01
Lindy Hop
A partner dance counted in 8 and 6 beats, with leading, following, swing-outs and lots of improvisation. The heart of swing.
Culture
What is Lindy Hop?
Harlem, the Savoy Ballroom, the big bands and a flight across the Atlantic. A short history of the dance we dance in Ruse.
What it is
Freedom in rhythm
Lindy Hop was born in Harlem, New York, in the late 1920s and the 1930s, in ballrooms like the Savoy, to the music of the swing big bands. It was created by the African American community, and we respect its roots.
Legend has it the name comes from 1927, when Charles Lindbergh, “Lindy”, flew across the Atlantic. Frankie Manning (1914–2009) was among the most influential dancers at the Savoy and is linked to the first air steps. In the 1980s the dance was revived all over the world, and today there are communities from Stockholm to Ruse.
The styles
Three dances, one music
02
Charleston
The dance of the 1920s that Lindy Hop absorbed. Danced solo and with a partner, full of energy and rhythm.
03
Solo Jazz
Authentic jazz steps you dance on your own. Classic routines like the Tranky Doo and the Shim Sham are danced at parties all over the world.
Ruse and jazz
Ruse has jazz in its soul
Swing is a dance made for live music. That's why we love the stages with Big Band Ruse and conductor Dimcho Rubchev, the jam with Gunhild Carling at Dohodno Zdanie and the jazz week in Gabrovo.