It’s always a joy to see the ways that Frankie Manning’s legacy continues to be present in dance scenes all around the world. That’s especially true in the month of May, when we celebrate Frankie’s birthday. His actual birthday is on May 26, which happens to fall on a Saturday this year. It’s a great […]
Message from Okurut George of Uganda
The Frankie Manning Foundation provided a scholarship for Okurut George of Uganda to attend the Mozambique Afro-Swing Exchange. He posted this nice acknowledgment on Facebook today about his experience: facebook Okurut George tagged you and 6 others in a post in Frankie Manning – Lindy Hop. Okurut wrote: “I need to take this moment of appreciating everyone who support […]
Lindy Hop in Central & South America
The mission of the Frankie Manning Foundation is to spread the joy of lindy hop around the world. We are happy to see new communities sprouting up in Central and South America, including in Bogota and Medellin, Colombia. Please consider supporting their campaign to improve their skills and build community at Swing Break 2018 in […]
The growth of African-American participants in the lindy hop community
Frankie Manning would be very pleased at the growth of African-American participants in the lindy hop community. Look at this post from Kenneth Shipp about Lindy Focus and Jeff Liu-Leyco‘s photo. One of my favorite moments from Focus… Before you ask, this actually wasn’t all the black folk at Focus. We couldn’t get everyone together for the number […]
Beantown’s Rhythm Ambassadors Fly to New Orleans
As you know, the Frankie Manning Foundation provides Ambassador scholarships to a number of lindy hop camps. But one program stands out… The Beantown Camp Ambassador Program, which started in 2011, has developed into something unique. Aurelie and Tony Tye of Hop to the Beat who run Beantown have gone to great lengths to keep […]
Fundraiser for Chazz Young in Toronto
Charitable Workshop in Toronto Workshop with Chachi & Mandi On Thursday, August 3rd, 2017 there will be a charitable workshop in Toronto to support Chazz Young. Who is Chazz Young? Chazz Young is a tap, jazz, and Lindy Hop dancer, was one of Norma Miller’s Jazzmen in the 1950’s, and is Frankie Manning’s son. He […]
How to Organize a Taxi Dance
Guest Post by Jo Hoffberg. Dance with your favorite instructors and raise money at the same time! Have you ever participated in a taxi dance? Taxi dances a great way to raise money for a good cause–like for the Frankie Manning Foundation–and they’re always a lot of fun for everyone involved. The basic premise […]
The One-8 Project
The green screen photo booth at Frankie 100. More than 3 years in the making, the One-8 project is a 6 song long stop motion Lindy Hop animation starring 760 dancers from 37 countries. The producers, Tim Collins and Ruchi Aviles in Mexico City, have been working hard to make this project a reality. You […]
Cynthia Millman featured on The Track
Cynthia Millman, co-author of Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop and a member of the board of directors for the Frankie Manning Foundation, has been featured on the latest edition of The Track. This month marks the 10th anniversary of the publication of the book, and is part of the conversation in the podcast. Have a […]
Lindy Hop Values – a #FrankieMonth initiative
As part of the 2017 Frankie Month initiative, we’ve put together these values that were true for Frankie and continue to be true for us at the Frankie Manning Foundation. […]
Workshop International Colombia México

When I came back from Argentina in 2012, I had the strong desire to see people enjoying this wonderful Lindy Hop dance in Medellín. After almost 4 years of trying, this desire has become a reality; today we have two important locations in the city where we teach Lindy Hop dance lessons weekly, Pablo Tobón […]
Jazz Dance Research Roundtable

Vernacular jazz dance is an important, complex, and multi-faceted cultural phenomenon. This panel brings together leading specialists in fields as diverse as history, musicology, and sociology to discuss the current state of jazz dance research, and how their work has been touched by Frankie’s life and legacy. Each panelist has dedicated significant portions of his/her […]