Lost in Harlem: The Jitterbug

The Village Voice, America's first alternative news weekly (1955), ran a "state of the art of swing dance" on September 6th that reminds us that although it may be barely hanging on in Harlem where it was born, it's still going strong around the rest of the world. Case in point, South Korean dancers now dominate in competition.

That said, the article opens with a description of a woman swing dancer who "drops toward the ground. She’s wearing a red slip dress with matching fringe and fishnets. She’s held horizontal: Her partner caught her just in time, her head an inch from his feet. She’s smiling with her teeth, catching every eye in the room, all on her.

She is 83 years old."

Barbara Billups last danced at the legendary Savoy Ballroom just before it closed in 1958 (after a 32-year existence). Thanks to the indefatigable work of Harlem resident Barbara Jones, Ms. Billups can continue to do her "happy dance" at local rec centers around Harlem where the steps are taught to anyone, young or old. Her non-profit Harlem Swing Dance Society is co-sponsoring this year's American Lindy Hop Championships which will hold its 20th Anniversary in Harlem, a first, from October 21-29th. 

​Sonny Allen, another octogenarian interviewed for the article, relates how the Lindy can test your stamina and limit your time on stage-- and thus your career-- because there is no way you can sustain an act that lasts longer than two-and-a-half minutes. He asks, "Now what are you going to do the rest of the time you're onstage?"

May I suggest if this were a perfect world where you didn't age or ever get tired, that you trilly on over to a Broadway theatre to dance in "Jitterbug!"

You can read the article here.