Modernity in Rhythm: A history of the lindy hop

Speaker: Thom Scott-Phillips,

course director of The Human Mind and the Open Society: Political Intuitions Summer University course.

The lindy hop is a partnered dance, danced to swing music, that first emerged among African-American communities in Harlem, New York, in the late 1920s. It became a national obsession by the late 1930s and early 1940s, and today it is danced in communities across the globe. This talk will describe how the lindy hop emerged as part of the Harlem Renaissance, an intellectual and cultural expression of African-American experience, in music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater and politics.

After the talk there will be a (optional!) 30-minute class in lindy hop for beginners with Thom and Boglárka Bulyáki from SimplySwing dance studio in Budapest. No partner necessary!

Learn more: https://events.ceu.edu/2025-07-08/modernity-rhythm-history-lindy-hop

Also check out other Workshops in Budapest, Arts events in Budapest, Theatre events in Budapest.