The Jam Cellar || Swing Dance and Lindy Hop

If you've been dancing for a while, you've probably heard the name Frankie Manning thrown around a bunch. Frankie was and is arguably one of the best Lindy Hoppers to ever grace the floor. This collection of clips will be testament to that.

However, aside from his dancing skill, he's is probably one of the most positive, inspirational people you will ever come across. At 92 years of age, Frankie is still dancing and teaching all over the world. After knee surgery, hip replacements and a long life, he is still one of the best dancers you'll ever see and his spunk and zest for life is infectious.

He has a book about his life coming out, 15 years in the making. It's available for pre-sale on Amazon.com. If you are a dancer, or just someone looking to hear a story from an miraculous man, pick up this book.

Now, the clips …

First, go back and watch Hellzapoppin' and Keep Punchin' from my Whitey's Lindy Hoppers post. Frankie was the lead dancer for the group and you can see him dancing in both of those clips.

Besides that…

Cottontail – Duke Ellington Soundie AKA Hot Chocolates (1941)

Frankie is wearing the trench coat.

The Spirit Moves (1950)

Here you see Frankie in a documentary called The Spirit Moves. The Spirit Moves is a documentary done by a Russian Ballet dancer named Mura Dehn. Six hours of awesome dancing. Wear out your copy like we've all done.

Frankie in the 1980s

Here you see Frankie, in his 70s, getting down. This clip rules. Excuse the outfits… it was the 80s.

Frankie Show Us How It's Done (2005)

This clip was taken at a dance two years ago here in DC. You might recognize some faces. He was 90 in this clip.

Also, check out this week's Yehoodi Talk Show. Frankie is interviewed.

Also, he was recently interviewed on CBS News.

Frankie still teaches all over the world. If you ever get a chance, don't pass up the opportunity. He's an incredible inspiration and a great great man.

Once again… Buy his book!

On January 20, 2007, Jam Cellar held our first ever solo run dance party at the gorgeous and historic Glen Echo Park Spanish Ballroom. The music, provided by our favorites, The Boilermaker Jazz Band, had the amazing crowd of over 700 people tearing that floor up!

That night, we held a swing dance contest and it was tight! Here's a video of the finalists going head to head to the amazing sounds of the Boilermakers!

Congratulations to all the dancers, especially the winners: Jeremie Anderson & Lily Matini!

Though this has been posted before, I wanted to share with you all Whitey's Lindy Hopper's version of the Big Apple.

Get down with this!

Keep Punchin’ aka Jitterin’ Jitterbugs (1939)

Also, here's another clip of some Lindy Hoppers doing the Big Apple at the Savoy Ballroom:

In honor of our upcoming Roaring Twenties Workshop & Dance Party happening March 17, 2007. I thought I would post a clip of our special guest instructors Chad Fasca & Midori Asakura winning the Fast Dance division at the 2004 American Lindy Hop Championships with a completely joyful Peabody & Charleston routine.

Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

This isn't a dance clip…

… but it's incredible.

The Texas Tommy is more than just a step. It's actually a turn of the century dance. It is said to have influenced Lindy Hop a lot (much like Charleston has). Here it is danced in 1914 in San Francisco. You'll notice the partner stuff more near the end of the clip.

More on the Texas Tommy…
http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3tex1.htm

George is one of the old school Savoy Lindy Hoppers. He's less well known because he wasn't really into performing. However, at the Savoy people knew him as one of the bombest guys on the floor. His footwork, even in 1983, was fucking incredible and I'm told he felt amazing to dance with. I could watch this clip for hours.

Margaret danced with George until he passed away. She also won the last Harvest Moon Ball with him. Margaret dances in NYC and works with The NY Swing Society. Aside from being one of the sweetest woman in the world, we owe her a great deal for what she has done since the late 70s to promote and vitalize our dance. Like George, she one of the lesser known legends of our dance scene.

Shorty George Snowden was part of the Lindy Hoppers that were a "generation" before Whitey's Lindy Hoppers and that crew that we are more familiar with. Frankie Manning claims George as one of his greatest influences.

Yes, Count Basie did name that song after him. Yes, he is credited with naming the dance "Lindy Hop". And… yes… the step "Shorty George" is his creation. Go little man!

Ask Uncle Sol (1937)

Here is Shorty with his partner "Big Bea" pretty rare 1937 clip. Shorty and Big Bea were pretty widely known in NYC for being comically matched. However, as you can see in this clip they are matched in much more ways than just funny ones.

After Seben (1929)

Check out the date. 1929. Here you see can see the intersection between Charleston and Lindy Hop. Also, here you can see Shorty dancing in 1929. He's one half of the last couple that comes out. He's announced as "Shorty Stump". Sadly, I don't know his partners name. Chick Webb's band provides the music.

As a first post, I'd like to focus on some classics. Whitey's Lindy Hoppers were a group of dancers in Harlem in the 1930's and 1940's. They were hand picked by a bouncer, turned team organizer at the Savoy Ballroom named Herbert White. Whitey's traveled the world showing people their skills and found themselves in many Hollywood Films and shorts.

They were, and always will be, the best.

Hellzapoppin' (1941)

The best Lindy Hop troupe to ever exist, Whitey's Lindy Hoppers dance. Slim & Slam and company play the tunes. What you get is the best Lindy Hop clip recorded. Enjoy.

Keep Punchin' aka Jitterin' Jitterbugs (1939)

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers yet again. This clip starts with them doing their version of the Big Apple in it's spirited and most raucous forms. After that, you'll see a short staged contest. A classic and bound to please.

Day At The Races (1939)

This classic Marx Brothers film also has some of the greatest early dancing you'll find. The dancers, once again, are Whitey's Lindy Hoppers. Duke Ellington provides the band and Ivie Anderson provides the pipes.

Boy! What a Girl! (1943)

This isn't exactly Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, but it's mostly, so I couldn't leave it out. Credited as The "International Jitterbugs", this clip is a hot little number.

There are many more clips where you can find Whitey's dancers dancing, but, we'll leave it at this for now.

For more about Whitey's Lindy Hoppers visit…
http://www.savoystyle.com/whiteys_lindy_hoppers.html

For more about the Savoy Ballroom…
http://savoyballroom.com/

Welcome to the Jam Cellar Video Blog. Here we will post links to different dance clips that we either find interesting, enlightening, or just plain fun.

Watching video clips can really help dancers learn and can be really inspiring. Most dancers that have been around for a while have had a phase where they were addicted to clip watching. Some take it pretty seriously, but that's not necessary.

Luckily, thanks to all the video sharing sites out there now (YouTube, Google Video, MySpace Video) you don't have to go trading copies of worn out VHS tapes with your friends as much anymore.

We will give you a bit of context for the clips, but will try to keep the jibba-jabba to a minimum.

However, we do know that these clips can be pretty hard to watch because of the shoddy quality of them and the technological medium, so we suggest you check out these places where you can, for a VERY small fee, have them in DVD or VHS format:

Original Jitterbugs
http://www.balboanation.com/republic/lofiversion/index.php?t670.html
This huge collection is well worth it the 15 bucks. If you are in a hurry, you can download it here.

SavoyStyle.Com's Collection
http://www.swingdanceshop.com/
This is where I purchased all my collection of old clips. They have so much here. I highly suggest you support these guys.

Anyhow, we hope you enjoy this blog.

Andy & The Jam Cellar Crew