Also went to Herrang, though it was after he passed. I was fortunate enough to meet and take a class with him at Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association (the sisters who brought him out of retirement)
Second time seeing lindy hop related thread on HN. Are there many practitioners here? Very excited and sad as I don't see I can go back to this hobby anytime soon.
At least one here :-) I've been to Herrang a few times as well, but unfortunately after Frankie Manning's retirement. I got to listen to Dawn Hampton though which was great. It's pretty popular with tech people (at least in Australian and UK circles) so I'm sure there are more of us on HN.
(Herrang is a small village (pop 400) in Sweden which becomes an international swing dancing festival / camp for 5 weeks each summer)
Frankie Manning has a good autobiography published - https://frankiemanning.com/book.php well worth reading for an idea of what his days looked like. He was at some historic events like battle of the bands with Count Basie and Duke Ellington.
Re. missing the dancing: I know it's not the same as the real thing, but have you tried joining some "local" zoom classes? I found it really fun to drop in to a random one across the world.
My scene seems to be dominated by teachers (the older participants) and social sciences/pedagogy/psychology people (the students): the local university is strong in those fields.
Danced the Lindy for nearly 20 years. About six months into it, I visited Herräng. Picture the main dance house: a huge spacious hardwood dance floor, cute decorations over the walls, a custom-built DJ booth at the back, and standing at the front was Dawn Hampton.
Dawn was a short woman whose talents spanned dance, music, songwriting, and anything Cabaret. Her favourite song was Count Basie's Splanky.
I had arrived at Herräng during setup week, and got to know some of the crew who run the show, plus a few secrets---password for free Internet, less-frequented shower areas, and to avoid laundry duty at all costs.
Between the DJ booth and Dawn were countless dancers sitting, mostly cross-legged, eating up her every single word.
So on that afternoon while Dawn was holding the crowd's attention, I was up in the DJ booth, gazing over everyone, a clear view of Dawn at the other end. When she asked, "Who wants to do Splanky with me?" nobody budged. It took me a half-second later to shout, "I do!" I launched myself off the platform, leap-frogged over people's heads, and managed to score a dance with Dawn Hampton to her favourite song.
See when Dawn danced with you, she danced _with_ you. She held your gaze, recognized you as a person, played with you, back-led with you, showed you how to embody the music with your movements. She adapted to your level and made you look like a pro. She and Frankie Manning were Lindy Hop.
The really awesome part about Dawn (and musicality) was how open she was to the beat and the sound. One of my favorite videos is of her dancing to Bhangra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwsTIp2KDfc
There surely are, but we’re still in covid-control mode for a few things, and social dancing is probably one of the most effective infectious disease spreading activities I could imagine. :)
Was very much into it from like 1999-2008. Taught lindy classes locally for a number of years. Frankie, and notably Dawn Hampton as well, were huge inspirations. Until knee problems forced me to quit, lindyhop/dancing was probably the most joyful activity I've experienced.
Swing dancer from Honolulu here -- primarily Balboa, followed by Lindy, Charleston, and Blues. Really looking forward to dancing again, which hopefully be safe again before too many more months go by.
I like the little detour through "uncritical analysis of rent control in post-WW I New York" which shows that the author is at least ignorant of one topic, and perhaps others.
"What they often found was discriminatory high rents. Rent was exorbitant for black New Yorkers in the 1920s: A study by the New York Urban League in 1927 found that rent for black New Yorkers had doubled since 1919 while increasing only 10 percent for white residents. Black residents had to pay far more than white residents for virtually identical apartments."
New York passed rent control in April 1920, as a result of skyrocketing rents due to a housing shortage caused by WW 1. It had provisions for control for renters with tenure.
Meanwhile, this period saw an enormous influx of black people to specifically Harlem.
Additionally, there was significant inflation beginning on 1920 on the heels of monetary policy used to address the War (resulting, ultimately in the Depression of 1920-21).
So, supply is low, demand is high, including inflationary pressures. The legislatures pass laws to curtail rents on existing tenants, leaving only new tenants to suffer the burdens of rent increases.
So, while it may be easy to say "black people paid higher rent, must be discrimination" - and some of that might be true - it is probably more fair to say that a poorly-considered rent-control scheme coupled with the results of monetary policy during WW1 and an accident of demographic change, resulted in a coincidence.
New renters paid significantly more rent that tenured renters. New renters happened to be black, because that demographic was shifting.
It is notable that the principal region - Harlem - had been a traditionally Jewish area, and whatever discrimination looks like today, it's not like Jewish New Yorkers were getting a free pass on discrimination in the 1920s. It is much more likely that delta in demographics was largely coincidental.
Started dancing back in the 90s in LA after the Swingers hype. Became of of the regulars at the Derby and other LA spots ( Satin Ballroom, Moras modern rhythmists on mondays). I met my wife there then and we are still together after all these years. I miss those hey days! Got to see Frankie several times, and the nickolas brothers, and all the old timers from the OG LA scene from the Balboa ballroom in the 30s and 40s, Hal Takier, Bart). Such an amazing time. Got to dance for the last time right before the lockdowns. Glad I live with my dance partner. I feel for you all who don’t! Doing swing outs with the doorknob on an open door was one way I practiced back in the day. That’s still COVID friendly!
I was fortunate enough to take a workshop with Frankie Manning around 2004 or 2005 at the Atomic Ballroom in Orange County. He was an incredible teacher, and the ladies who got to dance with him to demonstrate moves were absolutely blushing. It’s such a shame that he spent so many years undeservedly in obscurity. I like to think that he knew how much he meant to so many people, but it doesn’t replace what he should have had. A wonderful dancer and a wonderful man.
So what would be the appropriate compensation for a dance move? Abd who should pay? Everytime you want to dance, sum together the value of your dance moves and pay to the global dance move organization?
Or should there be dance watchers at every venue, and present you with a bill at the end of the evening?
Should there be an app for that? Could the Apple watch detect if you do a Lindy Hop, and advise an automatic donation to BLM?
We've banned this account for trolling. Could you please stop creating accounts to break HN's rules with? You've done it a ton, and it just destroys this place. That's not in your interest. The idea of HN is to beat the internet odds (if possible) and have a forum that remains interesting and hovers at least a little above the suckage line. If you keep pushing its head underwater, that just kills it for everyone, you included. How does that help anybody or improve anything?
I don't see anything like that suggested in the article.
The article gives recognition to someone whose contributions to arts and culture may not be known by many, and explains why they went underappreciated.
Can't wait to get back to Swing 46 someday!