I would hav et osay you got it prety right. In New York, there as the scene there, if I am not mistaken, that is where a few europeans learned it and went on to found the Rhythm Hot shots in Swede. Mind you, many forms of swing dance, as well as swing music was always popular in europe. They were quite a strong influnce. Also from New York I think,came the two women who made a armk in LA. Terri and her sister I think. It has been years.
Then there were some people in LA who were discoverinig the LA dancers. They learned a stronger sense of social dancing I think, while the NY dancers spent a lot of focus on emmulating a lot of moves that were signature moves of certain Whitey's dancers. And you are right, there might have been too much misinterpretation of performanc dance as social dancing.
The other weakeness with how it developed is how everyone ended up dancing the same in a lot of ways. I often try to emulate moves and steps and style I see in old video of competition and other footage. People act like I am crazy because I don't do the same ten to twenty moves everyone else does or in quite the same way.
And correct about the lounge scene. Originally it was not a dance scene. The lindy hoppers found them, and for a while it was a gret synergy, but the dancers tended to be a bit older, not into the clothing, and not much for spending money at a bar, and taking up more room on the floor, so they kind of started coming to odds. But just then, there was a big revival of lindy amongst the younger vintage crowd. For whatever reasons, many of the scenesters felt that lindy was too corny or whatever. the older vintage folks turned up their noses, those that could went back to rockabilly, and those that couldn't just sat and drank and groused about it. This was in Sf but similar in NY and LA I think. These were to my knowledge the only places that had a serious alt swing ceene that merged with dancers. For most other areas, they kind of came together at the same time.
Shame really, because they never recovered and it resulted in the dancers giving up on caring about vintage at all. NOt that that wouldn't hav happened anyway. Who knows.
It was a gret time though, while it lasted. Imagine about 1000 people, a live 16 piece band, everyone there dressed in vintage or at lest making a little effort as in a shirt and vintge tie or sixties uit or fifties looking dress. And a dance floor full of lindy and swaying dancers. And you might know about 20% of them and anyone you didn't all you had t odo is say hi. Amazing.
As far as revival goes though, I guess it is a matter of definition. Those are truly the greats, adn some younger people wr around, but it was hardly a youth trend. The new crowd did learn from them, but they wre much older.
I think the difference might be twofold. One, a trend will evolve aidn change if young people continue to come in and add new ideas and new style. Charleston became lindy in that way. You could even argue that modern hip hop perhaps, is the ultimate evolution of lindy. But without it being a popular youth trend, it will no longer evolve and be a vital alive part of the times. SO I woud say even though it continued to be done by the people that used to do it, it was revived, as opposed to it being an ongoing line. That is a matter of semantics though.
When it comes to African American style of dance though, I emphatically stress that it is a revival not an evolution becaue many people used to try to claim that the more modern styles of lindy are a natural evolution. I have no objection to their dancing whatever they want. But I will not call it Lindy. Lindy to me is an african american dance developed by african americans and done by some great white dancers too. But I will not go along with a dance changed and developed by a bunch of young white people who learned it from a handful of teachers and then went on to change it beign called the same dance. Again, nothing against what they do. But I will not call it Lindy Hop. maybe a little controversial, but that is how I feel about it.
Then there were some people in LA who were discoverinig the LA dancers. They learned a stronger sense of social dancing I think, while the NY dancers spent a lot of focus on emmulating a lot of moves that were signature moves of certain Whitey's dancers. And you are right, there might have been too much misinterpretation of performanc dance as social dancing.
The other weakeness with how it developed is how everyone ended up dancing the same in a lot of ways. I often try to emulate moves and steps and style I see in old video of competition and other footage. People act like I am crazy because I don't do the same ten to twenty moves everyone else does or in quite the same way.
And correct about the lounge scene. Originally it was not a dance scene. The lindy hoppers found them, and for a while it was a gret synergy, but the dancers tended to be a bit older, not into the clothing, and not much for spending money at a bar, and taking up more room on the floor, so they kind of started coming to odds. But just then, there was a big revival of lindy amongst the younger vintage crowd. For whatever reasons, many of the scenesters felt that lindy was too corny or whatever. the older vintage folks turned up their noses, those that could went back to rockabilly, and those that couldn't just sat and drank and groused about it. This was in Sf but similar in NY and LA I think. These were to my knowledge the only places that had a serious alt swing ceene that merged with dancers. For most other areas, they kind of came together at the same time.
Shame really, because they never recovered and it resulted in the dancers giving up on caring about vintage at all. NOt that that wouldn't hav happened anyway. Who knows.
It was a gret time though, while it lasted. Imagine about 1000 people, a live 16 piece band, everyone there dressed in vintage or at lest making a little effort as in a shirt and vintge tie or sixties uit or fifties looking dress. And a dance floor full of lindy and swaying dancers. And you might know about 20% of them and anyone you didn't all you had t odo is say hi. Amazing.
As far as revival goes though, I guess it is a matter of definition. Those are truly the greats, adn some younger people wr around, but it was hardly a youth trend. The new crowd did learn from them, but they wre much older.
I think the difference might be twofold. One, a trend will evolve aidn change if young people continue to come in and add new ideas and new style. Charleston became lindy in that way. You could even argue that modern hip hop perhaps, is the ultimate evolution of lindy. But without it being a popular youth trend, it will no longer evolve and be a vital alive part of the times. SO I woud say even though it continued to be done by the people that used to do it, it was revived, as opposed to it being an ongoing line. That is a matter of semantics though.
When it comes to African American style of dance though, I emphatically stress that it is a revival not an evolution becaue many people used to try to claim that the more modern styles of lindy are a natural evolution. I have no objection to their dancing whatever they want. But I will not call it Lindy. Lindy to me is an african american dance developed by african americans and done by some great white dancers too. But I will not go along with a dance changed and developed by a bunch of young white people who learned it from a handful of teachers and then went on to change it beign called the same dance. Again, nothing against what they do. But I will not call it Lindy Hop. maybe a little controversial, but that is how I feel about it.
