Frankie Manning with the Big Apple Dancers.
It is with a heavy heart that we inform you of the passing of our wonderful friend. Mr. Frankie Manning passed away peacefully early this morning at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York from complications of pneumonia. As many of you know, we would not be where we are today without his talent, creativity, inspiration and SMILE!
Swing dancer extraordinaire Frankie Manning was a leading dancer at Harlem’s legendary Savoy Ballroom where, in the mid-1930s, he revolutionized the course of the lindy hop with his innovations, including the lindy air step and synchronized ensemble lindy routine.
Since the resurgence of Swing dancing in the mid-1980s he’s been in constant demand and motion, teaching, choreographing, and performing globally. He had told friends he still planned to dance at Frankie’s Birthday Festival this year – not a minor thing at his birthday celebrations, since he insisted on dancing with at least one woman for each year of his life!
Considered the world’s leading authority on Lindy Hop, his autobiography, Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop, co-written by Cynthia R. Millman, was published by Temple University Press in spring 2007. You can get this wonderful book here.
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