I am making the case for you to vote for each of the finalist in the final round of voting every day this week. Today’s case for Best Lindy Hop of the 21st Century is Frida Segerdahl & Skye Humphries - ILHC 2009
Everyone who has been dancing for any amount of time probably already has an opinion about the claps, so I won’t dwell on that other than to say that just the fact that so many people have an opinion about this is probably a good argument for this performance being the most significant of the past 25 years.
The pedigree of the performance is impressive. A total of five Skye & Frida performances were nominated for best couple routines. A high for this project. Four of them made it to the public voting round and three finished in the top six. This routine won the public vote in the couple routine category and was the top routine among the people who submitted nominations. Of course, they came in 1st when they performed in the Classic division at ILHC in 2009.
The thing that separates Skye and Frida is that they are wholly aware of their place in the scene and the expectations placed upon them whenever they compete, teach or social dance. Where most other competitors are trying to prove or express something about themselves in a contest like this, Frida and Skye know that they will be scrutinized beyond a reasonable level. Most people would wilt under that kind of attention, or make some sort of tacky attempt at aggrandizing whatever they think their brand is. However, Skye and Frida use these opportunities to advance an agenda that boils down to: Let’s Dance, let’s dance well, and let’s dance together.
Nowhere is that more evident than in Frida’s infamous swivels that are the emotional peak of this routine. They are so remarkable that they were quoted by your favorite dancer’s favorite dancer for years afterwards. It’s the spiritual descendant of the ethos that birthed Mad Dog in 2002 which in turn was trying to channel the joy of the dancers from the Swing Era. That ethos being that the dance is as much about feeling as it is about form. It’s a height that can’t be reached alone, so if you can find that some that you can trust, then you hang onto them for dear life and go for it. When you’re there, you sit into it and savor it. And if it feels good, do it again.
Which brings me back to the claps. The most cynical among us say that people do it in the wrong place, at the beginning when it only happens much later in the actual performance. But I would argue that is actually a manifestation of the power of this performance. Those people are not clapping early. They are renewing a clarion call to dance that is echoing through eternity.
That’s the case for this video to be considered the Best Lindy Hop of the 21st Century.
The case for the ULHS 2005 Liberation Final was posted yesterday on this very substack, and the other cases will be posted every day the rest of this week. If you’re new here, try giving subscribing and I might keep doing this after this week.
If your mind is already made up, you can cast your vote here. Otherwise, voting closes next week on December 24th.
