It is called the ambassador of swing but a particular style: Lindy Hop. This man is none other than Frankie Manning whose smile and no frenzied dances have thrilled a generation of America nevertheless marked by racial discrimination.
Born May 26, 1914, he is the son of a dancer and his life changes when moving three years later in Harlem, New York. It is in this area that Frankie Manning started dancing, but it adds to street dances time aerobatics, the “air steps”, one of his own style, which will be called the Lindy Hop. The common assumption is that the Lindy Hop is inspired by the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, the first man to have flown by plane Paris-New York between 20 and 21 May 1927.
After havoc and thrilled thousands of onlookers on the streets of Harlem, Manning joined the cast of Whitey’s Lindy’s Hopper and is at its peak in the early 1940s cinema loves its services breathtaking, seen especially in the film Hellzapoppin . But World War II comes and wins the men, so the dancers. The troupe dissolves and Frankie Manning is forced to find a food business. He continues of course to practice his art but disappears from the screen.
Fashion of “vintage” forces, the Lindy Hop is brought up to date in the 1980s It uses Manning for his talents dancer and he became a choreographer renowned for over 75 years. He even received a Tony Award for her performance in a musical.
He said that “ would never have thought of becoming a professional dancer “, but for him, talent was innate. For just a few minutes, it allowed people with him to transcend the limits and achieve happiness. Until his death on 27 April 2009 at the age of 95 years, he never stopped dancing. His gestures were less fiery, but his passion has never gone out.
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