[Tango-L] Frankie Manning, r.i.p.

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

--- On Tue, 4/28/09, Crrtango at aol.com <Crrtango at aol.com> wrote:
> No, this isn't about tango but about a great dancer
> nonetheless.   For many of us "older" tango dancers, swing was our first
> dance.   My first tango teaching job was at Sandra Cameron Dance Center where there were a number of pictures of Frankie Manning, one of the greatest swing dancers ever, Lindy Hop specifically, still dancing and teaching and doing a great job of it well into his eighties.   

Ok, I'll relate this to tango.  Frankie Manning is a good example of a dance genre perhaps being defined too narrowly stylistically.  There were hundreds of Lindy Hop dancers during the big band era but most disappeared.  Frankie was rediscovered and his style is what most know as Lindy Hop.  However, I'm sure that with so many dancers, there were many other styles available too.  I understand that there's some debate in the Lindy Hop community over "authenticity".  With so many dancers gone, how is it possible to decide what was authentic and what wasn't?  Frankie, himself created new steps and aerials.  I wouldn't be surprised if it caused a stir with "social dancers", yet aerials are now an accepted part of Lindy Hop.  Someone else can comment on their social acceptability.

I've heard that a similar situation occurred with tango DJ's.  Less than a handful of deejays existed after the military was overthrown, so their tastes developed the sound heard at milongas today.  Perhaps the other deejays had other music preferences.  Daniel Trenner commented that Fresedo was the most popular of the tango orchestras but few recordings exist.

Same thing with farming in Russia.  When the farms in Russia opened up to the West, some had to switch their farming practices to include the hybrids American companies wanted.

>From many varieties to just a few, just like in tango.  However, now new dancers are creating new movements, just like Frankie Manning and the Lindy Hoppers of today.  

Trini de Pittsburgh