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{{Short description|American dancer and choreographer (1914–2009)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{tone|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Frankie Manning
| name = Frankie Manning
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| image_size = 220px
| image_size = 220px
| caption = Manning in 2008
| caption = Manning in 2008
| birth_name =
| birth_name = Frank Manning
| birth_date = {{birth date|1914|5|26}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1914|5|26}}
| birth_place = [[Jacksonville, Florida]], [[United States]]
| birth_place = [[Jacksonville, Florida]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2009|4|27|1914|5|26}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2009|4|27|1914|5|26}}
| death_place = [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]], [[New York]], United States
| death_place = [[Manhattan]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S.
| resting_place = [[Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)|Woodlawn Cemetery]]<br>[[The Bronx]], New York, U.S.
| othername = Frank Manning<br />"Muscle head" Manning
| othername = "Muscle head" Manning
| occupation = [[Choreographer]], [[dance]]r
| occupation = [[Choreographer]], [[dance]]r
| spouse =
| spouse =
| children = [[Chazz Young]]<br>Marion Manning<br>Frankie Manning Jr.
| children = [[Chazz Young]]<br>Marion Manning<br>Frankie Manning Jr.
| website = {{URL|http://frankiemanning.com}}
| website = {{URL|http://frankiemanning.com}}
| awards = '''[[Tony Award for Best Choreography]]'''<br />1989 ''[[Black and Blue (musical)|Black and Blue]]''
| awards = [[Tony Award for Best Choreography]]<br />1989 ''[[Black and Blue (musical)|Black and Blue]]''
}}
}}


'''Frankie Manning''' (May 26, 1914 – April 27, 2009)<ref name=NYTObit>{{cite news |title=Frankie Manning, the Ambassador and Master of Lindy Hop, Dies at 94 |first=Terry |last=Monaghan |date=April 28, 2009 |accessdate=April 28, 2009 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/arts/dance/28manning.html}}</ref> was an American [[dance]]r, instructor, and [[choreographer]]. Manning is considered one of the founders of [[Lindy Hop]].
'''Frank Manning''' (May 26, 1914 – April 27, 2009)<ref name=NYTObit>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/arts/dance/28manning.html |title=Frankie Manning, the Ambassador and Master of Lindy Hop, Dies at 94 |first=Terry |last=Monaghan |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 28, 2009 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> was an American [[dance]]r, instructor, and [[choreographer]]. Manning is considered one of the founders of [[Lindy Hop]], an energetic form of the [[jazz dance]] style known as [[swing (dance)|swing]].


==Biography==
==Biography==
===Early life===
{{Unsourced section|date=May 2016}}
⚫
Manning was born in [[Jacksonville, Florida]], in 1914. After his parents separated, at the age of 3 he moved to [[Harlem]] with his mother, who was a dancer.


⚫
Manning was born in 1914 in [[Jacksonville, Florida]]. After his parents separated when he was three years old, he moved to [[Harlem]] 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]]. On Saturdays, farmhands and locals would come to the farm to play music on the front porch with [[harmonica]]s and a [[washtub bass]]. Manning's grandmother encouraged the bashful boy to get out in the yard and dance with the others. Once he got in the dance circle, he developed a feel for dancing and did not want to stop.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop|last=By Frankie Manning, Cynthia R. Millman|first=|publisher=Temple University Press|year=2016|isbn=|location=|pages=35}}</ref>


