From 1926 to 1958, the Savoy Ballroom in New York's Harlem neighborhood played a critical role in the development and showcasing of African-American popular culture. During its lifetime, the Savoy Ballroom significantly affected the concurrent development of jazz music and jazz dance, and laid important groundwork for racial integration. The Savoy Ballroom served as the home base for such jazz greats as William "Chick" Webb, Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder, and David "Panama" Francis, and launched the careers of John Birk "Dizzy" Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Thelonious Monk. Beyond music, the Lindy Hop, a partnered jazz dance that emerged at the Savoy during the late 1920s, was one of the Ballroom's cultural exports; it gained an unprecedented degree of fame and recognition during the late 1930s, and is still practiced today by communities across the United States and the world. The objective of this dissertation is to examine the cultural, social, and musical contribution made by the Savoy Ballroom to the promotion of African-American culture. The first and second chapters of this dissertation address the historical and cultural context of Harlem and the Savoy proper. The third chapter examines some of the emerging traditions behind the Savoy Ballroom's status as the "World's Finest Ballroom." The fourth and fifth chapters address the chronological and technical development of music and jazz dance at the Savoy, with particular attention given to the lasting impact of such advancements as the incorporation of swing feel into jazz. The sixth chapter examines the cultural impact of the Ballroom on contemporary and modern media, particularly print, music, film, and photography. Finally, the seventh chapter examines the Savoy Ballroom's participation in New York's World's Fair exhibition in 1939, and its impact on the worldwide export of Harlem's African-American culture.

Syftet med denna studie är att belysa dansformen Lindy hop som immateriellt kulturarv och presentera de konflikter som finns kring förmedling och förvaltning i förhållande till dansen idag. Frågeställningarna redogör för vilka attityder som uppfattas bland utövare och experter när det gäller utövanderätten av ett immateriellt kulturarv och bevarandestrategier av en dansform i förändring. Förhållningssätten som redovisats genom intervjuer och enkätsvar kan visa på en kulturell förskjutning av samtida dans som gått från ett afroamerikanskt ursprung till ett västerländskt perspektiv. Studien belyser maktstrukturer i förhållande till en kulturell performance och vad det i sin tur säger om Lindy hop som immateriellt kulturarv i dagens Sverige. / The aim of this study is to shed light to a swing dance called Lindy hop, as intangible cultural heritage and also to present the conflicts that exist around the practice and management in the relation to the dance today. The questions sets out which attitudes are perceived among the practitioners and experts regarding to the rights to practise an intangible cultural heritage, and the conservation strategies to a dance form in constante change. The attitudes reported through interviews andsurvey responses may indicate a cultural shift in contemporary dance that has gone from an African-American origin to a western perspective and practise. The study highlights the structures of power in relation to cultural performance and what that says about Lindy hop as an intangible cultural heritage in sweden today.

[pt] Das gangues urbanas aos estilos de música e dança extravagantes, das subculturas, com seus estilos espetaculares, à contracultura, o comportamento dos jovens ao longo do século XX desafiou, constantemente, o status quo. Assim, condensando medos e angústias relacionados ao questionamento da ordem social, nasceram diversos pânicos morais relacionados a práticas juvenis, entre essas, vários estilos de dança. O objetivo desse trabalho é refletir sobre a relação entre pânico moral e juventude por meio da dança, mais especificamente a partir do lindy hop e do funk carioca. A primeira parte da pesquisa apresenta a teoria do pânico moral a partir das obras de seus principais autores, Stanley Cohen, Stuart Hall et al e Erich Goode e Nachman Ben-Yehuda. Em seguida, é feita uma análise da relação existente entre as noções de desvio e juventude, buscando-se entender a importância da primeira no processo de construção social da segunda. Nessa parte, que tem Jon Savage, José Machado Pais, Ross Haenfler e Helena Abramo como principais referências, também são apresentados exemplos de pânicos morais motivados por práticas juvenis. Por fim, com base nas obras de Jon Savage, Kendra Unruh, Hermano Vianna e Micael Herschmann, entre outros, e em notícias publicadas pela imprensa, são analisadas as trajetórias do lindy hop e do funk carioca, duas danças que, embora nascidas em épocas e lugares diferentes, possuem um histórico semelhante, marcado pelo pânico moral que causaram. Duas danças nascidas em comunidades negras que, como tantas outras que fizeram sucesso ao longo do século XX, escandalizaram muitos na época de seu surgimento, mas que, apesar disso, ou por causa disso, ficaram muito populares entre jovens dos mais diferentes contextos sociais. Os anos passam, as gerações e os estilos de dança mudam, mas as críticas e os preconceitos continuam, o que confirma que esses pânicos não desaparecem completamente, eles apenas mudam de forma, uma vez que, embora pareçam direcionados a danças específicas, são, frequentemente, um reflexo do mesmo preconceito destinado aos criadores desses estilos. / [en] From urban gangs to extravagant styles of music and dance, from subcultures with their spectacular styles to counterculture, the behavior of young people throughout the twentieth century constantly challenged the status quo. Therefore, condensing fears and anxieties related to the questioning of the social order, several moral panics related to youth practices were born, among them, many associated to dance styles. The objective of this work is to reflect on the relationship between moral panic and youth through dance, more specifically, through lindy hop and carioca funk. The first part of the research presents the moral panic theory based on the works of its main authors, Stanley Cohen, Stuart Hall et al and Erich Goode & Nachman Ben-Yehuda. Then, the relationship between the notions of deviance and youth is analyzed, seeking to understand the importance of the former in the process of social construction of the latter. In this part, which has Jon Savage, José Machado Pais, Ross Haenfler and Helena Abramo as main references, examples of moral panics motivated by youth practices are also presented. Finally, based on the works of Jon Savage, Kendra Unruh, Hermano Vianna and Micael Herschmann, among others, and on news published by the press, the last part analyses the trajectories of lindy hop and carioca funk, two dances that, although born in different times and places, have a similar history, marked by the moral panic they caused. Two dances born in black communities that, like several others that have made success during the twentieth century, shocked many at the time of their arising, but, despite that, or because of that, became very popular among young people from different social contexts. As the years go by, generations and styles of dance change, but criticism and prejudice remain, confirming that these panics do not disappear completely, they only change shape, once, although they seem to be directed at specific dances, they are often a reflection of the same prejudice directed to the creators of these styles.

This thesis examines the social factors surrounding the development of Lindy Hop in Harlem, New York during the 1920s and 30s from a sociocultural perspective, applying the findings to an instance of contemporary Lindy Hop practice at Jazz Attack, a Lindy Hop venue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in order to ascertain where elements of Black culture are present or absent. As Lindy Hop practice has transitioned from its point of origin in the Black space of the Savoy Ballroom to primarily white spaces today, questions arise about cultural preservation and erasure in this historically Black dance.Using historical methodologies, this research examines the human experience of historical Lindy Hop participants to analyze the culture that developed within the dance. Ethnographic methodologies, including the use of participant observation and interviews, are then used in a cross-cultural comparison to examine where elements of historical Black Lindy Hop culture are present or absent in an instance of contemporary Lindy Hop practice. The findings argue that, while the reasons for engagement in Lindy Hop are intrinsically different between historical and contemporary participants, elements of emotional or spiritual release and an emphasis on community are present today. Other historical Black cultural elements surrounding the approach to movement source creation and bodily aesthetics are minimal or absent. / Dance