snowball," until the entire floor is dancing.
Corey's sister, Jeanette Corey, is also a dancer and a vocalist for the local swing band Good Shot Judy. She said Harbor City Swing lets her feel present in her body in a way modern life rarely allows. "How can I live out my humanity? I know that my humanity is not sitting at a desk typing," she said. "It's like so cool to have a human connection that is particular and that is real and that is personal, but that is not about what you think."
Harbor City Swing meets every Wednesday at Coalescence Coffee, with an intermediate lesson at 7 p.m., a beginner lesson at 7:30, and social dancing starting at 8 p.m.
