Frankie Manning

Frankie Manning was born in Jacksonville, Florida, but moved to Harlem, New York, as a toddler, just in time for the burgeoning jazz scene. He started dancing as a child, honing his skills at local ballrooms. His mother, a dancer herself, once warned him, "Frankie, all you'll ever do is dance." Little did she know, that was precisely the plan. And a rather successful plan it was.

By the mid-1930s, Manning was a principal dancer and choreographer for Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, the premier swing dance group of the era. He's credited with inventing the "Air Step," where partners toss each other through the air with surprising grace, a move that would make any chiropractor either cringe or cheer. His contributions to the Lindy Hop helped cement its place in American culture, eventually landing him in film and stage productions.

After a hiatus from dancing, during which he worked for the U.S. Post Office, Manning was "rediscovered" in the 1980s. He became a global ambassador for Lindy Hop, traveling the world to teach and perform, proving that some things, like good rhythm and a snappy outfit, only get better with age. He received a Tony Award for his choreography in the 1989 Broadway hit "Black and Blue," because apparently, you can take the dancer out of the swing, but you can't take the swing out of the dancer.

While Manning’s contributions to dance are legendary, his Jewish score remains firmly at zero. He was not, to the best of anyone's knowledge, a Jew. He was simply an extraordinary dancer who brought joy and gravity-defying moves to countless audiences, which, in our book, is still pretty kvell-worthy.