The Game Dame

Consider yourself warned: This post has nothing to do with WoW, but with something else that has been a huge part of my life.

Frankie Manning, the Tony-award winning Father of Lindy Hop, died yesterday at the age of 94. May he rest in peace. The LA Times wrote a wonderful obituary for him, as did the New York Times.

I got the opportunity to take dance classes from him and listen to him tell stories at Swing Camp Catalina, a yearly event (now defunct) hosted by Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association. The sisters who run PBDA taught me how to dance. They were also the ones who brought Frankie out of retirement in 1986 to help teach Lindy Hop around the world, giving all of us dancers a chance to meet him, learn to dance from him, and hear his tales. Frankie connected me to history all the way back to the invention of Lindy Hop and, as such, I felt I could be a part of that history myself, simply by carrying on the dance.

Frankie is also bound up with my earliest memories of falling in love with my husband. On the boat to Catalina for our first Swing Camp together, my then-boyfriend gave me a card that indicated his intention to one day propose to me. I’ll never forget the thrill of feeling lightheaded while bouncing over the waves, snuggled next to him, on the way to dancing together at the historic Catalina Casino Ballroom.

Even if you don’t know who Frankie Manning was, you’ve been thrilled by his work. Remember that Gap Khaki ad from 1998? Those lifts and throws (called “aerials”) were invented by Frankie Manning. Well into his 80s, Frankie could still do a lot of these moves.

Here’s a clip of Frankie dancing with the joy I always saw in him and that he transferred to everyone he met. (Frankie is the first man you see dancing, the one with the mechanic’s hat.)

Goodbye, Frankie, and thank you so much for everything.