Well, I kind of introduced that into Lindy Hopping. And we call it an air step because that's the way that we envisioned it -- as a step. We said, This has to be done in time with the music. it's not a lift -- it's a step -- so you gotta do it as a step (Editors).
Many people would add innovations and other moves to the basic Lindy, and it would spread out to create an entire form of swing dancing that included air-steps, synchronized dancing, and jitterbugging, all popular forms of swing dance. However, Manning was a true innovator in swing dance, and has been honored with several documentaries. He also was interviewed for the Ken Burns documentary "Jazz," and HBO plans to make a full-length feature film about his remarkable life.
In conclusion, Frankie Manning is the true father of the Lindy Hop, and with his dedication and talent, he helped take American swing dance around the world, making it one of the most popular dance forms of the 1930 and 1940s. Manning added depth and interest to swing dance, and by adding the air-step, he added an entire new dimension to swing dance. It is interesting to note that many critics of swing at the time found it frightening and degenerate, and the addition of throwing girls around in the air, exposing their legs and petticoats, was especially unsettling to critics....
Others simply did not like the idea of blacks and whites perhaps dancing together. Historian Crease notes, "Others found the Lindy disturbing because it was generally the dance of choice in nightspots and ballrooms where blacks and whites freely mingled" (Crease 211). The Lindy Hop outlived the controversy, and continues to be one of the most popular swing dances still performed today. A lot of the credit goes to Frankie Manning and his innovative choreography, his talent, his travels, and his long life, almost continually spent dancing and promoting swing.
References
Author not Available. "Happy Feet." Personal Web Page. 2004. 29 April 2005. http://www.gotthatswing.com.au/happy.html
Crease, Robert P. "Divine Frivolity: Hollywood Representations of the Lindy Hop, 1937-1942." Representing Jazz. Ed. Gabbard, Krin. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1995. 207-228.
Editors of WNET. "Frankie Manning." Thirteen.org. 1998. 29 April 2005. http://www.thirteen.org/cityarts4/week11/my_html/uncut-week11.html
O'Meally, Robert G., ed. The Jazz Cadence of American Culture. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.
Parish, Paul. "A Revival in Full Swing." Dance Magazine Sept. 1999: 50.
Pritchett, Judy. "Frankie Manning and the Original…
