George Gee shared out some recently rediscovered footage of 74-year old Frankie Manning leading the Shim Sham at The Cat Club on December 18th, 1988. We love him shouting out “Hey Norma, come over here!” and then Norma Miller sauntering over to dance beside him. And Frankie is clearly having a blast calling out the freezes at the end.

We still miss you, Frankie and Norma.

Other Stuff We Liked This Week:

Hey, it’s LGBT Pride Month! We’ve shared this before, but it’s still a very helpful read from Mary Blendermann: Practical Ways to Make Lindy Hop Welcoming for LGBT+ Dancers. Lots of great advice and tips in there for welcoming and supporting LGBTQ+ dancers in your scene.
Champion lindy hopper Sharon Davis is leading up an effort to recreate the Savoy Ballroom in virtual reality. “Welcome to The Savoy” is a project to reopen the doors of the now lost Savoy Ballroom, in an immersive experience at the crossroads of immersive theatre and virtual reality.

Our friend Morgan Day is an avid collector of swing memorabilia. He recently shared some spicy “Letters to the Editor” from his collection of Swing magazines from the 1940s. Check out these two about Benny Goodman and Ella Fitgerald, respectively. I guess flame wars and trolls have always existed, just in different forms.