Sadly, we have just been informed that continuing health concerns mean Frankie will not be able to join us. We'll miss him terribly, and hope you'll come out to enjoy appearances and classes with Lennart and eWa.

Our annual tribute to Lindy Hop legend Frankie Manning with special guests Lennart Westerlund and eWa Burak of Sweden's Rhythm Hot Shots. This great weekend features a Friday dinner dance at the Art Deco Carlyle Club, a Saturday night dance at the beautiful Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park, and dance workshops with Lennart and eWa on Saturday and Sunday.

Since its opening in 1926, the Savoy Ballroom was a mecca for dancers. Billed as the "World's finest ballroom," the Savoy was complete with large luxurious carpeted lounges and mirrored walls. The block-long ballroom had two bandstands, colored spotlights and a spring-loaded wooden dance floor. Approximately 700,000 patrons visited the ballroom annually and the floor had to be completely replaced every three years. The Savoy was appropriately nicknamed, "The home of happy feet."

Herbert White, a.k.a. Whitey, an ex-boxer and bouncer at the Savoy, organized and cultivated a group of young Lindy Hoppers and had them appear in theaters around the world as well as in films. The Lindy Hop, purportedly named after Charles Lindbergh's solo trans-Atlantic flight in 1927, signifies the entire historical period known as the Swing Era, and was the staple dance at the Savoy until it closed its doors in 1958. One of the original Whitey's Lindy Hoppers was a young Frank Manning.

No one has contributed more to the Lindy Hop than Frankie Manning—as a dancer, innovator and choreographer. For much of his lifetime he has been an unofficial Ambassador of Lindy Hop. While touring as a dancer and choreographer with Whitey's Lindy Hoppers in the '30s and '40s, he helped spread the popularity of the Lindy Hop through three continents. Since the swing dance revival of the 1980s, Frank Manning has been a driving force worldwide with his teaching, choreography and performance. His own love of swing music and dancing has been as contagious as his dazzling smile.

The Savoy tradition of the Lindy Hop continues to thrive to this date thanks to films and other documented accounts as well as living legends such as Frankie Manning. With the help of Lennart and eWa, we honor Frankie's invaluable contribution to the wonderful world of Lindy Hop.

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