Over 20 performing groups will be strutting their stuff during the evening dances, spotlighting the very best of performance Lindy hop in the world. Taking place on Saturday evening, May 23rd, is a black-tie gala event with a Savoy-style “Battle of the Bands” pitting the Harlem Renaissance Orchestra against Frank Foster and His Loud Minority and George Gee and His Make-believe Ballroom Orchestra in the 12,000-square-foot Hammerstein Ballroom. Over 40 hours of dancing to live music are planned over the five-day festival. Manning will be memorialized in a service open to the public on Friday, May 22 at 10:00 AM at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church (at 59th Street.) A traditional Second Line, led by the David Otswald and the Gully Low Jazz Band, will wend its way through the streets and the park to a dance at the Naumberg Bandshell in Central Park.

A number of top jazz artists will perform during the week. 'Essential reading for anyone interested in this rich period in the development of America's indigenous dance and music.Frankie Manning, the legendary Savoy ballroom dancer, Tony-award winning choreographer and “Lindy Hop ambassador”-who passed away one month shy of his 95th birthday on April 27th-will be memorialized with a five-day festival of music and dance in New York City from May 21-25. 'Sit down with the book and you will feel you've sat down with Frankie in person to hear the wonderful story of his life.' - Swing Dancer Magazine 'This vivid memoir by one of swing dancing's innovators and stars is a must for lovers of dance, jazz and African-American history.' - Publishers Weekly

Manning brings the swing era vividly back to life with his recollections of the crowded ballrooms and of Lindy hoppers trying to outdo each other in spectacular performances. In this fascinating autobiography, choreographer and Tony Award winner ( Black and Blue) Manning recalls how his first years of dancing as a teenager at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom led to his becoming chief choreographer and a lead dancer for Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, a group that appeared on Broadway, in Hollywood musicals, and on stages around the globe. In the early days of swing dancing, Frankie Manning stood out for his moves and innovative routines he introduced the air step in the Lindy hop, a dance that took the US and then the world by storm.

Frankie manning ambassador of lindy hop