What is Lindy Hop?
“Whitey’s Hopping Maniacs,” Each picture shows Naomi Waller & Frankie Manning, Lucille Middleton & Jerome Williams, and Mildred Cruse & Billie Williams.
Lindy Hop is a Black American dance that started in Harlem, NYC at the end of the 1920s.
Lindy Hop incorporates 6 count and 8 count rhythms, and is danced to a wide range of jazz music.
It emerged as a defiant, joyous response to the Great Depression, harsh living conditions, and systemic racism. The dance evolved out of several forms of social dance that preceded it, such as the Cakewalk, the Breakaway, Tap, and partnered Charleston.
Lindy Hop became popular thanks to OG Lindyhoppers including, but not limited to, Whitey's Lindyhoppers. They can be seen in films such as Hellzapoppin’ and A Day At The Races.
In the 1980's, a Lindy Hop resurgence came about, and some of the OG dancers, including Frankie Manning, Al Minns and Norma Miller were asked to share their stories and expertise with a new generation of enthusiast dancers.
Today, Lindy Hop communities can be found in practically every major city in the world.
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Sources:
http://otownshowdown.com/g/history/
https://swungover.wordpress.com/2020/05/26/whiteys-hopping-maniacs-at-the-savoy-1937/​​
What is Balboa?
Balboa dancers on Venice Beach
Balboa (or Pure-Bal) is a dance that originated in Southern California during the 1920s and 1930s. While the origins aren't as clear as with Lindy Hop, research shows that this was an older dance, around since at least the 1920s, and possibly even earlier.
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At the time, it was a chest-to-chest partnered weight-changing dance. It was developed on crowded dance floors, which meant it was primarily connection-based and not very flashy. Because of this, there is limited footage of original Balboa dancers, unlike Lindy Hop which was more commonly used in films and performances.
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Eventually, a hybrid of "Swing" and " Balboa" evolved into what we now refer to as Bal-Swing. Bal-Swing incorporates break-aways, and Out-and-In motions. The dancers who created and developed this specific style included Willie Desatoff, Maxie Dorf, Anne Mills, and Natalie Esparza.
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Now, "Pure-Bal" and "Bal-Swing" are typically lumped into "Balboa" as a general term for classes and events, though you can certainly find specific classes. We even have Slow Balboa, which is a more recent style of Bal rising in popularity.
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​Sources:
​https://swungover.wordpress.com/2019/01/17/swing-history-101-socal-swings-1935-1939-ish/