Teaching Lindy Hop and Jitterbug Swing dance Classes in London, Central London, South East London, Sussex and Surrey.

52nd Street Jump

We promote Lindy Hop as it was always intended to be, a fun lively, sociable dance. There is nothing we like to see more than people enjoying dancing! Previously based in London we ran regular Swing Dance classes in Central London, South East London, and Surrey. In February 2010 we moved to North-East Lincolnshire, we continue to run Saturday Night Swing Club but all other events have been passed over to London Swing Dance Society. Please contact them directly for further assistance (details found in 'contact us'). Private one to one or small group tuition can be arranged on request. We are also available to perform or give dance demonstrations. The service we provide is tailor made to your requirements but can include teaching, demonstration or organising a social dance in any combination. Please contact us with your requirements and we will be pleased to get back to you.

Lindy Hop?

In the late 1920's a new dance emerged out of Charleston. It was called the Lindy Hop after Charles Lindbergh's flight 'hopped' the Atlantic. This new dance craze joined Collegiate Shag and Balboa to become the predecessor of an entire family of 'Swing' dances - Jitterbug, East and West Coast Swing, and more recently Jive.

Lindy Hop is a partner led dance with the male lead deciding which moves to do and in which order. Unlike the performance style Lindy Hop featured in films such as 'Hellzapoppin' and 'Day at the Races' social Lindy Hop is completely unchoreographed. The lead and follow aspect of Lindy Hop means that providing ladies learn to follow they will be able to do moves they didn't even know they knew! For men this means you rarely need to worry about whether your partner has learnt the same moves as you. Lindy Hop is very popular in many different countries which means that whilst you may not share the same language you will be able to share your love of dancing. Although Lindy Hop offers the possibility of learning more complex 8 count patterns, the early stages of the dance can be grasped easily and their similarity to other forms of Jive dances means you will be able to dance with those dancing other styles to Swing music. You will also be able to dance to a wide range of music from Swing to Rock and Roll, providing it swings you can dance to it!

Dancing to swing music of big bands such as Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Glenn Miller, and Lionel Hampton lasted well into the 1950's. Jive was then danced to Rock & Roll, Jump-Jive and Rhythm & Blues.

Swing dancing was popular for over 30 years and danced to a range of music that suits many tastes. Thanks to a major revival of partner dancing Lindy Hop is now becoming hugely popular again.

Why Learn Lindy Hop?

Learning to dance Lindy Hop will enable you to dance confidently and stylishly at many social events. It will also allow you to try other swing dances such as Balboa or Collegiate Shag. Once you have discovered the fun of social partner dancing you can start to explore the range of events aimed specifically at social dancing. A variety of dances take place at weekends as well as during the week. These may be Wartime dances, Rhythm and Blues nights, Swing nights, live music nights or a combination of these. There are also dance weekenders or dance camps for those who are not satisfied with one night. There is something for everyone and the scene is still growing!