When people submitted nominations for this project, they were given the option of also providing supporting commentary. Not everyone did it, but I am including some of the more notable ones here to give voters a little more context as to how this list turned out the way it did.

Note that some of these comments were cut out of longer ones because I wanted to I break them up by video for these posts.

Additional background information about this project can be found here.

Watch all of the videos listed below on one YouTube playlist here.

A ballot to vote on these videos will be posted on Monday, October 6, 2025.

Naomi Uyama & Todd Yannacone - ULHS 2006

I think that this routine was ahead of its time using bebop but that the way this routine was approached and the final product were ultimately an instigator of artistic growth in lindy hoppers as they started looking outside of their favorite tunes and moves to see where else there was room to grow authentically. Breanna Perry

Skye Humphries & Frida Segerdahl - ULHS 2007

To me, most of those selections were turning points in the scene. Both the Skye & Frida routines made modern lindy hop history. Jonathan Caron
Is just beautiful. Ben Holness
I wrote a pretty extensive deep dive about this performance in 2012. Jerry S. Almonte

Bethany Powell & Stefan Durham - ILHC 2008

This is only like half pure lindy hop, but Bethany & Stefan's routine at ILHC that year was so inspired, so unique, so THEM. Brilliant. Gina Helfrich
So creative! The Lindy Hop doesn't really start until the last 1/3rd of the routine, but it still counts. Ben Holness
I had known Stefan Durham and Bethany Powell since about 2005, where I had seen them hold their own against all of the instructors in the lindy hop strictly competition (which seemed more like an endurance competition) at Camp Jitterbug in Seattle. This performance stands out in my mind as original, creative, and the first time I had seen a routine that didn’t even have a semblance of a swingout until about 2 minutes in. The Stuff Smith song choice felt fresh and new (I believe that most of their subsequent routines were also to Stuff Smith) and their costumes (which they had picked up at a thrift store earlier that weekend) were quirky and absolutely reflected their vibe. They were different from everyone else out there at the time and their dancing was unique. With elements of street dances and West African dances integrated into the solo jazz, that was also neatly intertwined within the partnering aspect of the dance, we hadn’t seen anything quite like this yet. The way they embody the music gets me every time—this song really is super weird when you listen to it and it was such a good choice for them. I really believe that this paved the way for so many of the routines that came in its wake—their influence on the emphasis on solo jazz in partner routines cannot be overstated. Karen Turman
Probably one of the routines that at the time stood out the most to me in terms of how a Lindy Hop routine could be different from what I had seen previously. So creatively, this moment opened up my mind to new ideas and exploration, and led to more interest in the street dance community. Every year since, I would eagerly await another Stefan & Bethany creation, and so sad when they stopped being as active in the community. Alain Wong

Stefan Durham & Bethany Powell - Frankie95 2009

Bethany and Stefan had very eclectic tastes. They once told me that they got a lot of their inspiration from watching So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew as much as vintage lindy hop clips. All of their performances are top tier, yet they were still elevate to another level in front of one of the largest gatherings of lindy hoppers in the history of the modern scene. Jerry S. Almonte

Frida Segerdahl & Skye Humphries - ILHC 2009

Skye & Frida have the ability to influence the DJs of the Lindy Hop community every year. Whatever song they picked made its way into DJs’ sets. They knew how to pick a winning song and they just kept winning the ILHC classic. Skye & Frida are icons for me and I could pick any number of their routines, but 16 years later people are still clapping in the breaks to this song, whether they know why or not, so I'm adding this one in. John Holmstrom
Genre defining. Lily Kind
I knew I wanted to put in a Skye and Frida routine from when I was coming up as a dancer, because watching these routines live every year was so formative to my dance experience. I ultimately decided on this one because I just love the partnership and shared unexpected moments in this routine. Cari Meisel
I mean....the routine that spawned a million claps. It was its own moment in modern lindy hop history and similarly I think initiated some musical and dancing trends in lindy hop that there are still vestiges of today. Breanna Perry
Jump Through the Window is a perfect example of a performance that makes a song iconic (to many people's dismay). Cari Westbrook

Karen Turman & Andrew Thigpen - ILHC 2010

I had to put Andrew and Karen's Evolution of Lindy Hop routine because it was hilarious and encompasses a lot of the influential pieces at the time. Anthony Chen
There will never be another Andrew & Karen. What a special joy it was to have been part of that time. Gina Helfrich
Turman and Andrew Thigpen doing their ridiculous ""Evolution of Lindy Hop"" thing. This is definitely of an era, and, in a certain sense, it was a very marked statement of what they valued in the dance and who they considered to be the rightful inheritors of the old-timers. The kids today might call that side of it problematic, and they would likely be right; but none of the solo-jazzing, floppy-panted kids of today could do this routine, so they should think on that. This was an era of spectacle and madness and devil-may-care tomfoolery. We could use a little bit more of that energy again and a little bit less pseudo-professional pomp and circumstance. Maybe it's just me. Michael Seguin
Karen Turman and Andrew Thigpen's Evolution of Lindy Hop routine encapsulates the love of the dance's history and understanding that we have to be familiar with that history, both old and new, to move the dance forward while being true to what the dance is. And I think it's telling that two of the other videos in my list also are included in their routine. Greg Stasiewicz

Brittany Johnson & Michael Darigol- ILHC 2011

As for Dargoff and Brittany, I have never felt that much energy from the crowd live. When I asked Dargoff why they did it, he simply answered, “It had to be done.” Jonathan Caron
(As a side note, Michael Darigol was assaulted a few months ago and there is a GoFundMe set up for him to help him recover.)

