School Programs

The Need

Students desperately need artistic outlets to balance and accelerate their academic pursuits. Lindy Hop programming provides a wealth of instruction in dance, music, history, social grace and discipline.  These are all life skills that will improve their confidence in future situations, be it the 8th grade dance, high school prom or corporate boardroom.

With fine arts and physical education resources dwindling, schools are looking to independent providers for artistic and wellness programming. To fulfill this need, we have developed residencies, workshops and assemblies for students of all ages.

Through performances we capture students’ attention. Through our multi-dimensional teaching methods, your students will expand their knowledge of their Harlem Renaissance, enrich their social skills as dance partners and improve their agility and teamwork skills.

Learning to dance is an arts, history and physical fitness opportunity.

The Lindy Hop, which combines Charleston, Swing, and Jazz Movement, provides students an athletic and inspirational introduction to the dancing of the 1920s through the 1950s. The Lindy Hop is a multi-faceted dance of partnered and solo movement, with elements appropriate for all ages and interests.

The Lindy Hop is uniquely intriguing to youth as it is both art and sport. The jumps, spins, kicks and turns capture the attention of the athletic and the artistic. Spirited but calculated, competitive but joyful, the Lindy Hop provides the means of exercise and expression for the ballerina, the line backer, the musician and the math whiz, while focusing manners, discipline, sequencing and the appreciation of repetition for improvement.

“The Lindy Hop – A True National Folk Dance Has Been Born in the USA”

- Life Magazine, August 23, 1943

A truly American dance, The Lindy Hop has its origins in the Harlem Renaissance and is itself a melting pot of sorts, specifically of European melodies and African rhythms. This fusion was born in the 1920’s and spread across the US and then Europe, breaking racial, social and economic barriers.  The historical significance of this dance presents a fantastic opportunity to explore the cultural revolution in Harlem and introduce the players that changed American music forever.

One of our favorite elements of the assemblies and workshops is showing our students examples of how the musical riffs and dance steps of the Swing Era continue to influence R&B and Hip Hop today.