INTRODUCTION TO THE SAVOY BALLROOM WEBSITE

The first and most obvious question that anyone who has never been really aware of the existence of the Savoy Ballroom before is "why bother, with an old ballroom that has now been closed for a longer period of time than it was ever open?" Many reasons could be given, but perhaps the most pertinent is that if you've taken a liking to dancing the Lindy Hop or one of the many swing/jive dance forms that have been derived from it, sooner or later you are going to hear about the Savoy Ballroom itself. Its name is remembered in song, great artists performed there and if the dancing really grabs your interest your curiosity will inevitable be drawn back to the creators of this dance form that used to hang out at the Savoy. This dance was at the centre of the Swing Era during the 1930/40's when the USA was more culturally united than it had ever been before or has been since. In other words most folks were dancing to one kind of swing or another. Along with the memory of the Savoy that inclusiveness became embodied in the music and the dancing and it can still be evoked if you just learn enough to be able to relax into the rhythms of swing and enjoy yourself.

This web site is dedicated to three women who between them did more than anyone else to keep the memory of the Savoy Ballroom alive:

Louise "Mama Lu" Parks - the Lindy Hop Champion's Champion - ensured the spirit and practice of the Savoy Lindy Hoppers did not die after the Ballroom closed in 1958. She followed through on her promise to Charles Buchanan to sustain the tradition of the "Savoy Preliminaries" for the Lindy Hop section of the Harvest Moon Ball thus making sure that both the competition and performance modes of the Lindy Hop which the original Savoy Dancers had played the major part in creating survived. Mama Lu died in 1990, but her dance company "The Mama Lu Parks Traditional Jazz Dancers" has kept up an unbroken tradition that now stretches back for over 40 years.

Helen Clarke - innovator of the plaque campaign - or "Miss Helen" as she was often referred to, was a Savoy hostess until they were finally dispensed with and a coat check girl after WWII. She harassed anyone and everyone for many years about installing a plaque on the site where the Savoy stood until her sad demise in November 1997. Other ex-employees and regulars of the Savoy recall growing weary at times with Helen's persistence on this subject, but she was everyone else's conscience and her spirit lives on through the many people she talked to and now through the new campaign to install a plaque marking the site of the Savoy which she inspired. Enough cash has now been collected to pay for a marker, and the management of the Delano Village - the housing development that includes the ground on which the Savoy used to stand - has now agreed to move a section of the railings back that borders onto Lenox Avenue so that the marker can be positioned where the entrance used to be. The ceremony will take place on Sunday May 26 at 2pm on the East side of Lenox Avenue between 140th and 141st. There will be a reception at the Minisink Townhhouse at 646 Lenox afterwards. During one of my last visits to her I promised Helen that I would do what I could to keep her campaign going, and suggested that launching an Internet site dedicated to the Savoy might help to achieve her dream. I couldn't swear that she knew exactly what an Internet site was, but she was quite adamant that any effort in the right direction was worth a try. Helen would have been overjoyed to see the Savoy at last commeorated by a plaque.

Norma Miller- the Lindy Hop survivor who wrote 'the book' - a key member of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers is fortunately very much with us and has used her longevity to keep the memory of the Savoy alive, most notably by writing and publishing "Swingin' At The Savoy" but also by choreographing the film "Stompin' At The Savoy" and mounting various stage performances. Many people promised they were going to write the Savoy Ballroom story, but Norma was the first to put a sizeable portion of its history into print. This book is a must if you want to experience the story through the eyes and ears of someone who was right there in the centre of the action. Norma is still giving talks about the Savoy, which she even illustrates with dance demos, when suitable partners are to hand. Make sure you catch her in person and buy her book "Swingin' At The Savoy".