Frankie Manning and the Legacy of the Lindy Hop

Introduction: The Father of the Lindy Hop

Frankie Manning is widely regarded as the father of the Lindy Hop swing dance and a legend in swing dance circles. Manning did not invent the Lindy Hop, as many people believe. However, he created some of its most famous moves and steps, and continued to teach the dance well into his nineties. Frankie Manning began his career in Harlem at the Savoy Ballroom, and he helped promote the Lindy and other swing dances around the globe. He is one of the most important swing dancers to ever shape the genre, and his influence is evident in the widespread resurgence of swing dance's popularity. He also continued to influence swing dance by choreographing films, Broadway shows, and television productions, helping sustain the dance's revival.

The Origins of Swing Music and the Lindy Hop

Many people have called swing music some of the first truly American music. A blend of jazz, blues, rhythm and blues, and even gospel — all uniquely American musical forms — swing music became popular in the dance halls of Chicago and Harlem, New York in the 1920s, and spread from there. Swing music was (and is) played primarily by "big bands": ensembles with a large brass section, woodwinds, percussion, and usually a famous bandleader such as Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, or Glenn Miller. They often featured a lead singer as well. Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, and Louis Armstrong all sang in front of big bands, along with many others.

The jazzy, rhythmic beat of swing music naturally urged people to dance, and so a new dance form emerged called "swing dance," suited to the big band beat and rhythm. One of the first popular swing dances was the Lindy Hop, first danced at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem in the early 1930s. Legend has it that the dance was named after Charles Lindbergh and his famous solo crossing of the Atlantic in 1929. After he successfully landed in Paris, newspapers across the country reported that "Lindy Hops the Atlantic" ("Happy Feet" and Editors). In Harlem at the Savoy, the most popular swing dance was simply called the "hop." However, after Lindbergh's triumph, "a reporter, looking at the crazy antics of the dancers at the Savoy, asked what the name of the dance was. 'It's the Lindy Hop!', came the reply. And thus the first real swing dance was born" ("Happy Feet"). The story is as plausible as any about the dance's origins. The Lindy Hop eventually evolved into a combination of swing dance and jitterbug that is generally known simply as "swing."

In the 1920s and 1930s, the Savoy Ballroom was the place for swing music. Its dance floor covered a full city block, and all the big bands and singers performed at the Savoy at one time or another. At least one song — "Stompin' at the Savoy" — was written about the legendary ballroom. Big bands made most of their money from playing at ballrooms rather than concert halls, and there were several troupes of professional dancers who traveled the country with the bands. One historian notes, "a typical show at the Cotton Club in the late 1930s, for instance, would include several different varieties of dance performances, among them tap, flash, and exotic, as well as a team of Lindy Hoppers" (Crease 207).

Frankie Manning's Early Career at the Savoy Ballroom

Not a great deal is known about Frankie Manning's birth and early years. He was born in Florida but grew up in the Harlem area of New York City. In one interview, he said his mother danced while he was in the womb, so he has literally been dancing his entire life (Editors). When he was just a young teenager, he began dancing at different ballrooms in Harlem, including the Alhambra, the Renaissance, and of course the Savoy. Manning was a talented and competitive dancer, and he would often enter the Saturday night "Kat's Korner" competitions at the club. He won so often that he eventually became a member of the "400 Club," an elite group of dancers who could enter the Savoy during rehearsals to practice with the bands performing there (Pritchett).

In 1935, a young Frankie Manning was dancing at the Savoy when he incorporated aerial movements and new steps into his version of the Lindy Hop, giving rise to a whole new form of swing dance. Manning added "air-step" moves and the symbolic crouch that remain synonymous with swing dancing — especially the Lindy Hop — and that is why he holds such a legendary place in the history of swing dance. One historian explains, "In an air-step, one partner lifted, flipped, tossed, or threw the other. Both developments [the crouch and the air-step] made the dance more exciting and more appropriate as an act in revues and musicals" (Crease 212).

Manning introduced his innovative steps during 1935 and 1936. As historian Crease explains:

"In 1935 and 1936, Manning introduced into the Lindy three features — one stylistic and two choreographic — that expanded its possibilities as a stage dance. The stylistic innovation was to crouch down low instead of dancing erect; this evened the momentum flow in swing-outs and gave the dance a smoother and faster look. The two choreographic innovations were ensemble dancing and air steps" (Crease 212).

At just twenty-two years old, Manning had already influenced the Lindy Hop — and thus all swing dances — in fundamental ways, and he was only just beginning.

References

Author not Available. "Happy Feet." Personal Web Page. 2004. 29 April 2005.

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 Lindy Hop." SavoyStyle.com. 2005. 29 April 2005. http://www.savoystyle.com/frankie_manning.html