⚫
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]]. On Saturdays, farmhands and locals would come to the farm to play music on the front porch with [[harmonica]]s and a [[washtub bass]]. Manning's grandmother encouraged Frankie to dance with the others.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop |first1=Frankie |last1=Manning |first2=Cynthia R. |last2=Millman |publisher=Temple University Press |year=2016 |pages=35}}</ref>
⚫
Back in New York, he started attending the dances at the Renaissance Ballroom in 1927 after his mother invited him to help her decorate the ballroom for a [[Halloween]] dance and promised to take him to the 9:00 dance that night.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop|last=Frankie Manning, Cynthia R. Millman|first=|publisher=Temple University Press|year=2007|isbn=|location=|pages=25, 26, 27}}</ref> Watching from the balcony, he was surprised to see his mother dancing formal ballroom styles such as [[foxtrot]] and [[waltz]], having only seen her dance before in a much looser and casual style at neighborhood [[rent party|rent parties]]. He danced with his mother later that night and she told him afterwards that "Frankie, you'll never be a dancer, because you're too stiff." <ref>{{Cite book|title=Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop|last=Frankie Manning, Cynthia R. Millman|first=|publisher=Temple University Press|year=2007|isbn=|location=|pages=26, 27}}</ref>Manning really loved his mother and wanted to do things to please her, so that is why he wanted to learn how to dance. He started listening to records on a [[Victrola]] in his bedroom and would practice dancing with a broom or a chair trying to get "un-stiff". When he was older, he started going to Harlem's [[Savoy Ballroom]], which was for better dancers, and was also 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 (dance move)|aerial]] in a [[swing (dance)|swing]] dance competition against [[George Snowden|George "Shorty" Snowden]], the inventor of the term [[Lindy Hop]], and his partner, Big Bea, at the Savoy Ballroom. The airstep he performed was a "back to back roll" and was danced while [[Chick Webb]] played "Down South Camp Meeting," which was Manning's request after having heard the song earlier in the evening. The airstep went flawlessly to the music and astonished the more than 2,000 audience members.

⚫
In October 1927, Manning attended the [[Renaissance Ballroom & Casino]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop |first1=Frankie |last1=Manning |first2=Cynthia R. |last2=Millman |publisher=Temple University Press |year=2016 |pages=25, 26, 27}}</ref> Watching from the balcony, he saw his mother dancing formal ballroom styles such as the [[foxtrot]] and [[waltz]], having only seen her dance before in a much looser and casual style at neighborhood [[rent party|rent parties]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop |first1=Frankie |last1=Manning |first2=Cynthia R. |last2=Millman |pages=26, 27}}</ref> Manning started listening to records on a [[Victrola]] 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 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 (dance move)|aerial]] in a [[swing (dance)|swing]] dance competition against [[George Snowden]], the inventor of the term [[Lindy Hop]], and his partner, Big Bea. The air step he performed was a "back-to-back roll" and was danced while [[Chick Webb]] played "Down South Camp Meeting" at Manning's request.


===Career===
===Career===
In 1935, Herbert White organized the top Savoy Ballroom lindy hop dancers into a professional performance group that was eventually named [[Whitey's Lindy Hoppers]]. Manning created the troupe's first ensemble Lindy Hop routines and functioned as the group's ''de facto'' choreographer, although without that title. The troupe toured extensively and made several films. While with Whitey's, Manning also danced with [[Norma Miller]], who became known as the Queen of Swing. Whitey's Lindy Hoppers disbanded around [[World War II]] when many of the male dancers entered the armed forces. Manning himself served in the [[U.S. Army]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/lindy-hop-great-frankie-manning-dies-94-article-1.363298 |title=Lindy Hop great Frankie Manning dies at 94 |author=Hinkley, David |date=April 27, 2009 |work=Daily News |location=New York |access-date=September 6, 2015}}</ref> After the war, in 1947, Manning created a small performance group called the [[Congaroos]]. When the Congaroos disbanded in 1955, Manning quietly settled into a career with the [[United States Postal Service]]. Some 30 years later, Manning started his second career in dancing: travelling the world as a renowned instructor and inspirator.
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]]. 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]], who became known as the Queen of Swing. Whitey's Lindy Hoppers disbanded around [[World War II]] when many of the male dancers entered the armed forces. Manning himself served in the [[U.S. Army]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/lindy-hop-great-frankie-manning-dies-94-article-1.363298 |title=Lindy Hop great Frankie Manning dies at 94 |author=Hinkley, David |date=April 27, 2009 |work=Daily News |location=New York |access-date=September 6, 2015}}</ref> In 1947, after the war, Manning formed a four-person dance group called the [[Congaroos]]. Across England and South America the group performed, also making an appearance in the 1948 film [[Killer Diller (1948 film)|Killer Diller]].<ref>https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=a9h&AN=44109757&site=ehost-live</ref> When the Congaroos disbanded in 1955, Manning quietly settles into a career with the [[United States Postal Service]].


