Hollywood-style Lindy Hop is a variety of Lindy Hop, an American vernacular dance. It is also sometimes referred to as Dean Collins or Smooth-style, but these terms also sometimes refer to different styles of Lindy Hop.
Hollywood is the style seen in 1930s and 1940s movies. It was danced by Dean Collins, Jewel McGowan, Jean Veloz and others. It was reconstructed from these movies in the late 1990s by Erik Robison and Sylvia Skylar. They were the first to call it "Hollywood Style".[1]
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 the back straight and a 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.
A popular 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.