(Describer) Someone hops and kicks.

[percussive drum music]

(Tyedric Hill) When I first started dancing the Lindy Hop, my first dance, it was all white. But culturally, historically, Black people socialized and built communities around this dance style, and I think it's worth preserving.

(Describer) A man and woman dance together.

(Shannon Varner) I think it would have evolved differently had the tradition-bearers had this dance the entire time. As white people, we have not been good stewards of this dance so far. And now we need to change that.

(Describer) A woman with brown skin dances.

[rhythmic grunts]

(LaTasha Barnes) Tradition-bearing is heavy work. That's why it's called "bearing." [laughs]

(Describer) The man, with darker skin, dances nearby.

But in order for us to move forward in it, we have to be looking back to really bring that through with us.

(Describer) A white man spins her.

[brass instruments play]

My name is Tyedric Hill, and I'm here in Columbus, Ohio, with "If Cities Could Dance" to share my love of Lindy Hop and authentic jazz culture. And we're going to be visiting Harlem, New York, where the soul of this dance really burst forth to the world.

(Describer) The Apollo Theatre marquee reads "Black Lives Matter". With a sketch of a skyline and a bridge over a river, title: If Cities Could Dance - Columbus, Ohio. In Columbus, rail and car bridges cross the river.

[percussive jazz, brass horns continue]

♪

[rhythmic drumming]

(Tyedric) Columbus, being a smaller Midwestern city, doesn't have the cultural clout that a city like New York might have. I'm really a believer that what makes the place special is how you fill it and the people that are there. So this is a place, really, that people make it into what they want it to be. If I pulse, that's where I'm grooving. That's how I show the rhythm in my body.

(Tyedric) Every month, the Central Ohio Hot Jazz Society, they organize a jam, and they invite us to dance. It's a space where people can just learn and really be in community and create together. Some of the core moves of Lindy Hop are the swing out and the circle.

(Describer) He dances with the white woman.

In a lot of partner dances, you stay really close to your partner. You often don't send them out with this reckless abandon, so there's this moment of disconnection, and then you pull them back in. It's really beautiful; when I'm dancing, I feel free.

(Describer) Title: New York, New York.

[slow jazz medley]

I have a huge love for this dance form and the history and the culture. A lot of our ideas about Lindy Hop come from the Savoy Ballroom. So it's Harlem; the Great Migration is happening; there's a Black middle class. And the music of the time was swing jazz. Count Basie, Chick Webb, Duke Ellington-- just a whole bunch of greats.

(Describer) Ella Fitzgerald sings.

And with this new kind of swing music, the ballroom dance at the time had to adapt.

(Describer) Title: Columbus.

The Lincoln-Bronzeville area-- the historically Black neighborhood in Columbus, in many ways was like Columbus's Harlem...

[jazz continues]

(Describer) In front of a theatre, names are engraved in a sidewalk.

where jazz was really enjoyed. And we had a culture. A lot of the greats, when they were transitioning between New York and Chicago, they got around by railroad a lot. And the railroads actually run right through this city. And so they've been here.

[jazz song concludes]

(Describer) Ads for local shows include Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie and Cab Calloway.

[piano jazz medley]

I first started dancing when I was nine years old. I come from a pretty big family, so we would sing and we would dance at church. I discovered Lindy Hop-- the dance had Black roots-- watching old clips on YouTube and an old film by the Marx Brothers called "A Day at the Races."

(Describer) 1937.

Through their song and their dance, I felt proud.

(Describer) Tyderic dances like people in the movie.

There was also Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, this legendary troop of dancers, and they're just going hard.

(Describer) They hop and spin each other.

Frankie Manning is one of the more notable members. He was also working with his partner, Frieda Washington, to develop a step.

(Describer) In photos, she's upside-down.

He just got this idea to have Frieda do, like, a flip over him.

(Describer) ...over his back.

This became a component of the dance. There's this "wow" factor of acrobatic discipline.

(Describer) Shannon Varner:

(Shannon) I was extremely lucky to be in New York in the '90s. I was able to take classes from him. He came in and was like, "No, you guys are doing it wrong."

[laughs]

(Describer) A headline: A new generation learns the Lindy Hop. Shannon and Tyderic dance down a sidewalk.

[cymbals and piano, jazz medley]

(Shannon) From New York, I went to D.C., and from D.C., I went to Chicago, and then from Chicago to here. So all of those scenes have very different styles of Lindy Hop. So my style is very much informed of all of these.

(Describer) Tyderic:

(Tyedric) Shannon, she was someone who, when I first started dancing, she gave me a lot of her time and energy. She's been a huge support emotionally as a friend.

(Shannon) I dance predominantly as a follow. I feel like a try to match whatever my lead is doing. Tyedric, he's just like, "I'm gonna go for it. I'm gonna try it. I have this idea; let's see how it works." And I think that energy is what embodies this dance.

(Tyedric) I feel called to learn more about these traditions. There's a concept that I learned from an artist that's very venerated here in Columbus-- Dr. Aminah Robinson-- "Sankofa." This idea that there are pearls in our past that can help us develop our future. So I really feel a responsibility to pass that on.

(Describer) They dance past a wall with the words "Black Dreams" painted on it. Scenes from "Swing Kids" and "Swingers" are shown.

It's very interesting that now, Lindy Hop, primarily it's represented by white people.

(Describer) A woman dances in "La La Land".

It's really popular in Europe.

(Describer) Dance posters are in French. Shannon.

(Shannon) White folks sort of encroached on it-- finding that joy, I think, without fully understanding the true history of it. Just like so many things, it becomes a commodity to be sold, and I don't think we've acknowledged that in the past.

(Describer) White people swing dance in a Gap commercial. Title: Harlem. A statue depicts Harriet Tubman. The Black Lives Matter Apollo marquee is shown again. Tyderic dances.

[blaring trumpets play jazz tune]

(Tyedric) To honor the history by being present where the dance began-- it's like going home. Next up, we have Tyedric and Ramona!

(Describer) International Lindy Hop Championships.

(Tyedric) The International Lindy Hop Championships-- I love it because you get to see Lindy Hop excellence. It's like the best of the best, you know?

(Describer) Different dancers perform in a ballroom.

Don't be afraid to be full, be yourself, be out there. And take some time-- these little moments? You gotta let 'em happen.

(Tyedric) People come trying to grow their artistic voice. And that's really, really, really inspiring.

(Describer) A class applauds Tyedric. The brown-skinned woman joins him.

[people cheering]

Jazz-- jazz goes which way?

(all) Down?

(Tyedric) My friend LaTasha Barnes, she's my mentor. She coined the term "tradition bearer." It's our responsibility to carry the traditions on. There is a lineage, and I want to be a part of that.

(Describer) LaTasha:

(LaTasha) To recognize that this artform has persisted, even when it's been erased, homogenized, repackaged, and to have people who otherwise might be implicated in the homogenization of it actually recognize that they need to do something different, and there's a greater responsibility to care for this culture and the vestiges of it. It's pretty amazing. Pretty dope.

(Describer) In the ballroom, a man swings her around and dips her. Tyedric:

Thanks for watching, everyone. Be sure to check out more episodes of "If Cities Could Dance." Let us know in the comments down below what cities you think we should visit next. [percussive drums, piano, swing jazz playing]

(Describer) Titles: Director (Columbus, Ohio): Selena Burks-Rentschler Senior Producer: Kelly Whalen Executive Producer: David Markus Copyright 2022, KQED Inc. Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education.

♪

Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.