In my case, the 4th folder is my "Blog" folder & the 4th picture is my blog header:
The photo in the header was from a spread in Life magazine in 1943. The gentleman in the picture is one of my teachers. His name is Frank (Frankie) Manning. He will turn 95 years old this coming May. He was one of, and arguably the most important of, the originators of the Lindy Hop. Lindy is considered the grandfather of all the swing dances. He was the first person to do an air step in swing dancing: if you've seen anyone pick up/throw their partner, you can trace that back to Frankie.
He was one of the original Whitey's Lindy Hoppers who made their home at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem in the 1930's. He was the lead dancer and principal choreographer for the group. You can see their work in the Marx Brothers' film A Day at the Races or in what is probably the greatest Lindy Hop performance ever put on film in the movie Hellzapoppin'. Another personal favorite is the troupe doing the Big Apple from Keep Punchin'.
He has been featured on 20/20, ABC's World News Tonight, National Geographic Explorer's episode on Jitterbug (I'm also in that one), among others. He is a Tony-award winner (for Black & Blue), an author, a dancer, an ambassador of American culture & most importantly, one of the greatest, most-humble, most-genuine people you'd ever want to meet. I'm very honored to be able to call him my friend.
4 comments:
Hellzapoppin is unbelievable. How do feet move that fast? My eyes couldn't keep up. Which dancer is Frankie in that performance? That's incredible!
Love it! I would like some swing lessons. When I am actually light enough for someone to throw me around :)
TB,
Frankie is the guy in the overalls -- the 4th/last of the couples to dance....what I love is the fact that not only are they moving so fast, they are ALWAYS on the beat. No matter if it's a ground step or an air step, it's 100% matched to the music. That's difficult at normal speed, virtually unimaginable at that speed!
Tiburon, if you come to DC, we can arrange a swing lesson!! With or without aerials included. :-)
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