What is Lindy in the Park anyway? For that matter, what’s Lindy?

This question came up in conversation with one of the few people who reads my BLOG, so I thought it might be a good idea to answer it. Lindy was the dance that followed the Charleston, a street dance originating in Harlem in response to the new jazz music of the late twenties and early thirties. A complex jazz dance, it was constantly changing as dancers challenged each other to come up with new moves. It was popular until after the war when the music changed and the dancing along with it. About 20 years ago, a few people in various parts of the world became interested in the dance and went to New York to see if anyone was still alive who could teach it to them. A group of Swedes found Al Mins and a young couple from Pasadena found Frankie Manning, both members of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers whose antics can be found on vintage celluloid. Mins died about a year later, but Frankie, at 92, is still around inspiring people everywhere he goes. That was the beginning of the revival of the Lindy craze. Lindy is now popular again in many places, one of the top locals being our own San Francisco. Next I’ll answer the LITP question. Stay tuned!