Hoppin' mad

6:01am Monday 8th January 2007

It started off in 1920s Harlem - now Lindy Hop is coming to the North-East. Women's Editor Sarah Foster finds out more from a woman who was so hooked by the dance form that she's had a change of career to teach it to others.

THE couple in the clip could be on drugs - except that this is the 1940s and I know they're not. Their feet a blur, they shake and shimmy round the room. I'm unfamiliar with the dance but even watching it is exhausting. This is what is known as Lindy Hop.

The clip in question is from a film called Hellzapoppin - not one I've heard of until now. I'm sitting watching it flanked by partners Joo-Lee Stock and Andy Lewis at their cosy Durham home. They're both big fans of Lindy Hop.

Before I find out what this is, there's one more clip for me to see. This time it's modern - a recent American competition - and the difference is marked. While Hellzapoppin was frenetic, this is languid; the moves performed to lazy jazz. Although the dancing is much slower, it's carried off with equal skill. This is a dance that is diverse.

It may have altered down the years, but from Andy and Joo-Lee's point of view, it's just as good as in the old days, in 1920s Harlem. "It's a form of socialising that doesn't involve drinking," says Andy. "You are having so much fun without it." Joo-Lee adds: "It's a language to use for socialising. Lindy Hop is a social form of dancing."

So just how did it come to be? It seems it started at a hub of creativity. "The Savoy Ballroom in Harlem was where it all started," says Andy, who's 37 and works in IT. "It was a jazz, swing and social venue and they used to have dance troupes and competitions there - a lot of different dance forms evolved. Lindy Hop was originally done by the blacks - it started as part of black culture. It's an Afro-Caribbean dance."

Yet soon white people were involved, and groups began to be established. A prominent figure was Herbert White, whose Whitey's Lindy Hoppers caused a storm. "Whitey was really trying to be known as the person behind the dance," says Andy. "Whitey's Lindy Hoppers became the best known, and the group in Hellzapoppin were the main dancers from there."

But things were soon to go downhill. With other dance forms like rock 'n' roll attracting fans, it seemed that Lindy Hop was dead. For several years it was forgotten - then it experienced a revival. "From the 80s onwards several people brought it back to life again by performing the authentic dances," says 44-year-old Joo-Lee. "They looked at the old films and recreated them."

Her introduction to the style came via The Jiving Lindy Hoppers, a London-based group that's world renowned. It happened somewhere quite unlikely. "I came across Lindy Hop in 1993 when The Jiving Lindy Hoppers came to Ferryhill," says Joo-Lee. "I was curious about dance and I was also looking to do an exercise activity." She grins before adding: "And it sounded like fun."

She did a workshop and was hooked. Throughout her childhood (she's from Malaysia) Joo-Lee had always studied music - now she was keen to study dance. Yet there was nowhere to pursue her new-found passion. "To my disappointment there wasn't a dance club or a social group that I could join," she says. "So I took myself to Dance City in Newcastle. I went three times a week to do tap, jazz, contemporary and street dance."

At the time, Joo-Lee was teaching in the region - after training at the Birmingham Conservatoire, she went to Durham University - and she brought her dancing to the classroom. "I began to introduce street dance to my pupils at Parkside School in Willington," she says. "Up to then, they hadn't had dance on the curriculum. I wanted to liven up my music lessons. If dance made me happy, if it made me come alive, I wanted to introduce that to my pupils."

Joo-Lee was clearly a success - she went from Parkside to be director of performing arts at two more schools and only recently gave up. "I stopped teaching last week," she announces brightly. "This is a new year, new me."

She left to start a new career which brings her back to Lindy Hop - her latest venture, Lindy Jazz, is both a club night and a class.

"I have so many ideas - I want creative freedom, really," says Joo-Lee. "I love teaching but I realised that the pace and lifestyle of a teacher weren't what I wanted, so I put together a business plan. The Arts Council has given me the culture business venture grant to help me start up and I've also had support from Business Link."

Joo-Lee met Andy through dance. "I was living in Southampton at the time and we met in Oxford at a dancing social event," he says. "Joo-Lee really got me into Lindy Hop and persuaded me to go to the Herrang Dance Camp in Sweden." Joo-Lee steps in. "Every year up to 1,000 people go per week. It's an international gathering of people who love Lindy Hop. I'd been going since '99."

As well as going to this event, the couple often visit Edinburgh to dance. They say the style is now well-known. "There are various events held throughout the UK," says Andy. "It's slowly growing. When I first heard about it there were relatively few places to learn but things have changed incredibly since then."

What Andy and Joo-Lee hope to do is introduce it to the region. Their Thursday class, in Durham, will teach the basic Lindy Hop moves, while once a month there'll be a lively social night. This will involve some teaching time but with an emphasis on fun, and The Jiving Lindy Hoppers will show the others how it's done.

The best thing is that you can turn up by yourself - and be assured you can still dance. "You are encouraged to go and ask people to dance and that's what the evening is about," says Joo-Lee. "We would like it to be a club where people watch the dancing and listen to the music, whether they choose to dance or not. We are interested in how we can make this a modern party using the Lindy Hop era as inspiration, because they had such fun dancing."

Though it is not a singles club, it's plain to see it could help foster new romance - the old-style music on its own could be a recipe for love. As Joo-Lee says, it is designed for any age (though since you can buy alcohol, there is a threshold of 18). "I'm confident that once people have been to one night, they will be hooked," she says. "The important thing about dancing is making friends and having a regular club where you can drop by and dance with each other and listen to music you love."

l Lindy Jazz classes will be held every Thursday at The Shakespeare Hall, Durham, from 8-9.30pm, starting this week. The cost is £6 on the door or £40 in advance for ten classes. The first class is free.

Lindy Jazz social evenings will be held at Che Vita, in Durham, from 7-11.30pm on the second Sunday of the month, starting this week. Each one costs £12 including a lesson, cabaret performance, cocktail and canapes. Telephone 0191-383-9544 or visit www.lindy-jazz.co.uk