We’re coming up on World Lindy Hop Day and Frankie 110 on May 26th and I’ve been reflecting a lot on Lindy Hop in general, but especially about my time with Frankie.

This dance was very special. Even though I had danced with Frankie before and assisted him in workshops, I remember as we danced thinking I’d never felt anything like this leading before. He completely turned on to perform and his clarity of lead and his rhythmical emphasis were so pronounced. It was an amazing experience. Love the verbal “Shake Time” queue too.

Notice that Frankie starts to swing me out on 5. People who worked with both Frankie and All Minns mentioned that when they first started to teach Lindy Hop in the 80s, they would start dancing usually on 7 or sometimes 5. It was only after teaching newbies that they switched and began to start dancing on 1 of the music. I think, as an experienced dancer, there’s a lot of freedom to emphasize different parts of each move when you shift where you are within the phrasing. Frankie always knew where he was within the musical phrase and played within that. That’s really shown well here.

I remember we danced a bit longer than the cameras show here. Too bad the rest was cut off but I will always cherish this opportunity and the memory of how he felt to dance with on that day.