===Revival===
===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, where he introduced a new generation of dancers to the Lindy Hop. 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 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. Manning at first declined, before finally agreeing to meet with them; he was skeptical that a much younger generation would really be interested in swing or Lindy. However, Mitchell and Stevens returned to California and helped to spread Lindy Hop to the West Coast and other areas of the U.S. Thus, the swing revival began. That same year, Lennart Westerlund contacted Manning and invited him to Sweden to work with [[The Rhythm Hot Shots]]. Manning traveled to Sweden in 1987 and returned there every year from 1989 onward to teach at the [[Herräng Dance Camp]].
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]]. Manning traveled to Sweden in 1987 and returned there every year from 1989 onward to teach at the [[Herräng Dance Camp]]. Later, Manning would also teach [[Ryan Francois]], who would help introduce Lindy Hop to a British audience.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stevens |first=Tamara |title=Swing dancing |date=2011 |publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-0-313-37517-0 |series=The American dance floor |location=Santa Barbara, California}}</ref>


===Later years===
===Later years===
Once the swing dance and Lindy Hop revival took hold during the late 1980s, Manning taught Lindy Hop to eager devotees around the world, occasionally appearing with [[Norma Miller]]. Sometimes, dance workshops returned him to places he had not been in decades. For example, Manning first visited [[Melbourne, Australia]] in 1939 to perform at the [[Princess Theatre, Melbourne|Princess Theatre]]. The [[swing revival]] and Melbourne's Swing Patrol, brought him back again in 2002; it was his first visit to Melbourne in 63 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 [[Norma Miller]]. Sometimes, dance workshops returned him to places he had not been in decades. For example, Manning first visited [[Melbourne, Australia]] in 1939 to perform at the [[Princess Theatre, Melbourne|Princess Theatre]]. The [[swing revival]] and Melbourne's Swing Patrol brought him back again in 2002; it was his first visit to Melbourne in 63 years.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://mel.swingpatrol.com/resource/frankie-melbourne-1939/ |title=Frankie in Melbourne - 1939 &#124; Swing Patrol Melbourne}}</ref>


At the age of 75, Manning co-choreographed the [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]] [[Musical theater|musical]] [[Black and Blue (musical)|''Black and Blue'']], for which he received a 1989 [[Tony Award]]. In 2000, he was awarded a [[National Endowment for the Arts]] National Heritage Fellowship.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nea.gov/honors/heritage/fellows/fellow.php?id=2000_07 |title=2000 NEA National Heritage Fellowships: Frankie Manning |accessdate=April 2, 2008 |publisher=National Endowment for the Arts |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917190138/http://www.nea.gov/honors/heritage/fellows/fellow.php?id=2000_07 |archivedate=September 17, 2008}}</ref>
At age 75, Manning co-choreographed the [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]] musical [[Black and Blue (musical)|''Black and Blue'']], for which he received a 1989 [[Tony Award]]. In 2000, he was a recipient of a [[National Heritage Fellowship]] from the [[National Endowment for the Arts]], which is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/year/2000 |title=NEA National Heritage Fellowships 2000 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=n.d. |website=www.arts.gov |publisher=National Endowment for the Arts |access-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921004540/https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/year/2000 |archive-date=September 21, 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref>


