Happy World Lindy Hop Day! Come down to the riverside and celebrate Frankie Manning’s birthday with us 🙂

12:00–13:00 Free Shim Sham Class

We’ll start the afternoon with a free taster class – no prior experience necessary!

The Shim Sham is a fun and easy line dance, done to great swinging music. It’s a solo jazz routine, so you won’t need a partner, but it’s also very social: it’s a choreography people love to dance together, to share an experience and play together to great music.

Frankie Manning was known for teaching it, so if you don’t know it yet, his birthday is the perfect time to learn it! You’ll be learning from Kris, an amazing teacher who has been sharing her love of this dance for over ten years.

13:00–15:00: Picnic, Dance, Hang out

Time to hang out by the water and enjoy a picnic! Bring something of your own, or grab a delicious crêpe from Tim’s Crêpe Bike 😋

And: the dance floor is open! You can ask the teacher questions, you can practise with friends, or you can just let loose and dance.

At Lindy Hop social dances anyone can ask for a dance – no matter how experienced you are, your gender, or anything else – hop on to the dance floor and have a great time! Or, you can dance solo – enjoy the freedom of jazz music and jam out on your own 😊

Location: Neckarorte Strandbar, Heidelberg

Beach bar at the skatepark: at the end of the Uferstraße by the Ernst-Walz bridge (northwest side)

Why is this day special?

May 26 is World Lindy Hop day and all over the world dancers and musicians celebrate the birthday of the person that will forever be one of the most important figures in all of Lindy Hop. The amazing dancer, teacher, choreographer and innovator that just captivated everyone with his power, creativity, and unwavering positivity: Frankie “Muscle Head” Manning.

This time is about more than just happy vibes though. May 25 is also an important day, for two very different reasons. It marks the birthday of one of the great innovators of tap dance: Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. It’s also the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. It can be a complicated day for dancers. We believe strongly that anyone who cares about Lindy Hop should care about Black American culture, and respect and want to uplift the experiences of Black folks. May 25 can be a complicated day – of celebration and of mourning.

We encourage you to take time to find out about the amazing people who created this dance – start with learning about Frankie Manning and Bill Robinson! And to learn more about the culture this dance is a part of – to get you started, have a look at the history page on our website.