The original Lindyhop came from the Charleston which was an 8 beat dance in its basic form. In appears that in the early 1930's, dancers found that step patterns from the 6 beat dances such as Shag could be integrated very easily with the 8 beat step patterns of Lindyhop. This resulted in the new Lindyhop you see in movies such as "A Day At The Races" (1937) with the Marks Brothers, and "Helzapoppin" (1941) with Frankie Manning.

In the late 1920's in Harlem, Lindyhop was breaking out wherever people were partying... But it wasn't until the opening of the Savoy Ballroom that Lindyhop got its name and a home. At the Savoy the Lindyhop got hotter and hotter, as people danced to the top Big Bands in the land. And it got better and better, as the popular Saturday night competitions pushed good dancers to greatness. New steps were born every day. The styling got refined and was executed so well that the dance was a joy to watch as well as do. When it looked like it couldn't get any better, a young dancer named Frankie "Musclehead" Manning created the first air-steps in 1935, and the Lindyhop soared.

The history of the Lindy Hop is told through the biographies of the dancers and information on old film clips. Lindyhop became a dance craze worldwide, known as Jitterbug. It evolved into many forms, such as West Coast Swing, Rock 'n' Roll, and Boogie Woogie. But the authentic style, the original style, will always be the Savoy style from Harlem, USA.

Today in England there are variations of Lindyhop done to modern pop music, known under many different names, including Modern Jive, Le Roc, and Ceroc etc. In Sweden they have Bugg, in Switzerland they have Disco Fox; in America, West Coast Swing is danced primarily to modern R'n'B. Each of these dances has their own styles. The original styling and footwork have changed to fit the music, but in essence, all come from the original Lindyhop that was so popular in Harlem's Savoy Ballroom and all over America in the 30s and 40s.