Manning's [[autobiography]], ''Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop'', written with co-author Cynthia R. Millman, was published by [[Temple University Press]] in May 2007. It contains a collection of stories about the early days of [[swing (dance)|swing]] dancing, Manning's years performing with [[Whitey's Lindy Hoppers]], his experiences during [[World War II]], and his post-war dance troupe, the [[Congaroos]]. The book also recounts his experiences of the revival of swing dancing that began in the mid-1980s, and the two decades following.<ref name=ambassador>{{cite book |last=Manning |first=Frankie |author2=Cynthia R. Millman |title=Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop |year=2007 |publisher=Temple University Press |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |isbn=1-59213-563-3 |page=79}}</ref>
Manning's [[autobiography]], ''Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop'', written with co-author Cynthia R. Millman, was published by [[Temple University Press]] in May 2007.<ref name=ambassador>{{cite book |last=Manning |first=Frankie |author2=Cynthia R. Millman |title=Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop |year=2007 |publisher=Temple University Press |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-1-59213-563-9 |page=79}}</ref>


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]]; his 85th culminated in a sold-out party at New York's [[Roseland Ballroom]], where a pair of his dance shoes were placed in a showcase along with those of dancers such as [[Fred Astaire]]. For his 86th birthday, a huge gala was held in Tokyo in his honor, which included workshops taught by the maestro himself; the climax of the festivities featured a live orchestra. Manning drew a huge crowd of Japanese and foreign expatriate swing enthusiasts for this memorable occasion. 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, partnering 89 and 90 women, respectively, in succession.
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]]; his 85th culminated in a sold-out party at New York's [[Roseland Ballroom]], where a pair of his dance shoes were placed in a showcase along with those of dancers such as [[Fred Astaire]]. 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.<ref>{{cite news |last=Friedman |first=Marilyn |title=Is Dancing the Kale of Exercise? |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 30, 2019 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/30/well/move/health-benefits-dancing.html |access-date=2019-05-06}}</ref>


===Death===
===Death===
A resident of [[Corona, Queens]], Manning died in [[Manhattan]] on April 27, 2009, aged 94.<ref name=NYTObit />
A resident of [[Corona, Queens]], Manning died in [[Manhattan]] on April 27, 2009, aged 94.<ref name=NYTObit />


He is interred in the Hillcrest Plot at [[Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)|Woodlawn Cemetery]] in [[Bronx]], [[New York]].
He is interred in the Hillcrest Plot at [[Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)|Woodlawn Cemetery]] in [[Bronx]], New York.


==Legacy==
==Legacy==


===Frankie Manning Foundation===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Frankie Manning Nov. 07, 2011.jpg|thumb || 300px|Frankie Manning's grave]] -->Before his death in April 2009, Manning had been planning to celebrate his 95th birthday in May 2009 in New York City at a special Lindy Hop dance event over Memorial Day weekend. The event, commonly referred to as Frankie Fest or Frankie 95, proceeded without him but in his memory and gathered dancers and instructors from around the world. In anticipation of the event, dance groups from all over the globe posted more than 160 videos to [[YouTube]] of local performances of the [[Shim Sham]] (a swing line dance long associated with Manning) as well as many videos of a Savoy-style routine choreographed especially for the Frankie 95 celebration by noted swing dancer and Lindy instructor Peter Strom. On Sunday of Frankie 95, attendees attempted to set three [[Guinness world records]] in [[Central Park]], including one for the greatest number of people dancing the Shim Sham simultaneously in one place.
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.<ref>[https://www.frankiemanning.com/ Frankie Manning.com]</ref> Proceeds from the five-day Frankie 95 celebration were used to create the Frankie Manning Foundation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.frankiemanningfoundation.org/lindy-hop-for-all-interviews-and-oral-history-of-the-frankie-manning-foundation/ |title=Lindy Hop for All: Interviews and Oral History of the Frankie Manning Foundation |first=Mandi |last=Gould |work=Frankie Manning Foundation |date=September 26, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/23/nyregion/23lindy.html |title=Honoring the Man Who Helped Make the Lindy Hop |first=Glenn |last=Collins |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 22, 2009 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Its mission is to spread Lindy Hop throughout the world.


