ILHC Invites Dancers to “Come Home to Harlem” May 23-29

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The following is a press release from the organizers of the International Lindy Hop Championships.


NEW YORK, NY, USA, April 18, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- During Memorial Day Weekend 2023 (May 25–29), an estimated 1,000 swing dance and jazz music enthusiasts will gather in New York City’s historic Harlem neighborhood to “Celebrate Lindy Hop where it all began!” with the World Finals of the 2023 International Lindy Hop Championships.

Centering around the historic Alhambra Ballroom (2116 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.), this 5-day festival will offer social dancing to live jazz bands every night, a variety of dance classes, 23 contests for dancers at all levels — from Amateur to Invitational — educational talks, walking and bicycle tours of Harlem, a visit to “Jazz Corner” of Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, and more! The party also includes a special commemoration of World Lindy Hop Day (May 26) with a free public cultural collaboration Sunday afternoon and a free public park picnic Monday afternoon with a dance lesson and jazz buskers.


Tickets for in-person and online access are available now! Guests can attend the full weekend or per day. For more details and to register, visit ILHC.com. For those who cannot travel to New York City, or who want to view classes and competitions on-demand, Virtual Viewing Passes are available for the full weekend or per day. Virtual Viewing Passes offer exclusive online recordings of dance classes, band performances, and competitions, with access available from May 25 – June 30, 2023. For full details, visit WatchILHC.com.

The International Lindy Hop Championships honors the 100-year legacy of Lindy Hop: an original, authentic American art form rooted in the African American community of Harlem, New York during the 1920s and 30s. We celebrate both its historic roots and its ongoing innovations. Many legends from the original generation were mentors and dear friends to members of the ILHC global organizing team, and this event is strongly influenced by their wishes for this art form’s future.

Tena Morales-Armstrong, event president and CEO said, “We’ve promised our elders to help preserve the essence of Lindy Hop, and through ILHC, we hope to do just that.”

The team’s mission is to respect and honor the spirit of Lindy Hop by hosting an international competition event that is organized, performed, and judged at the highest levels possible and inclusive of all people wishing to participate.

For participants and attendees, this is an opportunity to watch and be inspired by literally world-class competitions that foster the “spirit of Lindy Hop”; to grow as a dancer by interacting with and performing for a gathering of global peers; to build skills through classes from top dancers from several generations; and to build community among like-minded enthusiasts from all over the world. (Watch exciting and inspiring videos from past events on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ILHC)

Integral to the organization’s mission is giving back to the worldwide community while offering a forum for inspiration, education, celebration, and culture-building. ILHC is a restricted fund administered by the Houston Swing Dance Society, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and all donations are gratefully received to support community-building programs including:

  • Frankie Manning Foundation: historic education and preservation, and identifying and developing swing dance talent, with emphasis on encouraging Black young people to engage as “ambassadors”

  • The Black Lindy Hoppers’ Fund: support for established and developing swing dancers of African and African diasporic heritage

  • Swing Dance Museum: a nascent collection of artifacts by and about the interdependent art forms of jazz music and swing dance, and their artists

  • ILHC’s youth program: free and sponsored contests specifically for juniors, which are passionately supported by the global community

ILHC also is dedicated to providing a harassment-free event experience for all, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, or religion (or lack thereof). For more details on our safety policies, see the ILHC Code of Conduct.

What: International Lindy Hop Championships 2023
Where: New York City: Harlem’s Alhambra Ballroom (2116 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.) and additional locations
When: May 25–29, 2023
On-site event details including ticketing, pricing and registration for competitions: ILHC Registration, https://ilhc.com/usa/registration
Virtual and on-demand access: Watch ILHC, https://ilhc.com/watch-ilhc-2023