Dancing Star International

A week ago last Saturday, May 2, was my friend Frankie’s funeral in Harlem.

Frankie was a dancer.  But not just any dancer – Frankie was a key architect of the Lindy Hop.  You’ve probably heard of it as swing or Jitterbug, but if so you’ve only heard a small and inaccurate part of the story.  Its true name was Lindy Hop, and Frankie was one of the dancers who brought so much excitement to it that people all over the world wanted to know about and do it.

Frankie grew up in Harlem during the time of the big bands in the 1920s.  Among other things, he was the first to throw his partner over his back in time to the music (known as an aerial and now one of the best-known features of the dance), he introduced the idea of choreographing a performance routine to perform for audiences, and he traveled around the world during the ’30s and ’40s performing with the bands for audiences that included many luminaries, such as crowned heads of Europe.

He was also a very kind and loving man.  He didn’t say a lot (unless asked to tell stories about the “old days”, which he was frequently), but if you were a friend, you’d get a Christmas card every year, maybe postcards from one of his many travel destinations, always a warm “Hey, baby” when he heard your voice or saw your face.

After the war (that would be WWII), the music changed and there was a lot less interest in the dance he so loved.  So, he went to work in the Post Office for about 30 years.  Few if any of his fellow workers even knew he danced - he wasn’t the type to blow his own horn.  He just started a new life, and from all accounts created a new community of friends.

But then in the mid-80s a couple of young kids looked him up, because they’d seen some old movies (like Hellzapoppin’ and Day at the Races) that he’d performed in, and wanted to know about this dance they were seeing.  He was reluctant, but once they got him up to the music, he started dancing again, and didn’t stop until he died on Monday, April 27 at the age of 94, just a month shy of his 95th birthday.

Doin' the Shim Sham in his '90s!

He’s finally gotten some much-deserved recognition in recent years - much has been written about him on the internet (frankieslegacy.blogspot.com, yehoodi.com) and in the obituaries of the New York Times, etc.  Dancers from around the world will be gathering in New York City to honor him from May 21st to 26th.  We had expected that he’d be dancing with us – I suspect he will be, just not in the physical body that served him so well for so many years.

I share this story because Frankie was an inspiration to me.  He taught me that doesn’t take being pushy, nasty, or self-promoting to make your mark on the world, and that sometimes what has seemed to be over with and done can resurface in the most unexpected ways.  He taught me that it is entirely possible to make your mark on the world and on future generations just by doing what you love, by loving what you do, and by being gracious to the people you come in contact with, even when they aren’t always gracious and loving to you.

Frankie at Michelson Galleries, Northampton, MA

I’m a better person for having known him, and eternally grateful for the time I was privileged to have spent with him.