RIP in 2009

[lindyhop]

Frankie Manning passed away on Monday. I posted this thread about him last year. I knew he was in the hospital with pneumonia which is not a good thing when you're 94 years old. Now the big celebration in New York at the end of May will be a memorial instead of the planned 95th birthday party.

Frankie influenced dancers all over the world. There was a big write-up in the LA Times on Tuesday. I didn't realize he was the first dancer to do an "air step" or aerial. I feel privileged that I got to take his classes at several dance camps and dance the Shim Sham with him leading hundreds of us from the stage. Despite his injury last year he stayed as active as he could and shared his stories until the end.