Frankie Manning holds a special place in the history of lindy hop. He was one of the most influential creators of lindy hop in the 1930s and also played a key role in popularising the dance with a wider audience in the 80s and 90s. Frankie grew up in Harlem and started going to the Savoy Ballroom as a teenager in the 1930s. Eventually the top dancers started to take notice of him and Frankie was invite to join an elite group of dancers run by Herbert “Whitey” White who would eventually become known as Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers.

Shortly after joining the group Frankie made one of his most celebrated contributions to the development of lindy hop. In 1935 he and his partner Frieda Washington performed the first air step during a Saturday night dance competition at the Savoy. Frankie became the lead dancer and chief choreographer for Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers and helped propel the group to fame. They began touring and performed at clubs and theatres all over the US and Europe. They appeared in several Hollywood films including A Day at the Races and Hellzapoppin. When WWII broke out Frankie joined the military to serve in the war effort. In 1946 he returned and formed his own troupe, The Congaroo Dancers who toured with several big entertainers of the time.   

In the mid 1950’s Frankie gave up his career in show business to provide a bit more stability for his young family. He got a job in post office but he still did plenty of dancing in his free time. In the mid 1980s Frankie (along with a few other Savoy dancers) started working with a handful of enthusiastic young dancers who had made their way to Harlem to learn lindy hop from its creators including Erin Stevens, Lennart Westerlund, and Ryan Francois. This led to trips to Europe to teach larger workshops. Then swing music and swing dancing became a bit of a fashion trend in the late 90s and soon Frankie was teaching at camps and dance festivals all over the world.

I had the privilege of taking many classes from Frankie. In the early 2000s it seemed that any workshop weekend that you went to anywhere in the world he was there. It felt like such an honour to be able to have a class from one of the original lindy hop dancers and it was absolutely inspiring to see a 90 year old man still traveling around, dancing all the time and making friends all over the world. What a life!

To read more about Frankie’s legacy pick up a copy of his book, Frankie Manning Ambassador of Lindy Hop, or explore the resources available on Frankiemanning.com and The Frankie Manning Foundation