Google Doodle

Google Doodle celebrates the Savoy Ballroom with multiplayer swing dancing game

Kyle Bradshaw | May 25 2021 - 3:53 pm PT

Google has swapped its homepage logo out with an addictive swing dancing game in honor of New York City’s Savoy Ballroom.

When the Savoy Ballroom opened on March 12, 1926, there were two things that set the venue apart from much of New York’s dance scene. Firstly, the venue was spacious, luxurious, and unlike anything most had ever seen before. Second, opening in the Harlem neighborhood, the Savoy Ballroom was one of the first racially integrated public spaces, having a no-discrimination policy from day one.

Quickly becoming one of the most renowned clubs of the swing era, many of the genre’s dances were invented at the Savoy Ballroom. Most notably, the “Lindy Hop” was developed there, with groups like Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers taking their name from the dance and performing at the venue.

Unfortunately, the Savoy Ballroom was demolished in 1958, taking a piece of Harlem’s cultural history with it. As for why Google chose today to celebrate the history of the Savoy Ballroom, on May 26, 2002, two members of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers dedicated a commemorative plaque where the entrance to the venue once stood.

In today’s Google Doodle, you’re offered a chance to grab a partner and swing dance at the Savoy Ballroom. Using a keyboard or your phone’s touchscreen, you can test your rhythm against four different songs, with classics from the swing era as well as a rendition of Careless Whisper.

While the Google Doodle is only available on the homepage today, should you ever want to go back and play this swing dancing game, the game will live on in the official Doodle Blog. There you’ll also find a behind-the-scenes video to find how this tribute to the Savoy Ballroom was created.