Frankie Manning (May 26, 1914 – April 27, 2009) was an American dancer, instructor and choreographer. Manning is considered one of the founding fathers of the Lindy Hop.
Manning was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1914. He moved to Harlem at the age of 3, with his mother, who was also a dancer. Frankie began dancing as a child, then started attending the early evening dances for older teens at the Rennaissance Ballroom. When he was older he star...
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Frankie Manning (May 26, 1914 – April 27, 2009) was an American dancer, instructor and choreographer. Manning is considered one of the founding fathers of the Lindy Hop.
Manning was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1914. He moved to Harlem at the age of 3, with his mother, who was also a dancer. Frankie began dancing as a child, then started attending the early evening dances for older teens at the Rennaissance Ballroom. When he was older he started going to the Savoy, which was for better dancers. He frequented Harlem's Savoy Ballroom in the 1930s, eventually becoming a dancer in the elite and prestigious "Kat's Corner," a corner of the dance floor in which impromptu exhibitions and competitions took place. During a dance contest in 1935, Manning and his partner Frieda Washington performed the first air step (often referred to as an aerial) in a swing dance competition against George "Shorty" Snowden and his partner Big Bea, at the Savoy Ballroom. The air step he performed was a ...
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