Hollywood-style Lindy Hop

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Hollywood-style Lindy Hop is a variety of Lindy Hop, an American dance, popularly associated with the Hollywood films in which white dancers such as Dean Collins starred in the 1930s and 40s.

Hollywood is the style seen in 1930s and 1940s movies. It was danced by Dean Collins, Hal Takier, Jean Veloz and others. Though briefly revived in the 1950's for use in "drive-in" teen-oriented rock n' roll films, the style was essentially lost in the later part of the post-World War II era. It was reconstructed by dance historians in the late 1990s, including Erik Robison and Sylvia Skylar. They are credited with coining the phrase "Hollywood style".

The Swingout (the basic step of Lindy) is danced in a position often described as someone about to sit on a stool, thereby bringing their center point of balance closer to the ground. This piked position is the classic look of Hollywood with a straight back straight and slight forward tilt. The Hollywood style is also a slotted dance, meaning the follower travels in a straight line instead of the more elliptical or circular Savoy-style Lindy Hop.

Proponents of Hollywood style Lindy Hop often say they are able to dance faster because of the use of counterbalance techniques, and people watching often remark at the smooth nature of the style. Much of this impression comes about because of the two dimensional nature of film. All the motion had to be captured in the two available dimensions whereas the Savoy-style Lindy Hop is more of a three dimensional dance making it more difficult to present effectively on film. The film Hellzapoppin' has examples of Dean Collins doing the Hollywood Style, and Frankie Manning as part of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers doing the Savoy style.

Other names for Hollywood Style often used by instructors: Smooth style, LA style, Dean style, Collins style, and often incorrectly as West Coast Swing. It's also common to simply drop the word "style" and say, "I dance Hollywood" or "I dance Dean" instead of the full moniker of "Hollywood Style" or "Dean Style."

One variation of Hollywood-Style Lindy Hop called LA-style Lindy Hop has a few technical changes in the footwork and fewer steps. The steps are shortened or "cheated" to create this look. The style is geared towards performance and is heavily based on short choreographies. Originating in Los Angeles, California, LA-style is a favorite on the West Coast of the United States.