===Accolades===
Proceeds from the five-day Frankie 95 celebration were used to create a Frankie Manning Foundation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.frankie95.com/ |title=Frankie's 95th Birthday Festival |publisher=Frankie95.com |accessdate=March 1, 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20120222221445/http://www.frankie95.com/ |archivedate=February 22, 2012}}<!--Exists on https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.frankie95.com/ but need version that mentions the foundation--></ref>
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|National Museum of Dance's Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame]] in 2009.
Manning was inducted into the [[National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame]] 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]], Sweden, was named after Manning,<ref>[http://www.yehoodi.com/comment/174679/local-road-renamed-frankie-man-2/ "Local Road Renamed "Frankie Manning Street" in Herrang", Yehoodi.com, July 4, 2012.]</ref> as a gift from the municipality of [[Norrtälje]] for the 30-year jubilee of [[Herräng Dance Camp]].
On July 4, 2012, a road in the village of [[Herräng]], Sweden, was named after Manning,<ref>[http://www.yehoodi.com/comment/174679/local-road-renamed-frankie-man-2/ "Local Road Renamed "Frankie Manning Street" in Herrang", Yehoodi.com, July 4, 2012.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130417090451/http://yehoodi.com/comment/174679/local-road-renamed-frankie-man-2/ |date=April 17, 2013 }}</ref> as a gift from the municipality of [[Norrtälje]] for the 30-year jubilee of [[Herräng Dance Camp]].

On May 26, 2016, [[Google]] celebrated his 102nd birthday with a [[Google Doodle]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://doodles.google/doodle/frankie-mannings-102nd-birthday/ |title=Frankie Manning's 102nd birthday |website=Google |date=26 May 2016}}</ref>


==Filmography==
==Filmography==
* ''[[A Day at the Races (film)|A Day at the Races]]'' (1937)
* ''[[Radio City Revels]]'' (1938)
⚫
* ''[[Keep Punching (1939 film)|Keep Punching]]'' (1939)
* ''Radio City Revels'' (1938)
⚫
* ''Keep Punching'' (1939)
* ''[[Hellzapoppin' (film)|Hellzapoppin']]'' (1941)
* ''[[Hellzapoppin' (film)|Hellzapoppin']]'' (1941)
* ''Hot Chocolates'' (1941)
* ''[[Hot Chocolates]]'' (1941)
* ''Jittering Jitterbugs'' (1943)
* ''[[Jittering Jitterbugs]]'' (1943)
* ''[[Killer Diller (1948 film)|Killer Diller]]'' (1948)
* ''[[Killer Diller (1948 film)|Killer Diller]]'' (1948)
* ''[[Malcolm X (movie)|Malcolm X]]'' (1992) – choreography
* ''[[Malcolm X (1992 film)|Malcolm X]]'' (1992) – choreography
* ''Stompin' at the Savoy'' (1992) – choreography
* ''[[Stompin' at the Savoy (film)|Stompin' at the Savoy]]'' (1992) – choreography
* ''[[Jazz (documentary)|Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns]]'' (2000)
* ''[[Jazz (documentary)|Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns]]'' (2000)
* ''Frankie Manning: Never Stop Swinging'' (2009)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thirteen.org/sundayarts/frankie-manning-never-stop-swinging/291 |title=Frankie Manning: Never Stop Swinging |publisher=[[WNET]] |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090524001546/http://www.thirteen.org/sundayarts/frankie-manning-never-stop-swinging/291 |archivedate=May 24, 2009}}</ref>
* ''Frankie Manning: Never Stop Swinging'' (2009)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thirteen.org/sundayarts/frankie-manning-never-stop-swinging/291 |title=Frankie Manning: Never Stop Swinging |publisher=[[WNET]] |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090524001546/http://www.thirteen.org/sundayarts/frankie-manning-never-stop-swinging/291 |archivedate=May 24, 2009}}</ref>
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* [[African-American dance]]
* [[African-American dance]]
* [[History of Lindy Hop]]
* [[History of Lindy Hop]]
* [[List of dancers]]


