The Frankie Manning Foundation presents:

FRANKIE MONTH

Announcing Frankie Month 2015

May is Frankie Month!

Frankie Manning’s birthday is May 26th but his birthdays never could be contained to just a single day of celebration. Let’s use the entire month of May to honor Frankie’s contributions to Lindy Hop and his positive spirit.

Every May, celebrate Frankie Month in your home town:

Party like Frankie! Throw a swingin’ birthday party or a lindy hop dance that Frankie would have enjoyed.
Play the music of the Savoy Ballroom and the big bands of the swing era.
Hold Frankie Manning inspired dance classes and workshops.
Share Frankie videos and stories.
Raise funds so that the Frankie Manning Foundation can continue Frankie’s mission.

The 2015 global online initiatives

Suit up Swing Style on May 26th – work #TheLindyLook

Don your favourite swing threads that best capture the spirit of the Savoy Ballroom in its 1920-50s pomp. Have your photo taken at work, in your office, at your desk, at a cafe, on the street or wherever you may go. More details here.

Recreate Frankie Photos – #iamFrankieManning

Pose like Frankie and take a snapshot to share on social media! Also send your images to photos@frankiemanningfoundation.org to add to our photo project. More details here.

The Spirit of Frankie Month

In the spirit of Frankie, we encourage you to:

Collaborate and make it inclusive within your community. Contact other dancers and local organizers and work together to make it a celebration that unites all dancers in your community.

Promote the spirit of Frankie with these values:

respect
generosity
inclusivity
humbleness
joy
authenticity to the roots of the dance

Consider donating proceeds to the Frankie Manning Foundation. The Frankie Manning Foundation preserves the legacy of Frankie and promotes Lindy Hop worldwide through events and celebrations, as well ambassador programs, scholarships and youth initiatives. The Frankie Manning Foundation relies on donations to achieve these missions. Events that make a donation to the Frankie Manning Foundation will receive special recognition on our website as all donations help to realize Frankie’s dreams in projects such as scholarships and youth programming. Contributing events will receive special recognition on our website.

As always, we hope that you’ll also join us on Facebook, Twitter, and now also on our new Google+ and Pinterest pages.

Featured Blog Posts

FMF VOLUNTEER FABRÍCIO SPEAKS ABOUT THE #IAMFRANKIEMANNING PROJECT

Hi, my name is Fabrício. I am an incurable optimist from Brazil. I love a good cup of coffee and all forms of art. I decided to be a volunteer for Frankie Manning Foundation because it is great to be part of something bigger than you that is helping to change people through dance. I also feel proud to connect our small but enthusiastic local scene the world community of lindy hop. The idea of #IamFrankieManning project is to create a symbolic bond between all of us and Frankie…

Read Fabrício’s guest blog post here.

FMF VOLUNTEER ADAM SPEAKS ABOUT SUITING UP SWING STYLE

Hey, I’m Adam and I come from one of the fastest growing Lindy hop scenes in the UK and Ireland – Belfast… I’m incredibly happy to be involved in the upcoming celebrations for Frankie Month – what would have been Frankie’s 101st birthday. We’d like as many people as possible to share in these celebrations and this is where we want you to join in by working#TheLindyLook on the 26th of May…

Read Adam’s guest blog post here.

Lindy Hop in Academia

With its origins as a street dance, Lindy Hop might seem an odd choice for academic research, but its rich history and profound impact on those who participate in its community has led to a numerous fascinating research projects and studies. At Frankie100, a panel of dancers decided to tackle this very topic, and Lindy Hop is slowly beginning to garner more attention from the world of higher education…

Read the full blog post here.

THE HARLEM SWING DANCE SOCIETY – March Update

Hello all! If you’ve been watching the weather its been EXTREMELY frigid in NYC – almost debilitating! Despite this life goes on, and The Harlem Swing Dance Society (THSDS) has interesting news to share….

Read the latest update from The Harlem Swing Dance Society here.

Featured Video

This video of Frankie Manning dancing with Dawn Hampton was taken atLindyFest in 2008. How can you help but smile at the playful and sassy dance partnership? Their dance really shows how much social dancing can really embrace partnering and musicality and that you don’t have to be flashy to create something wonderful on the dance floor. In fact, there’s something to be said about minimalism; when the music is the primary focus and inspiration, a whole lot of creativity can take place. Enjoy!

Photo by Eli Pritykin.

Featured Song

Clementine – Though Frankie Manning preferred Count Basie, Chick Webb and many of the other bands of the Savoy Ballroom, there were certain Duke Ellington songs that he enjoyed. Clementine is one of those songs. You can find it on the Let’s Do The Hop CD among other places. Make sure to add it to your jazz collection.

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