Frankie Month 2016

… 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.

Learn & Review Frankie’s Favorite Steps

Celebrate Frankie’s Favorite Dance Moves

This is a time to learn and explore Frankie Manning’s favorite dance steps. Click here for a resource list of Frankie’s favorite steps.

Tune in to social media for a special series of videos that will be shared throughout the month as part of the “Frankie Moves” Video Project, put together by Sing Lim.

Also, be sure to check your Facebook settings to ensure that you aren’t missing important Frankie Manning Foundation updates. Click here to learn how to check your settings to ensure that you don’t miss our updates.

Mark May 26th by Suiting up Swing Style – #TheLindyLook

On Frankie’s actual birthday, May 26th, celebrate lindy hop and the swing era by donning your favourite swing threads. Whether that means capturing the spirit of the Savoy Ballroom in its 1920-50s pomp or simply wearing your favorite event t-shirt, the choice is yours. Have your photo taken at work, in your office, at your desk, at a cafe, on the street or wherever you may go and use the hashtag #TheLindyLook to share it on social media. More details here.

Change your Profile Picture

If you were lucky enough to ever have your photo taken with Frankie, make it your profile photo on Facebook and on other social media platforms in May. Or, capture your love for lindy hop in your profile photo in another way with your favorite dancing photo, swing pose, or in your best swing outfit.

Tell us about your event!

Are you holding a Frankie Month event? Fill out this form with your details.

We’d love to hear from you! By the end of May, we hope to see a variety of celebrations across the world!

Here’s an example of a great way to celebrate Frankie’s spirit and legacy:

The Big Apple Conspiracy

Recently, Frankie Manning Ambassador Rafal Pustelny sent the following message to New Yorkers. He announced an event for Frankie month that was collaborative, unifying and inclusive– truly in the Frankie spirit:

“Hello New York!

A while ago, [fellow Ambassador] Joshua Mclean together with Tori Cushing taught a very affordable workshop that strengthened their scene in Seattle. I felt inspired and thought to myself, why not do the same in New York City?!

After numerous meetings and conversations between organizers and teachers in the city, we finalized the ideas and this workshop came to life.

I want this workshop to bring the scene together – all five boroughs . Forget about different studios or scenes – when You do the Big Apple it’s all about dancing with people around You and with the music. Judy Pritchett once said that it’s hardly a solo routine, because it brings people together!
Let’s celebrate Frankie’s Month by learning a routine that He choreographed.
I hope to see all of You there!
Best,
Rafal

Rafal included a link to a clip of the original Keep Punching Big Apple routine on You Tube:
http://youtu.be/trsX4GWdc94

Frankie Month on eBay

Frankie Manning at Savoy Ballroom Poster by Richard Yarde

AUTOGRAPHED COPY Frankie Manning Ambassador of Lindy Hop

Frankie Manning Foundation T-Shirt

Frankie Manning Commemorative Book

We will also have a beautiful replica of the Savoy Ballroom Plaque up for auction on May 12th!

Watch social media for updates!

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 from your Frankie Month activities to the Frankie Manning Foundation. The Frankie Manning Foundation preserves Frankie’s legacy 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, Google+ & Pinterest pages.