Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop [Hardcover]

Frankie Manning (Author), Cynthia Millman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2007

In the early days of swing dancing, Frankie Manning stood out for his moves and innovative routines; he introduced the 'air step' in the Lindy Hop, a dance that took the U.S. and then the world by storm. In this fascinating autobiography, choreographer and Tony Award winner (Black and Blue) Manning recalls how his first years of dancing as a teenager at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom led to his becoming chief choreographer and a lead dancer for 'Whitey's Lindy Hoppers,' a group that appeared on Broadway, in Hollywood musicals and on stages around the globe. Manning brings the Swing Era vividly back to life with his recollections of the crowded ballrooms and of Lindy Hoppers trying to outdo each other in spectacular performances.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Frankie Manning spread swing dancing's popularity throughout the world while touring with Whitey's Lindy Hoppers in the 1930s and '40s. Dance writer and swing dancer Millman conducted extensive interviews with Manning for a vivid account of his career. Manning became a star in Harlem's popular Savoy Ballroom with his unique style, including dancing at a sharp angle to the ground like a track runner, speed and musicality. In a dance competition, Manning astonished the crowd with the first-ever Lindy aerial, or air step (where the man sends his partner flying). Later Manning toured with jazz greats such as Duke Ellington and Count Basie, and performed in several films, including Everybody Sings with Judy Garland. After a long hiatus from dancing, he was a consultant for Spike Lee's Malcolm X and coached a new generation of dancers in the swing dance revival of the '80s and '90s. While the first-person accounts of Manning's life capture his vibrancy, humor and charm, the narrative is interrupted by short sections of historical notes; their formality is at odds with Manning's ease and charisma. Still, this vivid memoir by one of swing dancing's innovators and stars is a must for lovers of dance, jazz and African-American history. 36 b&w illus. (May)
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Review

"A poet of the dance floor. This book is a must read for any one who loves the dance, amateur or professional. What a life he has lived, and thank God he remembers it all!" -- Bette Midler, student and fan

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (May 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592135633
• ISBN-13: 978-1592135639
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #939,388 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful profile of a legendary dancer, May 18, 2007

By 

Richard Panganiban "Nonprofit Social Media Ex... (San Francisco Bay Area, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop (Hardcover)

I have been a student and admirer of Frankie Manning's ever since my first dance lesson with him almost ten years ago. Frankie is a legendary dancer, an innovator and pioneer in the dance form called "Lindy Hop" that started in the Jazz Age in the streets of Harlem and continues to this day in clubs, schools and dancehalls all over the world.

I've been hearing Frankie tell his inspiring stories for a long time now, but never with this rich detail and the larger historical context provided by Ms. Millman to back them up.

From his days as a child at rent parties to the heyday of the Savoy Ballroom to performing internationally with the dance troupe Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, you follow the exciting growth of a young dancer. Then we follow Frankie into the war years and his dropping out of the swing world for several decades. Fortunately in the 1980s, Frankie is coaxed out of retirement and continues to do this day to teach and inspire others about this wonderful dance.

Throughout it all, you cannot help but be touched by Frankie's grace, style and humor in navigating tumultuous, often racially-charged situations. I want to be Frankie when I grow up.

A great read for anyone interested in African-american history, dance, or jazz.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE book to buy, May 26, 2007

By 

lindylynn (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop (Hardcover)

I had the honor of working with Cynthia on editing the manuscript while it was still being formed. You can't even begin to imagine the work, years, love and passion she put has into it...but it shows on every page (painstaking revision after revision after revision to get it just right).

As many times as I have heard Frankie's stories in person, it was still a revelation to read the manuscript..And each re-read it just got better! The book provides chronological insights and the complete story of Frankie's many experiences on and off the dance floor (and yes, in the air!). It's a behind the scene look at a legendary life. It is a must read for swing dancers and a great read for every body else. I can't wait to read it again in bound copy and see all the great photos!!!! Hooray for Cynthia and Frankie!!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars YAAAAY - Finally!, June 1, 2007

By 

Deborah Huisken - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop (Hardcover)

Call me enthusiastic, but this is Frankie's story in his own words, therefore it's great.

I just received my copy yesterday, and have been dipping into it slowly, savoring a man - and a spirit - that is to be treasured.

Frankie himself is amazing for his ability to have been fully himself, and to have made his life's most powerful work be the expression of who he is through his art form, the dance.

Yes, it's a treasure-trove of wonderful stories, at which Frankie is a master. And, the value of story-telling is the insights it gives on what it is to be fully human.

I got to know Frankie in London and Sweden, and being able to sit and listen to him is, as Mickey Davidson says, the profound pleasure of sitting at the feet of the Elders. There is much wisdom in this man, as well as much fun. He has, as all great artists do, brought that wisdom, and his soul, into his work. He has, thereby, touched hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of people, dancers and non-dancers.

It looks like Ms. Millman largely made the wise choice to let his words and his story take front and center. If you've heard him tell stories before, you can hear his voice - and his infectious laugh - come through the pages. This book is worth reading for anyone interested in knowing what decency and grace people are truly capable of, no matter what people around them are doing.

If I have a gripe, it is that the end of the book (which talks about the resurgence of Lindy and Frankie in the '80s) does not truly do justice to how profound as well as international Frankie's reach has been. By simply being who he is and doing what he loves and does best, Frankie has been kept increasingly busy traveling around the world - to Australia, Japan, eastern as well as western Europe, throughout Asia - asked to share what he does and what he knows. There's no big celebrity machine grinding out PR and Marketing on him to set up these trips - dancers see or hear about him, are touched in some way by him, and want to know more about what he knows. So they call him up, and ask him to come to an event, and if he has time, you're in his schedule, solid. It's a simple process based on trust - he trusts you to do what you say, and you can count on it that he'll do what he's said.

The picture on page 192 of Frankie dancing with Norma is worth the price of the book in itself, for having captured on Frankie's face the sheer joy that comes from connecting to the music, your partner, your body's capabilities for expressing all that words are inadequate for. Thank you, Cynthia, for getting him out there at long last.