==References==
==References==
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{{Commons category|Frankie Manning}}
{{Commons category|Frankie Manning}}
{{Library resources box|viaf= 31291358}}
{{Library resources box|viaf= 31291358}}
* {{IBDB name|1292}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{IMDb name|543278}}
* {{IMDb name|543278}}
* [http://www.savoystyle.com/frankie_manning.html Frankie Manning and the Lindy Hop], SavoyStyle.com
* [http://www.savoystyle.com/frankie_manning.html Frankie Manning and the Lindy Hop], SavoyStyle.com
* [http://www.frankiemanningfoundation.org/ 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.
* [http://www.frankiemanning.com/ FrankieManning.com]: a site devoted to Frankie Manning's life.
* [http://www.frankiemanning.com/ FrankieManning.com]: a site devoted to Frankie Manning's life.
* {{wayback|url=http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=11649|title=Frankie Manning: Lindy Hop Pioneer|date=20081021022850}}, [[KUOW]], October 26, 2006. 30-minute audio interview by Amanda Wilde.
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021022850/http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=11649 |date=October 21, 2008 |title=Frankie Manning: Lindy Hop Pioneer }}, [[KUOW-FM|KUOW]], October 26, 2006. 30-minute audio interview by Amanda Wilde.
* [http://www.flypmedia.com/issues/13/#12/1 The King of Swing], FLYP Media
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080912012754/http://www.flypmedia.com/issues/13/#12/1 The King of Swing], FLYP Media
* {{YouTube|g_k_BIA_unI|Global Shim Sham for Frankie}}
* {{YouTube|g_k_BIA_unI|Global Shim Sham for Frankie}}


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{{TonyAward Choreography}}

⚫
{{TonyAward Choreography 1976–2000}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


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[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:African-American male dancers]]
[[Category:African-American male dancers]]
[[Category:African-American dancers]]
[[Category:American male dancers]]
[[Category:African-American choreographers]]
[[Category:African-American choreographers]]
[[Category:American choreographers]]
[[Category:American swing dancers]]
[[Category:American swing dancers]]
[[Category:Dance teachers]]
[[Category:American dance teachers]]
[[Category:Lindy Hop]]
[[Category:Lindy Hop]]
[[Category:Musical theatre choreographers]]
[[Category:National Heritage Fellowship winners]]
[[Category:National Heritage Fellowship winners]]
[[Category:National Museum of Dance Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:People from Corona, Queens]]
[[Category:People from Corona, Queens]]
[[Category:People from Jacksonville, Florida]]
[[Category:People from Jacksonville, Florida]]
[[Category:Tony Award winners]]
[[Category:Tony Award winners]]
[[Category:United States Postal Service people]]
[[Category:United States Postal Service people]]
[[Category:20th-century American dancers]]
[[Category:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American people]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American people]]

Latest revision as of 21:23, 4 November 2024

Frankie Manning
Manning in 2008
Born
Frank Manning

(1914-05-26)May 26, 1914
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
DiedApril 27, 2009(2009-04-27) (aged 94)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Resting placeWoodlawn Cemetery
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Other names"Muscle head" Manning
Occupation(s)Choreographer, dancer
ChildrenChazz Young
Marion Manning
Frankie Manning Jr.
AwardsTony Award for Best Choreography
1989 Black and Blue
Websitefrankiemanning.com

Frank Manning (May 26, 1914 – April 27, 2009)[1] was an American dancer, instructor, and choreographer. Manning is considered one of the founders of Lindy Hop, an energetic form of the jazz dance style known as swing.

Biography

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Manning was born in 1914 in Jacksonville, Florida. After his parents separated when he was three years old, he moved to Harlem 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. On Saturdays, farmhands and locals would come to the farm to play music on the front porch with harmonicas and a washtub bass. Manning's grandmother encouraged Frankie to dance with the others.[2]

In October 1927, Manning attended the Renaissance Ballroom & Casino.[3] Watching from the balcony, he saw his mother dancing formal ballroom styles such as the foxtrot and waltz, having only seen her dance before in a much looser and casual style at neighborhood rent parties.[4] Manning started listening to records on a Victrola 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 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, the inventor of the term Lindy Hop, and his partner, Big Bea. The air step he performed was a "back-to-back roll" and was danced while Chick Webb played "Down South Camp Meeting" at Manning's request.

