The Big Apple that you see performed at lindy hop events today is a routine choreographed by Frankie Manning for Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers. They performed the routine as part of their regular repertoire from 1937 and then in the 1939 movie Keep Punching. Frankie’s choreography was inspired by a dance craze that was sweeping the nation at the time. According to legend, he never actually saw that dance–he just heard someone describe it over the telephone and from that conversation came up with the routine you see today.
The dance craze of the same name was started by a group of white University students who had created a circle dance based on dancing they’d seen in a black juke joint called “The Big Apple”. The dance they came up with, which they originally called the Little Apple, was reminiscent of ring shouts a group dance done by African-Americans in the South at least as far back as 1860. The students went on to win dance competitions and performed the dance to sold out audiences at the Roxy Theatre. From there it was picked up by dance studios and spread around the country. I had always wondered why so many Big Apple images feature illustrations of white people dancing in a circle rather than the dancers from the Savoy. Now it all makes sense!
You can learn the Big Apple here: Big Apple Livestream Recordings
Swing Dance Leeds 