The dancer Frankie Manning celebrated with a doodle of Google – Le Figaro

The famous search engine today the 102nd anniversary of the birth of this joyous choreographer, founder of Lindy Hop, true ambassador of swing.

If America swing is certainly a bit with him. Frankie Manning is one of those famous unknown celebrated by the search engine Google. But with good reason. For this dancer and choreographer who was nicknamed “the ambassador of swing” remains one of the founding fathers of unfading ballroom dance: Lindy Hop.

The animation of the Google doodle shows an example just as convincing as bouncy and joyful. Born May 26, 1914 in Jacksonville, Florida, Frankie Manning is the son of a dancer. A family move to New York in Harlem will change his life.

Quickly, Manning, whose radiant smile has become one of his trademarks, learning to dance in the street and became familiar with the swing rhythms adding aerobatics and other “air steps”. Soon, his acrobatic dance is called Lindy hop.

The legend commonly accepted is that the name “Air” 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.

the onlookers who see him make merry on the sidewalks of Harlem plébiscitent. He soon takes part in dance competitions and takes all. After wreaking 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.

Hollywood is interested in him. Manning participated in many tours of jazz artists and several films such as Hellzapoppin in 1941.

The Second World War will give the death knell for his golden years. The troop of Whitey’s Lindy’s Hopper dissolves. Frankie Manning disappears from the artistic landscape. It resurfaced in the 1980s, where we remember him and his dancing skills. At over 75, he returns as choreographer renowned and even received a Tony Award for her performance in a musical. He died at the age of 95 years 27 April 2009 without ever really stopped dancing. And the smile still on his face.