“Twistmouth George” aka “Susquehanna” aka George Ganaway. The dancer known as “Twistmouth George” –no doubt to distinguish him from his rival, “Shorty George”– was one of the great dancers and innovators from the earliest days of the Savoy Ballroom. He went on to become a professional solo dancer and did not frequent the Savoy Ballroom […]
Category: Biography
Leroy “Stretch” Jones
A popular first generation Lindy Hopper, in the early years of the Savoy Ballroom (1927 to early 1930’s), Leroy “Stretch” Jones was one of Frankie Manning’s idols. Frankie thought of him as the Fred Astaire of Lindy Hop, with his grace and flashy movements. His partner Little Bea was like Ginger Rogers. Stetch was 6 […]
“Shorty George” Snowden
Shorty George Snowden was the top dancer in the Savoy Ballroom from its opening in 1927 into the early 30’s, when he formed the first professional Lindy Hop troupe, the Shorty Snowden Dancers. They performed with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra at the Paradise Club downtown through most of the thirties. Although he was barely five […]
Russell Williams
Russell Williams/Rasul Ali was a dancer with Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers who won the Harvest Moon Ball competition with partner Connie Hill in 1937 or 38. They are shown dancing together in the famous photo above. After WW2 he danced in Frankie Manning’s Congaroos. His untimely death occurred in the 1960s when he was trying to […]
Willa Mae Ricker
Willamae Ricker was one of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, featured in the famous 1943 LIFE Magazine story on the Lindy Hop with Leon James, along with the white Broadway dancers, Stanley Catron and Kaye Pop whose picture appears on the cover. The photographs of individual dance steps by Gjon Mili are sensational. Especially notable is a […]
Billy Ricker
Billy Ricker and his high school sweetheart and wife, Willa Mae , were close friends with Frankie Manning from their pre-Savoy days in the early 30’s at the Rennaissance Ballroom till Ricker’s death in 1987. Ricker was a member of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers and later worked as one of Norma Miller’s Jazzmen. Billy Ricker is […]
Mildred Pollard
Mildred Pollard aka Sandra Gibson also known as “Boogie” One of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers. Her name changed after she married Chocolateer tap dancer Albert “Gib” Gibson, but she was best known by her nickname, “Boogie”. Don’t miss her solo dance in Mura Dehn’s The Spirit Moves to see how she earned her nickname. This filmclip is excerpted […]
Frankie Manning
The Ambassador of Lindy Hop 1914-2009 No one has contributed more to the Lindy Hop than Frankie Manning — as a dancer, innovator and choreographer. For much of his lifetime he was an unofficial Ambassador of Lindy Hop. Originally touring as a dancer and choreographer with Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers in the 30’s and 40’s, he […]
Al Minns
One of the great dancers of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, Al Minns was an energetic dancer with a wild, crazy-leg style reminiscent of “Long-Legged George” Grenidge. Minns was in Whitey’s top group, known as The Harlem Congaroos and appeared in the feature film Hellzapoppin’ and in the popular soundie Hot Chocolates. As the youngest dancer in […]
Norma Miller
Norma Miller The Queen of Swing Norma Miller was first discovered as a gifted young Lindy Hopper by Herbert “Whitey” White when she was just 14 years old. Since she was too young to go into the Savoy Ballroom, she often danced outside on the sidewalk where the music could be heard quite well. The […]
Dorothy “Dot” Johnson
The Lindy Hopper known as Tiny Bunch was a huge King Kong of a man, over 300 pounds, but he was a graceful and agile dancer. His partner, Dot Johnson, was quite petite like King Kong movie co-star Fay Wray. This humorous couple was immortalized by the photographer Aaron Siskind in his photo, At the […]
Ann Johnson
A wonderfully athletic and agile dancer, Ann Johnson was Frankie Manning’s partner in Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers in 1940-1942. Manning says she was like a cat: ” No matter what way I threw her, she would land on her feet…She was also a wonderful human being.”. She appeared with Manning twice in Life Magazine, once anonymously […]
