Lindy Hop comes from the Black community and Black and African American experience during the Harlem Renaissance. Its history is complex, political, joyful, compelling and truly American. As we know, so many Black cultural contributions have been overlooked. Unsurprisingly, to see the Queer history of Lindy Hop you have to look between the margins. Below are clips of dancers old and new that embody gender diversity in Lindy Hop as well as two of Harlem's original Savoy Ballroom Lindy Hoppers!
Al Minns and Leon James.
One of the first modern competitively successful openly gay partnerships in Lindy Hop. Adam is the founder of Queer Swing Seattle and has Lindy Hopped since he was 10 years old.
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!"
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.
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.