Ithaca College

Ithaca College Swing Dance Club dances participates in the worldwide tribute to the late great Frankie Manning, one of the founding father of Swing Dance.

     Frankie Manning was one of the key originators of Swing Dance, at first called "Lindy Hop." The dance began and developed in Harlem NY. Frankie became a chief choreographer and dancer, participating in several Hollywood films before his temporary retirement from performing in the late 1940s. But he never stopped swing dancing, going out several nights a week.

     In the 1980s, an individual who later became very influential in the swing dance revival (Steven Mitchell) asked Frankie to teach Lindy Hop, although he had never taught before. "The only count we knew was Count Basie." Frankie was persuaded to teach and choreograph, eventually traveling all over the world for this purpose. He is virtually single-handedly responsible for the Lindy Hop revival in the 1990s-2000s. Frnakie continued to dance and teach well into his 95th year of life. He passed on in 2006.

    Frankie wanted his choreography the "Lindy Chorus" to be his legacy - "Dance the Lindy Chorus in memory of me."   Participating in the worldwide 2014 "Frankie 100" celebration, the Ithaca College Swing Dance Club learned the Lindy Chorus, adding their own wild improvisations at the end, as is expected in Lindy Hop. The performance was filmed on April 23.  The YouTube link is: http://youtu.be/-tCJrxeKX4o