5633 Frankie Manning, r.i.p.
Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:00:38 EDT
From: Crrtango@aol.com
Subject: [Tango-L] Frankie Manning, r.i.p.
To: TANGO-L@mit.edu
No, this isn't about tango but about a great dancer nonetheless. For many
of us "older" tango dancers, swing was our first dance. My first tango
teaching job was at Sandra Cameron Dance Center where there were a number of
pictures of Frankie Manning, one of the greatest swing dancers ever, Lindy
Hop specifically, still dancing and teaching and doing a great job of it well
into his eighties. He was an inspiration to many of us, no matter what
dance we did and could outdance everybody even at that age. He has just
passed on at age 94 but was still dancing and planning to dance at an upcoming
festival. Wow! We should all be so lucky. If there was ever a reason to
never stop dancing, no matter what dance you do, he was it. Sandra Cameron
Dance Center brought in some great dancers over the years, but he had to be
the best. Many people will miss him. See the NY Times online article.
Charles
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Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:01:13 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Trini y Sean (PATangoS)" <patangos@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Frankie Manning, r.i.p.
--- On Tue, 4/28/09, Crrtango@aol.com <Crrtango@aol.com> wrote:
> No, this isn't about tango but about a great dancer
> nonetheless. For many of us "older" tango dancers, swing was our first
> dance. My first tango teaching job was at Sandra Cameron Dance Center where there were a number of pictures of Frankie Manning, one of the greatest swing dancers ever, Lindy Hop specifically, still dancing and teaching and doing a great job of it well into his eighties.
Ok, I'll relate this to tango. Frankie Manning is a good example of a dance genre perhaps being defined too narrowly stylistically. There were hundreds of Lindy Hop dancers during the big band era but most disappeared. Frankie was rediscovered and his style is what most know as Lindy Hop. However, I'm sure that with so many dancers, there were many other styles available too. I understand that there's some debate in the Lindy Hop community over "authenticity". With so many dancers gone, how is it possible to decide what was authentic and what wasn't? Frankie, himself created new steps and aerials. I wouldn't be surprised if it caused a stir with "social dancers", yet aerials are now an accepted part of Lindy Hop. Someone else can comment on their social acceptability.
I've heard that a similar situation occurred with tango DJ's. Less than a handful of deejays existed after the military was overthrown, so their tastes developed the sound heard at milongas today. Perhaps the other deejays had other music preferences. Daniel Trenner commented that Fresedo was the most popular of the tango orchestras but few recordings exist.
Same thing with farming in Russia. When the farms in Russia opened up to the West, some had to switch their farming practices to include the hybrids American companies wanted.
>>From many varieties to just a few, just like in tango. However, now new dancers are creating new movements, just like Frankie Manning and the Lindy Hoppers of today.
Trini de Pittsburgh
Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:29:46 -0600
From: David Thorn <thorn-inside@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Frankie Manning, r.i.p.
To: tango-l <tango-l@mit.edu>
Trini de Pittsburgh.
Although you made good points, I do want to comment specifically on:
>> Frankie Manning is a good example of a dance genre perhaps being defined too narrowly stylistically....
Perhaps. However Lindy, and vernacular jazz dance in the braoder sense, has been informed by _many_ besides Frankie. I mean to take nothing from him. But Al Mims, Dean Collins, and host of others have all contributed to the current understanding of Lindy. You might want to check out Peter Loggins' (At least I think it's Peter's) history page, https://www.dancehistory.org/ for additional insight.
>> yet aerials are now an accepted part of Lindy Hop. Someone else can comment on their social acceptability.
Actually, NOT acceptable socially. And rather dangerous. I recall an aerials class I took years ago from an outstanding couple. Their comment was: If you do aerials, you WILL get hurt. The only questions are when and how badly. I'm sure all veterans of the LA swing scene recall Rusty Frank, a very good dancer ( this Rusty Frank - https://rustyfrank.com/ ) going around in a neck brace / birdcage for frickin' ever. Good thing she even lived through that.
David
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