blackhistoryalbum:

Helzapoppin & Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers | 1941 

Arguably one of the greatest dance sequences ever filmed….featuring Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers from the film Helzapoppin.

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The Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers was a professional performing group of Savoy Ballroom swing dancers, started in 1935 by Herbert “Whitey” White. The group took on many different forms, with up to 12 different groups performing under this name or one of a number of different names used for the group over the years, including Whitey’s Hopping Maniacs, Harlem Congaroo Dancers, and The Hot Chocolates. In addition to touring both nationally and internationally, the group appeared in a number of feature films and Broadway productions and counted Dorothy Dandridge and Sammy Davis Jr. among their celebrity regulars. The group disbanded in 1942 a year before the Savoy closed its doors.

Of all the members of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, Al Minns, Leon James and Frankie Manning are amongst the most famous — Minns and James in part for their role in the research of Jean and Marshall Stearns’s influential book Jazz Dance, Minns for his work with The Rhythm Hot Shots during the 1980s’ swing revival, and Manning for his role, starting in 1986, in contributing to the swing and Lindy Hop revival after Minns died in 1985. Manning and Norma Miller were among the few members of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers still alive during the 1990s and 2000s and were some of that era’s most influential Lindy Hop performers and instructors. With Manning’s death in April 2009, Miller alone remains to teach and lecture at dance workshops and Lindy Hop conventions.

  1. badbrainsss reblogged this from blackhistoryalbum
  2. loveisthewateroflife reblogged this from venusinthefifth
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  4. malisandfleshtones reblogged this from blackbootspinklaces
  5. theseparatentity reblogged this from blackertheberry and added:
    oh my goodness this was crazy awesome. i need lessons STAT.
  6. burninggiraffe reblogged this from mudwerks and added:
    Really. Take time to watch.
  7. wbfiles reblogged this from blackhistoryalbum
  8. letmesingforevermore reblogged this from blackertheberry
  9. killing-to-be-tiny reblogged this from fuckyeahswingdance and added:
    FREAKING AMAZING. THIS IS DANCE!
  10. blackertheberry reblogged this from blackhistoryalbum and added:
    so bad!! I love this!
  11. young40s reblogged this from blackhistoryalbum
  12. mynagerie reblogged this from blackhistoryalbum and added:
    YES!! I came across...have watched it soooo many times—just
  13. thelovelyrandomthings reblogged this from thewidowflannigan
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  21. inkletters reblogged this from dragonsplash and added:
    I just watched this today and now that I’ve logged in to Tumblr here it is again! lol
  22. dragonsplash reblogged this from fuckyeahswingdance and added:
    I can never not reblog this. One of my favorite dance videos of all time.
  23. milvertons reblogged this from fuckyeahswingdance
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