Career

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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. 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, who became known as the Queen of Swing. Whitey's Lindy Hoppers disbanded around World War II when many of the male dancers entered the armed forces. Manning himself served in the U.S. Army.[5] In 1947, after the war, Manning formed a four-person dance group called the Congaroos. Across England and South America the group performed, also making an appearance in the 1948 film Killer Diller.[6] When the Congaroos disbanded in 1955, Manning quietly settles into a career with the United States Postal Service.

Return to Lindy Hop

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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. Manning traveled to Sweden in 1987 and returned there every year from 1989 onward to teach at the Herräng Dance Camp. Later, Manning would also teach Ryan Francois, who would help introduce Lindy Hop to a British audience.[7]

Later years

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Once the swing dance and Lindy Hop revival took hold during the late 1980s, Manning taught Lindy Hop around the world, occasionally appearing with Norma Miller. Sometimes, dance workshops returned him to places he had not been in decades. For example, Manning first visited Melbourne, Australia in 1939 to perform at the Princess Theatre. The swing revival and Melbourne's Swing Patrol brought him back again in 2002; it was his first visit to Melbourne in 63 years.[8]

At age 75, Manning co-choreographed the Broadway musical Black and Blue, for which he received a 1989 Tony Award. In 2000, he was a recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.[9]

Manning's autobiography, Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop, written with co-author Cynthia R. Millman, was published by Temple University Press in May 2007.[10]

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; his 85th culminated in a sold-out party at New York's Roseland Ballroom, where a pair of his dance shoes were placed in a showcase along with those of dancers such as Fred Astaire. 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.[11]

Death

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A resident of Corona, Queens, Manning died in Manhattan on April 27, 2009, aged 94.[1]

He is interred in the Hillcrest Plot at Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York.

Legacy

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Frankie Manning Foundation

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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.[12] Proceeds from the five-day Frankie 95 celebration were used to create the Frankie Manning Foundation.[13][14] Its mission is to spread Lindy Hop throughout the world.

Accolades

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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 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, Sweden, was named after Manning,[15] as a gift from the municipality of Norrtälje for the 30-year jubilee of Herräng Dance Camp.

On May 26, 2016, Google celebrated his 102nd birthday with a Google Doodle.[16]

Filmography

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Monaghan, Terry (April 28, 2009). "Frankie Manning, the Ambassador and Master of Lindy Hop, Dies at 94". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Manning, Frankie; Millman, Cynthia R. (2016). Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop. Temple University Press. p. 35.
  3. ^ Manning, Frankie; Millman, Cynthia R. (2016). Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop. Temple University Press. pp. 25, 26, 27.
  4. ^ Manning, Frankie; Millman, Cynthia R. Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop. pp. 26, 27.
  5. ^ Hinkley, David (April 27, 2009). "Lindy Hop great Frankie Manning dies at 94". Daily News. New York. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  6. ^ https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=a9h&AN=44109757&site=ehost-live
  7. ^ Stevens, Tamara (2011). Swing dancing. The American dance floor. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-37517-0.
  8. ^ "Frankie in Melbourne - 1939 | Swing Patrol Melbourne".
  9. ^ "NEA National Heritage Fellowships 2000". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. n.d. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  10. ^ Manning, Frankie; Cynthia R. Millman (2007). Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-59213-563-9.
  11. ^ Friedman, Marilyn (April 30, 2019). "Is Dancing the Kale of Exercise?". The New York Times. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  12. ^ Frankie Manning.com
  13. ^ Gould, Mandi (September 26, 2015). "Lindy Hop for All: Interviews and Oral History of the Frankie Manning Foundation". Frankie Manning Foundation.
  14. ^ Collins, Glenn (May 22, 2009). "Honoring the Man Who Helped Make the Lindy Hop". The New York Times.
  15. ^ "Local Road Renamed "Frankie Manning Street" in Herrang", Yehoodi.com, July 4, 2012. Archived April 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ "Frankie Manning's 102nd birthday". Google. May 26, 2016.
  17. ^ "Frankie Manning: Never Stop Swinging". WNET. Archived from the original on May 24, 2009.
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