Frankie Manning 
    The Ambassador of Lindy Hop  
bbbb No one has contributed more to the Lindy Hop than Frank Manning -- as a dancer, innovator and choreographer. He has  been an unofficial "Ambassador of Lindy Hop", spreading its popularity through three continents while touring with Whitey's Lindy Hoppers in the 30's and 40's -- and once again while teaching, choreographing and performing in the current Lindy Hop revival of the 1980's and 90's. His eightieth birthday, celebrated in New York City with an event called Can't Top the Lindy Hop! honored both the man and the dance. The  topnotch Lindy Hoppers from around the world and Frankie's birthday dance with "eighty" women showed all that both Frank Manning and the Lindy Hop are unflagging in vitality after all these years.
Frankie Manning started dancing in his early teens at a Sunday afternoon dance at the Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem to the music of Vernon Andrade. From there he moved on to the Rennaissance Ballroom, which had an early evening dance for older teens with the live swing music of the Claude Hopkins Orchestra.  Finally, Frankie "graduated" to the Savoy Ballroom, 
which was known for its great dancers and bands. Manning, competitive as well as gifted, became a star in the informal jams in the "Kat's Korner" of the Savoy, frequently won the Saturday night contests, and was invited to join the elite 400 Club, whose members could come to the Savoy Ballroom daytime hours to practise alongside the bands that were booked at the Savoy.  		  
           
...unflagging in vitality
after all these years
       Frank Manning's dancing stood out, even among the greats of the Savoy Ballroom, for its unerring musicality. Fast on his feet and with a keen ear, Manning gave physical expression to the beat, the feel and the excitement of the swing sound played by the Big Bands.
   Frankie was inspired by first-generation Lindy Hoppers George "Shorty" Snowden and  Leroy "Stretch" Jones. However, in order to beat these two great dancers in the intense competitions held at the Savoy Ballroom, Frankie developed his own unique style. He is responsible for many innovations of Lindy Hop step and style, including dancing at a sharp angle to the ground like a track runner, instead of in the upright, stiff ballroom position of his predecesssors.  In a famous competition --really, a showdown-- Frankie Manning and his partner Freda Washington outdanced Shorty and his partner Big Bea-- and astonished the crowd of 2000-- with the first Lindy airstep ever done.  
In a famous competition... Frankie   astonished the crowd of 2000-- with the first Lindy airstep ever done.
In 1935, when Herbert White brought together the top Savoy Ballroom Dancers into a  professional performance group to be called Whitey's Lindy Hoppers , Frankie created the first ensemble Lindy Hop routines. This gave him an opportunity to expand upon his gift for transforming the swing music into exciting dance-movement patterns. When Whitey's Lindy Hoppers were in their heyday, Frankie was the chief choreographer, serving as what we today would call artistic director while Whitey was business manager.  
 Films  
     Jittering Jitterbugs  (1938) 
     Hellzapoppin' (1941)  
     Hot Chocolates (1941)  
     Radio City Revels (193?)  
     Killer Diller (1948)  
     Malcolm X (1992)  
     Stomping at the Savoy (1993)  
Documentaries  
     The Spirit Moves  
     Call Of The Jitterbug  
     20/20 - Back into Swing 7/23/89  
     National Geographic: Jitterbug  
     Swingin' at the Savoy  
     Can't Top the Lindy Hop
 
Books  
     "Swingin' at the Savoy" by Norma Miller
 
Instructional Videos  
     Savoy Style Lindy Hop - Level 1  
     Savoy Style Lindy Hop - Level 2  
     Savoy Style Lindy Hop - Level 3  
     Shim Sham
 
Recent Stage Choreographies  
     "Black'n'Blue" - Broadway Show  
     Alvin Ailey Dance Company "Opus McShain" with Norma Miller  
     American Ballroom Dance Theatre  
     Foot & Fiddle Dance Company  
     Jiving Lindy Hoppers (London)  
     Zoots and Spangles (London)  
     Rhythm Hot Shots (Sweden)  
     Big Apple Lindy Hoppers (NY) 
 
Major Awards  
     Tony Award for Choreography of Broadway show Black'n'Blue - 1989  
     National Endowment for the Arts Grant for Choreography 1994 and 1995