Legendary lindy hopper Mr. Frankie Manning passed away peacefully on Monday April 27, 2009. Frankie was our ambassador of Lindy Hop and he was our greatest mentor. In the most extraordinary and entertaining of ways, he set the standard for this dance, showcasing extraordinary creativity and innovation in the Lindy Hop. Later in his life he returned from retirement to teach this dance to endless enthusiastic crowds sometimes hundreds at a time. He shared his wonderful joy for this dance as well as for the big band music that accompanied it and made us all smile and laugh while doing so. I include myself and all of the members of our group in the list of passionate followers and students who learned from him, always in awe of his remarkable gift of dance. Many of our dance numbers have strong influence from Frankie Mannings choreography and style. His spirit lives in all the Lindy Hoppers around the globe now and fortunately for all of us, a tremedous about of video footage and photography is archived showcasing Frankie and the groups he performed with dating back as far as the 1930's. Amore,
Paolo "Pasta" Lanna coordinating manager LHAS
For more on Frankie Manning - see some suggested links - www.frankiemanning.com, nytimes.com, yehoodi.com