Skye Humphries & Frida Segerdahl - ILHC 2011

I have to admit this list almost doubles as a Skye & Frida greatest hits album. Almost all of their routines received a nomination. The only reason why they didn’t enter and win every year at ILHC is because Frida also played a key role in running Herrang Dance Camp and she always committed to a break immediately after to spend time with her family. Depending on the scheduling of ILHC, sometimes it would fall into that time period, but Frida was always adamant in her commitment to her family. 2011 is them in their athletic primes which partially explains what I wrote about this performance back in 2011. Jerry S. Almonte

Todd Yannacone & Ramona Staffeld - ILHC 2012

Ramona has had some great ILHC routines over the years. But I'm partial to Todd, I love the energy of this Ellington recording, and I was there in 2012 - the elephant brought the house down. John Holmstrom
I actually witnessed them rehearsing this in the old Mobtown Ballroom shortly before the event. At the time, I thought, ""meh."" I was wrong. This might be the routine I enjoy watching the most. Effortless, humorous. I'm a sucker for when great social dancers do choreography, and it occurs to me now that one of the legacies of the Silver Shadows was a cohort of dancers who started extremely young and who had social dancing in their bones. Some of the performative shit from folks who privileged practicing and competing early on in their careers leaves me cold. Anyway, this is great. Michael Seguin
Ramona Staffeld wrote a guest post about this performance for my blog back in 2012. Jerry S. Almonte

Sharon Davis & Juan Villafane - Lindy Focus 2012

Juan and Sharon were my first ever dance crushes and this routine was why. Still holds up and I love its balance between power and beauty. Paul Riding
This is one of the first Lindy Hop performances that I watched in my dance journey. Now whenever I hear Shufflin & Rollin' by Buddy Johnson; this video comes to mind. Michael Ware

Sylvia Sykes & Skye Humphries - Uptown Swingout 2016

We mostly know Sylvia through her judging duties at various events around the world. It took a lot of work to be that universally recognized and respected, and it’s a shame that most of our scene was not able to experience that first hand. She was an absolute beast of a performer in her prime, winning contests through the 1980s and 90s in almost every form of swing dancing that exists. We are very fortunate that she was able to share a bit of that mastery with Skye in 2016 through this special performance. Jerry S. Almonte

Ramona Staffeld & Remy Kouakou Kouame - ILHC 2016

I will always stand by Remy and Ramona's ILHC 2016 Pro Classic Performance as my #1 lindy hop video. It's what got me into lindy hop. It has that suave, playful, and cool feel to it with incredible rhythmic solo sections. Joycee Mejia
Remy and Ramona piece still gives me chills every time I watch it. Every time I hear that song I hear their rhythms and it's so wonderfully done. Paul Riding

Frida Segerdahl & Skye Humphries - ILHC 2017

And my #1 selection I had to select my favorite routine from the couple who for me really stands out and holds the torch as a major representation of lindy hop in the present day. Andrew Jose
Had to include one video with Skye and Frida. I think their 2011 ILHC Classic was the most popular, but this routine had me in a chokehold for a while. Isabelle Maricar
Any Skye and Frida clip but this gets my vote. They are aging like fine wine and they still love the music and the dance - so evident. No tricks no airsteps. Just really good movement and appreciation of the music. This piece is hard! They still sailed thru it. Sing Yuen Lim

Remy Kouakou Kouame & Alice Mei - Swim Out Costa Brava 2019

A fantastic rendition of the Big Apple Contest by Remy and Alice that they choreographed only the day before. Simply another great way to enjoy the Big Apple Contest. Michael Ware

Bianca Locatelli & Nils Andren - ILHC 2019

Quite a few of Nils and Bianca’s performances were nominated for this list, but I think this is the one where they truly arrived creatively by combining their unique sense of theatricality, incredible charisma with their phenomenal athletic ability. Jerry S. Almonte

Felix Berghäll & LaTasha Barnes - ILHC 2019

Even before I listened to the Rough Translation episode “May We Have This Dance” (and before I met Felix and LaTasha in person), this Classic routine has always been one of my favorites. It felt more personal to me, and I would think other people felt similarly. Isabelle Maricar

Frida Segerdahl & Sakarias Larsson - ILHC 2020

When I think high energy and visually neat smooth dancing that's incredibly impressive, Frida and Sakarias's video comes to mind. Joycee Mejia
How can we forget COVID and what it did to communities and dance venues around the world? BUTTT! It gave us this gem! Featuring my fave follow and one of my all time fave person Sakarias. They were old dance partners but life and other interests meant that they seldom performed together. Till they were forced to by COVID! Saki had not been dancing much recently so everyone was like who’s that surfer dude?? Why is his timing so on point?! Once again, just great fun dancing, no airsteps, no tricks (except a quadrupedal triple step). Actually this could be my #1. Sing Yuen Lim
Sigh. I was all set to list a bunch of things and then realized I could only list one. Naomi Uyama
And the classic by Frida and Sakarias stands out because it is such a beautiful representation of Lindy Hop during such a difficult time in our community; the pandemic was hard on everyone, and especially hard on social communities like ours — and this performance was like a little light in the darkness. Cari Westbrook

Anthony Chen & Irina Amzashvili - Lindy Focus 2021

I think every dancer will tell you that every performance is stressful, so I think one of the appeals of re-watching this dance is to see if anything in their movements or attitudes reveal any additional nervousness leading up to the big moment at the end of an otherwise very classy and clever dance. Jerry S. Almonte