Frank Manning (May 26, 1914 – April 27, 2009) was an American

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

r, instructor, and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

. Manning is considered one of the founders of

Lindy Hop The Lindy Hop is an American dance which was born in the Black communities of Harlem, New York City, in 1928 and has evolved since then. It was very popular during the swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Lindy is a fusion of many danc ...

, an energetic form of the

jazz dance Jazz dance is a performance dance and style that arose in the United States in the mid 20th century. Jazz dance may allude to vernacular jazz about to Broadway or dramatic jazz. The two types expand on African American vernacular styles of dance ...

style known as swing.

Biography

Manning was born in 1914 in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. After his parents separated when he was three years old, he moved to

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

with his mother, who was a dancer. Manning began dancing as a child. Manning's mother sent him to spend summers with his father, aunt, and grandmother on their farm in

Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, in western South Carolina. It is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. Founded in 1835, Aiken was named after William Aiken, the president of the Sout ...

. On Saturdays, farmhands and locals would come to the farm to play music on the front porch with

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

s and a

washtub bass The washtub bass, or gutbucket, is a stringed instrument used in American folk music that uses a metal washtub as a resonator. Although it is possible for a washtub bass to have four or more strings and tuning pegs, traditional washtub basses hav ...

. Manning's grandmother encouraged Frankie to dance with the others. In October 1927, Manning attended the

Renaissance Ballroom & Casino The Renaissance Ballroom & Casino was originally, when built in 1921, a New York City complex that included a casino, ballroom, 900-seat theater, six retail stores, and a basketball arena. It was located in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan at ...

. Watching from the balcony, he saw his mother dancing formal ballroom styles such as the

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a tim ...

and

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

, having only seen her dance before in a much looser and casual style at neighborhood rent parties. Manning started listening to records on a

Victrola The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidia ...

in his bedroom and would practice dancing with a broom or a chair. When he was older, he started going to Harlem's

Savoy Ballroom The Savoy Ballroom was a large ballroom for music and public dancing located at 596 Lenox Avenue, between 140th and 141st Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Lenox Avenue was the main thoroughfare through upper Harle ...

, the only integrated ballroom in New York. He frequented the Savoy in the 1930s, eventually becoming a dancer in the elite and prestigious "Kat's Corner," a corner of the dance floor where impromptu exhibitions and competitions took place. During a dance contest in 1935, Manning and his partner, Frieda Washington, performed the first aerial in a swing dance competition against

George Snowden George "Shorty" Snowden (July 4, 1904 – May 1982) was an African American dancer in Harlem during the 1920s and 1930s. He and his partner Mattie Purnell invented the Harlem Lindy Hop in the dance marathon at Harlem's Rockland Palace between ...

, the inventor of the term

, and his partner, Big Bea. The air step he performed was a "back-to-back roll" and was danced while

Chick Webb William Henry "Chick" Webb (February 10, 1905 – June 16, 1939) was an American jazz and swing music drummer and band leader. Early life Webb was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to William H. and Marie Webb. The year of his birth is disputed. ...

played "Down South Camp Meeting" at Manning's request.

Career

In 1935, Herbert White organized the top Lindy Hop dancers at the Savoy Ballroom into a professional performance group that was eventually named

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers Whitey's Lindy Hoppers was a professional performing group of exceptional swing dancers that was first organized in the late 1920s by Herbert "Whitey" White in the Savoy Ballroom and disbanded in 1942 after its male members were drafted into World ...

. Manning created the troupe's first ensemble routines and functioned as the group's ''de facto'' choreographer, although he was never officially credited with that title. The troupe toured extensively and made several films. While with Whitey's, Manning danced with

Norma Miller Norma Adele Miller (December 2, 1919 – May 5, 2019) was an American Lindy hop dancer, choreographer, actress, author, and comedian known as the "Queen of Swing". Early life Miller was born in 1919 in Harlem, New York City to mother Alma, a ch ...

, who became known as the Queen of Swing. Whitey's Lindy Hoppers disbanded around

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when many of the male dancers entered the armed forces. Manning himself served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. After the war, in 1947, Manning created a small performance group called the

Congaroos The Congaroos (also known as Four Congaroos, Congaroo Dancers) was a dance group created in 1947 by Frankie Manning after completing his military service for World War II. The group originally consisted of Frankie Manning dancing with Ann Johnson ...

. When the Congaroos disbanded in 1955, Manning quietly settled into a career with the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

Return to Lindy Hop

In 1982, Al Minns, a former member of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, started to teach Lindy Hop at the Sandra Cameron Dance Center. Before he died in 1985, he told his students that Manning, another surviving member of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, also lived in New York City. In 1986, dancers Erin Stevens and Steven Mitchell contacted Manning and asked him to teach them the Lindy Hop. Mitchell and Stevens returned to California and helped to spread Lindy Hop to the West Coast and other areas of the U.S. That same year, Lennart Westerlund contacted Manning and invited him to Sweden to work with

The Rhythm Hot Shots The Hot Shots is a collective name for two closely related Swedish dance companies based in Stockholm, Sweden: The Rhythm Hot Shots and the Harlem Hot Shots. The Hot Shots specialize in faithful reproductions of African-American dance scenes in A ...

. Manning traveled to Sweden in 1987 and returned there every year from 1989 onward to teach at the

Herräng Dance Camp Herräng Dance Camp (commonly abbreviated HDC, officially Herräng Dance Camp Aktiebolag) is the largest annual dance camp that focuses on Lindy Hop, boogie woogie, Tap dance, jazz dance, and balboa. It is held for 5 weeks annually from late J ...

