Remembering Frankie...

April saw a great loss to the dancing scene... Frankie Manning passed away on April 27th 2009.
Although I was not able to meet the "Ambassador of swing" I feel like he is the reason me and so many others are dancing. Anyone who has ever seen Hellzapoppin understands what I mean.
I'm sure there are many other blogs by people more eloquent than I am, so I will let them describe the amazing person that he was.

The whole reason I am bringing this up is because of what Shesha & Niki did for our little OC swing scene. The day after Frankie passed, Shesha opened up his venue for all to come dance and morn Frankie Manning. Atomic had no cover charge that night. And it wasn't just a free night to dance. It was much more. They had a moment of seilence, words about him and how he effected their lives, shim sham, big apple and even a small dance routine from Hellzapoppin performed by Jermery and Laura. I don't know how many people out there would have done something like this for all of us dancers. It was a amazing gesture. And if you think about how much they could have made by charging a cover that night... it just shows the stength of charecture of Shesha and his lovely wife.

Another unexpected benefit of this was that a few of my friends that are just starting to learn to dance contacted me. This was the text message I got... "Dancing FREE tomorrow at Atomic. Some old dude died i guess. You coming?" At first I was pissed! How dare they be so flippent about it. How dare he not even know his name! He shouldn't even be allowed to come! But then it hit me. This is the point. What would help the Lindy scene the most? I sent back... "Unless you researched WHO passed, and what he meant to the Lindy Hop you can't come. >:(" 20mins later I got back one about who Frankie was and a thank you for telling him to look it up. I told him to send that off to all the other new dance-lings he has invited. Everyone showed up with a lot more knowledge and feelings about the importance of that night.

Things like this always remind me why I love the people that swing dance. Sure there is drama and sure there is a few issues with people... But really, the people that dance... LOVE their dance. They love the music, they love the scene, they love the people that make it possible. Not many places in the world can you go where there is 300 plus people and not worry about a fight breaking out, people stealing purses or just general rudeness.

In conclusion... Thank you Frankie for doing so much for this dance. Thank you Shesha & Niki for doing so much for our OC scene. Thank you dancers for loving Lindy Hop!