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Come join us on October 5, 2024 from 12-4pm for a Big Apple Workshop. This wonderful dance has been gracing dance halls for 90 years and is still celebrated for its rich cultural history. We are fortunate to have special guest instructor Hanna Linn joining us from Sweden and who is excited to share the joy of this dance with you!Register here! https://bit.ly/3MNQyxw
Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door!
The Big Apple is speculated to have originated at the Big Apple Club in Columbia, South Carolina in the 1930s and is likely related to “ring shout” dances, characterized by circling and high arm movement, done by African Americans on plantations throughout South Carolina.
The dance later found itself at the Roxy Theater in New York City, and made its way to Detroit, Cleveland, Atlanta, Louisville, and Minneapolis before it travelled to Hollywood and into the hands of Franky Manning. Later, it returned to Harlem and the Savoy Ballroom, before ultimately finding itself in the 1939 movie Keep Punching. Traveling farther to Australia and New Zealand, it ultimately became deeply rooted in the swing dance community, popular amongst Balboa, Lindy Hop, and Shag communities.
While it seems to have fallen out of fashion during the 1940s, the Big Apple ultimately experienced a revival in the 1980s and 90s through the work of Lance Benishek and “Big Apple” Betty Wood who brought the dance back to Columbia to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Today, we continue to do the Big Apple in recognition of the original dancers who inspired so many with its smaller steps, circular movements, loud hand movements, and shouts of joyful praise!
Hanna is a swing dance enthusiast from Gothenburg, Sweden, visiting Cleveland for three months for work.
In Gothenburg, Hanna teaches Solo/Authentic Jazz and Lindy Hop/Charleston as a lead, follow, and switch. Hanna also appreciates Balboa and is starting to learn to dance Salsa. Hanna experienced love at first sight when she went to a Taster and Social Dance in Lindy Hop on a cold January night in Stockholm in 2014. She has also studied classical jazz and ballet, and believes that a strong foundation makes for fun dancing. Hanna aims to teach in a way that will make everyone swing, sweat, and smile.
Hanna thinks the most magical aspects of swing dancing are the creativity, space for expression, amazing music, and all the fantastic swing communities she has visited worldwide and the wonderful people she has met through dancing.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Viva Dance Studio, 1541 E 38th St, Cleveland, OH 44114-4305, United States,Cleveland, Ohio
