Swing Dance venues in the Bay Area

Sundays:

Lindy in the Park
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, CA

Sunday Night Swing
LMDC
200 Grand Avenue
Oakland, CA 94610

Tuesdays:

Swing Central
Forester's Hall
1204 Middlefield Rd
Redwood City, CA 94063

Tuesday Night Jum2424 Mariposa St
San Francisco, CA 94110

Wednesdays:

Cat's Corner
2937 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94110

Dancer's Den
2315 Durant Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704

Wednesday Night Hop
1160 N. Fair Oaks Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94089

Thursdays:

920 Special
2460 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA 94115

200 Grand
LMDC
200 Grand Avenue
Oakland, CA 94610

Fridays:

Ashkenaz (check website)
1317 San Pablo Ave
Berkeley, CA 94703

Friday Night Swing
1500 16th St.
San Francisco, CA 94103

Ellington Hall
3535 Industrial Dr, Ste B4
Santa Rosa, CA 95403

Saturdays:

Lindy on Sproul
UC Berkeley's Sproul Plaza
near Telegraph Ave at Bancroft Way

Jitterbug Jump
Metronome Ballroom
(3rd & 4th Sat)
1830 17th St.
San Francisco, CA 94103

 

What is The Lindy Hop?

Lindy Hop is the granddaddy of all swing dances. It evolved from the Charleston as swing music came into favor in the 1930's, and flourished in huge ballrooms such as the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem.

Whereas the Charleston involved dancing in "closed" position, Lindy Hop has the partners breaking away, yet still coming together and breaking away, thus it visually "swung" with the music.

Not that Lindy Hop ignored the Charleston. Indeed, the Charleston is an integral part of Lindy Hop, from which came other forms of swing: East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, smooth style, etc.

Known for its musicality and innovativeness, Lindy Hop enjoys a continued revival and is still avidly danced throughout the world.

Where can I learn Lindy Hop?

We recommend taking classes from professional instructors. You can get your feet wet by trying out a drop-in lesson or two, but we recommend weekly progressive series (4 or 6 classes in a row).

How can I get "good"?

Learning Lindy Hop is like learning a foreign language. One needs to practice with "native speakers". That means: go out social dancing! See the venue listing on the left.

What is social dance etiquette?

***

For more information about Lindy Hop in a historical context, check out this transcript of Ken Burn's interview with Frankie Manning and Norma Miller, two early pioneers of this great dance.

PBS's site also contains a short essay on how the music and dance are tied together.

Click here to read about it

 

 

 

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