Think your rhythm is good enough for the dance floor? The Savoy Ballroom Google Doodle puts you to the test with a swing dancing rhythm game that’ll have your fingers flying across the keyboard. Released on May 26, 2021, this interactive Doodle celebrates the legendary Harlem dance hall where the Lindy Hop was born and racial integration actually happened — decades before the Civil Rights Movement.
The Savoy Ballroom opened its doors on March 12, 1926, with a strict no-discrimination policy that was revolutionary for its time. While other famous Harlem clubs like the Cotton Club only allowed white patrons (despite featuring Black performers), the Savoy welcomed everyone. As Lindy Hop legend Frankie Manning put it: “One night somebody came over and said, ‘Hey man, Clark Gable just walked in the house.’ Somebody else said, ‘Oh, yeah, can he dance?’ All they wanted to know when you came into the Savoy was, do you dance?”
And dance they did. The ballroom featured a 10,000-square foot mahogany and maple dance floor stretching an entire city block, with twin bandstands so the music never stopped. Jazz legends like Chick Webb, Count Basie, and Ella Fitzgerald performed for crowds of thousands nightly — over 700,000 dancers passed through annually. The floor was so heavily used it had to be replaced every three years. The northeast corner, known as “Cat’s Corner,” was reserved for the elite dancers of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, who would later spread the dance worldwide through Broadway shows and Hollywood films like Hellzapoppin’.
The Doodle captures this energy perfectly. It’s a DDR-style rhythm game where you hit keys (D, F, J, K) in time with classic swing tracks including Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen,” and “Solid as a Rock.” You can play solo or grab a friend for two-player mode, sharing the keyboard. The game even lets you choose the gender of both the lead and follow dancers — a nod to the Savoy’s inclusive spirit. Between songs, you’ll learn facts about the ballroom’s history and legacy.
How To Play The Savoy Ballroom Doodle
- Press the corresponding keys (D, F, J, K) when the circles reach the target zone at the bottom of the screen
- Play solo using all four keys, or share the keyboard with a friend in two-player mode (one person takes D and F, the other takes J and K)
- Choose your dancers’ appearances before starting — you can pick any combination of lead and follow
- Progress through increasingly difficult levels as the songs speed up and patterns get more complex
- Watch for fun facts about the Savoy Ballroom between each song
