The
Frankie Manning Foundation had a nice surprise as 2015 came to an end: Two of our Ambassadors were in a performance chosen among the Top Ten Dance Performances of the year in the Bay Area. They were chosen among luminaries in the fields of ballet and modern dance, such as the San Francisco Ballet, Twyla Tharp and Paul Taylor. And why not? We hope that our Ambassadors will be “spreading the joy of Lindy hop” and what better way than in a notable performance.
Traci Bartlow, artistic director of Starchild Dance in Oakland CA attended Herrang in our first summer, 2011. After meeting Ambassador Ray Davis, who went to Herrang in 2013, she invited him to join her performances of the history of urban dance.
“The excitement surrounding Starchild Dance is over its rare, immersive ‘dance-through-time’ experience, showcasing African roots and nearly 100 years of urban dances coming together. From Lindy Hop to Hip-Hop, audiences are enlightened to the authentic jazz and social dances that rose from the African American experience of the 1920s and gave birth to today’s urban dance styles.” Dance Informa

Traci Bartlow, artistic director of Starchild Dance and Ray Davis