While how they identified is not known, original Whitey's Lindy Hoppers from the Savoy Ballroom Al Minns and Leon James regularly presented same gender partner dancing in a time when such things were rarely seen. An early example of ambidancing (dancers who can dance both roles).
One of the first modern competitively successful openly gay partnerships in Lindy Hop. Adam is the founder of Queer Swing Seattle
Ally and Icon, Dawn was a singer, dancer and performer whose family band played at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom. Dawn worked in Lindy Hop while also performing alongside some of the most famous drag performers in the vibrant 1970's New York queer night life scene. Her connection to the LGBTQAI+ community greatly influenced her approach to dance, dancing as both a lead and follow emphasizing "feeling the music" and "being yourself" over anything else.
Duke Ellingtons primary collaborator, Billy Strayhorn is responsible for Swing mega hits like, "Take The A Train", "C Jam Blues" and epic Jazz ballads like "Lush Life." Billy was always open about his sexuality as a gay man and found safety collaborating with Ellington who provided protection and a place to thrive artistically. We would not have half of Ellingtons repertoire without Billy Strayhorn.
Two powerhouse queer swing dancers who have burst onto the dance scene with a truly joyful and rhythmic style all their own.
Gladys Bentley was an American blues singer, pianist, and entertainer during the Harlem Renaissance. as a black, lesbian, cross-dressing performer. She headlined in the early 1930s at Harlem's Ubangi Club, where she was backed up by a chorus line of drag queens. She dressed in men's clothes (including a signature tail coat and top hat), played piano, and sang her own raunchy lyrics to popular tunes of the day in a deep, growling voice while flirting with women in the audience.
Tiny Davis was the lead trumpet player for the first all female and fully integrated big band, "The International Sweethearts of Rhythm." Always open about her Lesbian identity, Tiny eventually moved to upstate New York to open her own club with her life partner Ruby Lucas. She infamously also had her own very queer swing band, "Tiny Davis and the Hell Divers!"
Jamica is a world renowned Blues and Swing dancer and activist. Jamica's dancing and advocacy have helped to raise awareness for the contributions and connections of the intersectional black and queer influences of Blues and Jazz idiomatic art forms. Jamica has also hosted panels on LGBTQAI+ peoples involvement in social dance as well as co-producing the Queer Walk of Fame. A museum style exhibit sharing the histories of queer artists in the blues, jazz and swing.
Switch Dancing with its Queer roots, only became a trend of it's own in the last decade or so. The first time Switch Dancing appeared at the International Lindy Hop Championships, it confused the judges so much that this couple was "accidentally" disqualified.
This video is amazing! West Coast Swing is a younger cousin of Lindy Hop. You will notice that the announcer says "cameras off" joking that it would be inappropriate to view two men dance together. Up until very recently same sex dancers and queer dancers were often not allowed to compete together, and if they did it was presented as a joke.
These two - are no joke.
Jason Hsu, from Taiwan is responsible for the first Switch Dance Festival in Asia. Katie, originally from Shanghai has made a splash on the international dance scene with their unique style and open and proud queer representation.