Hellzapoppin’ (1941) - Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers w/ Dancers’ Names - Harlem Congaroos

Lindy Hop / Swing Dance scene from the movie - Hellzapoppin’ - One of the top lindy hop swing dance scenes complete with aerials ever in the movies. Featuring The Harlem Congaroo Dancers (. Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers): William Downes/Overalls & Frances “Mickey“ Jones (0:39). Billy Ricker/Chef’s Hat & Norma Miller (1:09). Al Minns/White Coat-Black Pants & Willa Mae Ricker (1:29). Frankie Manning/Overalls & Ann Johnson (1:55). This film footage is to be used as educational use only. Copyright Fair Use Act: Title 17, Sections 107 through 118 U.S. Code. ABOUT THE DANCING IN THE MOVIE This movie, based on a hit Broadway play, showcases Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers dancing the most famous and most spectacular Lindy Hop scene ever preserved on film. The dancing was choreographed by Frankie Manning. The scene starts when musicians Slim Galliard and Slam Stewart, in workmen’s garb, discover some musical instruments while supposedly delivering a package backstage. They play a few tentative notes, and a spontaneous, swinging jam starts cooking . More backstage ’workers’ join the jam, including Rex Stuart on trumpet and C.C. Johnson on the ’bongo drums’. The music builds in excitement until, as if out of nowhere, four Lindy Hopping couples, dressed in overalls and uniforms, swing out into the cameras at a frenetic tempo. Each couple executes amazing acrobatic shines. Then the group unites for precision ensemble work filmed at an angle that emphasizes legwork and speed. The choreography and the dancing are as near to perfect Lindy Hop as you can see anywhere! The scene will take your breath away no matter how many times you see it. It is no wonder that this film was responsible for the simultaneous revival of Lindy Hop in Sweden and Britain in the 1980’s. An interesting sidenote: Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers’ routine in Hellzapoppin’ was originally danced and choreographed to different music, namely ’Jumping at the Woodside’. But Universal Studios did not want to pay the royalties for the use of the song. They had a composer who was on staff write new music for the routine. adapted from: