The crowd: Mainly nostalgia-seeking yuppies and fans of swing and jazz icons such as Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald. They also appreciate the style of the era: Guys may wear suspenders and bowler hats in a monochromatic colour scheme; gals wear flirty, flowy dresses.
The hot spots: Jitterbugs Swingapore dance studio in Millenia Walk, which has weekly Lindy Hop classes; Harry's Bar at Boat Quay, which plays jazz music; and Bellini Room at St James Power Station, where a band performs Rat Pack favourites.
'My friends keep telling me to stop. But it's the only exercise I get and I'll do it while I still can.'-- ST PHOTO: ASHLEIGH SIM
MARRIED couple Johanna Tan, 29, and Sivakumar Manickavasagam, 36, bonded over 'Lindy, blues and booze'. They met in 2004 as part of a group of Lindy Hop lovers in Singapore who took classes at Jitterbugs and partied regularly at Harry's Bar.
Mr Manickavasagam, a vice-president of technology at a private bank, was here on a posting from Chennai. The Indian national moved here permanently after he married Ms Tan in January last year.
The couple haven't stopped dancing even though Ms Tan, who helps out in her family's desktop publishing business and teaches part-time at Jitterbugs, is now seven months pregnant with a baby boy.
'My friends keep telling me to stop dancing,' says Ms Tan. 'But it's the only exercise I get and I'll do it while I still can.'
Quips her husband: 'We'll let you know if the baby is musical or not.'
Both dabbled in other dance forms such as salsa and tango before becoming 'hardcore Lindy Hoppers'. Says Mr Manickavasagam: 'I like the dance because it's energetic and spans a lot of emotions. It's not only sexy, but it can also be humorous, sombre, bouncy and fun.'
'My friends keep telling me to stop. But it's the only exercise I get and I'll do it while I still can'
Pregnant part-time dance teacher Johanna Tan. She met her husband Sivakumar Manickavasagam through Lindy Hop