Swing dancing refers to a group of social dances developed in the 1920s and ’30s and influenced by African American communities as well as the jazz and blues movements. Swing dancing is comprised of various forms of dances that include the Balboa, Collegiate Shag, Lindy Hop and Lindy Charleston. These dances were particularly popular with youth groups who were oftentimes referred to as jitterbugs, Swing Kids, and Lindy Hoppers. During the Great Depression and World War II, swing dancing provided a recreational outlet and morale booster in large social gatherings, exclusive clubs, juke joints and competitive dance events.
A photograph of crowds gathered to watch jitterbugs at the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
A photograph of a 1938 protest at the National Jitterbug Championship.
A 1938 photograph of a performance depicting the origins of modern jitterbug dancing and its relationship with African tribal dances.
A 1942 photograph of a napping swing dancer.
A 1942 photograph of a “swing shift” dance.
A 1939 photograph depicting an African American couple dancing the jitterbug in a juke joint in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
A photograph of the Big Apple Night Club, an African American juke joint housed in an old Jewish synagogue in the 1930s in South Carolina.
A photograph of an African American couple dancing the Lindy in the 1930s at an unidentified club.
Excerpts from a 1938 book on Popular Ballroom Dances for the Student of Social Dancing by Thomas E. Parson.
A 1950s photograph of Brigham Young University students dancing the Lindy.
