The World's Finest Ballroom -- A Brief History
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Origins of the Savoy Ballroom
The Savoy Ballroom was located in Harlem, NY between 140th and 141st streets on Lenox Avenue. It first opened its doors on Friday March 12th, 1926 during the Harlem Renaissance. It was owneed by Moe Gale (a Jewish man) and managed by Charles Buchanan. One of the things that truly set the Savoy ballroom apart from the rest is that it was one of the first racially intergrated public places in America (that's what made it stick apart from other Clubs in Harlem, like The Cotton Club). White people were not the target market for the Savoy, Buchanan said himself that "We're not partial to white people who come to gawk... besides we're not geared to make money out of them. They can't spend more than the admission fee and a couple of drinks" (Engelbrecht 1983)
Dancing & the Lindy Hop
The Savoy Ballroom not only allowed for the Black musicians and dancers to come together in one space but it showed that "the tradtion of Black musical and dance forms were interrelated and together were responsible for the swing phenomenon (Engelbrecht 1983)" In addition to being coined "The World's Finest Ballroom", the Savoy Ballroom was also coined "Home of Happy Feet". They got this name because the Lindy Hop was born on the mahogony dancefloors of the Savoy Ballroom. The Lindy Hop, named after Charles Lindbergh as people were amazed with his "hop" across the Atlantic ocean because he completed the first ever solo flight from New York to Paris. (Smith) People loved to dance at the Savoy Ballroom, dancers even made sure to get there before 6pm while admission was still 30 cents. The Lindy Hop (as shown in the video to the right) is a fun dance that is full of energy and it requires a partner.