. Later, Manning would also teach

Ryan Francois Ryan Francois is a swing dancer, choreographer and actor, who played a central part of the revival of the Lindy Hop . Specialising in dances related to the Jazz & Swing era - including the Lindy Hop, Charleston, Tap and Authentic Vernacular Jazz, ...

, who would help introduce Lindy Hop to a British audience.

Later years

Once the swing dance and Lindy Hop revival took hold during the late 1980s, Manning taught Lindy Hop around the world, occasionally appearing with

. Sometimes, dance workshops returned him to places he had not been in decades. For example, Manning first visited

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

in 1939 to perform at the Princess Theatre. The

swing revival The swing revival, also called retro swing and neo-swing, was a renewed interest in swing music, beginning around 1989 and reaching a peak from the early/mid to late 1990s. The music was generally rooted in the big bands of the swing era of the ...

and Melbourne's Swing Patrol brought him back again in 2002; it was his first visit to Melbourne in 63 years. At age 75, Manning co-choreographed the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical ''Black and Blue'', for which he received a 1989

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

. In 2000, he was a recipient of a

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, which is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Manning's

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

, ''Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop'', written with co-author Cynthia R. Millman, was published by

Temple University Press Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach t ...

in May 2007. Manning's annual birthday celebrations attracted dancers and instructors from all over the world. His 80th birthday, in 1994, was commemorated by a weekend-long celebration in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

; his 85th culminated in a sold-out party at New York's

Roseland Ballroom The Roseland Ballroom was a multipurpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's theater district, on West 52nd Street in Manhattan. The venue, according to its website, accommodated ...

, where a pair of his dance shoes were placed in a showcase along with those of dancers such as

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

. Dedicated cruises were organized for his 89th and 90th birthdays; for his birthday dances, Manning followed his custom of dancing with one woman for every year of his life. He continued this custom through his 94th birthday.

Death

A resident of

Corona, Queens Corona is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It borders Flushing and Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to the east, Jackson Heights to the west, Forest Hills and Rego Park to the south, Elmhurst to the southwest, and East ...

, Manning died in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

on April 27, 2009, aged 94. He is interred in the Hillcrest Plot at Woodlawn Cemetery in

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York.

Legacy

Frankie Manning Foundation

Manning died one month before his 95th birthday. His planned birthday celebration was recast as Frankie 95, a celebration of Manning's life, and drew more than 2,000 people from 33 countries. Proceeds from the five-day Frankie 95 celebration were used to create the Frankie Manning Foundation. Its mission is to spread Lindy Hop throughout the world.

Accolades

Frankie 100 took place in New York City from May 22 to 26, 2014. The event was described as the largest swing dance event of modern era and brought together over 2,000 dancers from 47 countries to honor Frankie Manning and to name his birthday, May 26, as World Lindy Hop Day. Manning was inducted into the

National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame, in the Saratoga Spa State Park, Saratoga Springs, New York, was established in 1986. It contains photographs, videos, artifacts, costumes, and biographies. The museum is located in the former Washi ...

in 2009. He was inducted into the U.S. Swing Dance Council (now World Swing Dance Council) Hall of Fame in 1992. On July 4, 2012, a road in the village of

Herräng Herräng () is the northernmost locality in Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden, with 422 inhabitants in 2010. It is located 40 kilometres north of the municipal seat Norrtälje along the coast of Singöfjärden, a bay on Roslagen. T ...

, Sweden, was named after Manning, as a gift from the municipality of

Norrtälje Norrtälje is a locality and the seat of Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 17,275 inhabitants in 2010. It is one of the largest towns in Roslagen. History Norrtälje’s early history dates back to the Iron Age. Around 225 ...

for the 30-year jubilee of

. On May 26, 2016,

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

celebrated his 102nd birthday with a

Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

Filmography

* ''

Radio City Revels ''Radio City Revels'' is a 1938 American musical comedy film directed by Benjamin Stoloff and starring Bob Burns (comedian), Bob Burns, Jack Oakie and Ann Miller. The film's sets were designed by the art director Van Nest Polglase. Although set ...

'' (1938) * '' Keep Punching'' (1939) * '' Hellzapoppin''' (1941) * ''

Hot Chocolates ''Hot Chocolates'' is a musical revue with music by Fats Waller and Harry Brooks and book by Andy Razaf. It was originally titled ''Tan Town Topics'' in hopes it would be picked up by Broadway. Performed at the Hudson Theater in New York City, i ...

'' (1941) * '' Jittering Jitterbugs'' (1943) * '' Killer Diller'' (1948) * ''

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of Is ...

'' (1992) – choreography * ''

Stompin' at the Savoy "Stompin' at the Savoy" is a 1933 jazz standard composed by Edgar Sampson. It is named after the famed Harlem nightspot the Savoy Ballroom in New York City. History and composition Although the song is credited to Benny Goodman, Chick Webb, Edgar ...

'' (1992) – choreography * '' Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns'' (2000) * ''Frankie Manning: Never Stop Swinging'' (2009)

References

External links

* *
Frankie Manning and the Lindy Hop
SavoyStyle.com
FrankieManningFoundation.org
an organization to carry on the work and the spirit of Frankie Manning in spreading the joy of Lindy hop, danced to big band swing music, throughout the world.
FrankieManning.com
a site devoted to Frankie Manning's life. * , KUOW, October 26, 2006. 30-minute audio interview by Amanda Wilde.
The King of Swing
FLYP Media * {{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, Frankie 1914 births 2009 deaths African-American male dancers African-American dancers American male dancers African-American choreographers American choreographers American swing dancers Dance teachers Lindy Hop National Heritage Fellowship winners People from Corona, Queens People from Jacksonville, Florida Tony Award winners United States Postal Service people 20th-century American dancers Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people