Frankie's 95th Birthday Festival

PERFORMERS Some of the best lindy hop performers and performance groups will be on hand strutting their stuff all weekend long. Confirmed performance groups include the Harlem Hotshots, Silver Shadows, Ninjammerz, and Northern Lights. More performers and performance groups will be announced in the coming months.
		Harlem Hotshots Webpage \| YouTube Harlem Hot Shots of Sweden are professional dancers whose specialty is entertainment authentic to the Swing Era. Their repertoire includes jitterbug, lindy hop, Charleston, black bottom and tap, plus acrobatics, singing and comedy. Notably, all of the company’s works are inspired by the ideals of the Swing Era, focusing on faithful reconstructions and a framework true to the period -- no modernizing. The music, dances, costumes and overall presentation all derive from authentic sources, such as vintage film clips and meetings with dancers and musicians who were active in the USA during the 1930s and 40s.

		Silver Shadows YouTube The Silver Shadows are known as one of the strongest young teams in today's lindy hop community. This international group currently hails from six different cities and two countries, reflecting the global state of our dance scene. Its eight individual members can boast over 50 first place titles from the world's most prestigious dance competitions. They have been bringing their love for lindy hop to performances for the past five years and are honored to take part in Frankie's 95th Birthday Celebration.

		Ninjammerz MySpace \| YouTube Known for their unique and powerful style, the Ninjammerz is a dance troupe focused heavily on Lindy Hop and Vernacular Jazz dancing. Together they work to recreate the style and energy of authentic jazz dancing while putting equal emphasis on the continual development of the dance. All the Ninja's are internationally recognized teachers, competitors and most of all social dancers. They spread their love of the dance daily as they travel the world emphasizing rhythm and body movement in their dancing and classes. As individuals, they have all been influenced by many great dancers, but the teams greatest asset is the fact that they all draw the most inspiration and power from each other. This creates a dynamic team filled with exciting ideas, life long friendships and the desire to share their what they have learned with the world.

		The Northern Lights Website \| YouTube KThe Northern Lights is a dance troupe from Canada highly enthusiastic about expressing and promoting the spirit of Lindy Hop and vernacular jazz dance. The team was created through the mutual desire of its members to provide a source of inspiration for each other and for their local communities. These like-minded dancers love the dance and love to share their love!

		The Jiving Lindy Hoppers Website \| YouTube 1 \| YouTube2 Celebrating twenty five years dedicated to performing the Lindy Hop, four members of the JLH are delighted to return to NY to celebrate Frankie's 95 as they did in 1994 for his 80th. Having engineered the new Lindy scene in the UK in the early 1980s, they've been on the road ever since - throughout Europe and across Japan and the USA several times in epic tours, reviving old memories and leaving in their wake hosts of new enthusiasts. Inspired by the Savoy, and its illustrious dancers, the company is dedicated through its appearances, teaching, TV and film work and dance research to ensure that the memory of the original dancers who have given us everything, never dies.

		Big Apple Lindy Hoppers Members: Lisa Casper, Chester Freeman, Lala Gahreman, Lisa Goldberg, Malcolm Holt, Shana Kalson, Shoshi Kushnir, Brian Lawton, Francesco Michelassi, Frank Nestor, Jessica Patz, Zev Rogoff, Elan Ronen, Angela Veronica Wong, Mimi Yang, directed by Laura Jeffers. The Big Apple Lindy Hoppers have been delighting audiences of all ages with exciting choreography and high-energy performances for more than 20 years. Co-founded by Frankie Manning and sponsored by the New York Swing Dance Society, the group has performed at an astounding range of events and venues, from Radio City Music Hall and Taj Mahal Atlantic City to corporate events and local dance clubs. Their goal is to play a role in keeping Lindy hop alive and kicking -- honoring the traditional lindy hop of Frankie Manning and his contemporaries and showcasing younger dancers and choreographers.

		Cleveland Jr. Jitterbugs Valerie Salstrom has been teaching swing dance forms to students of Denison Elementary School for six years through a variety of grants. This past year the grant monies did not include the 7th graders -- the group she has worked with the longest! Valerie decided to hand pick a few of the students who showed the most promise and enthusiasm for swing dancing and continue to work with them on her own time, creating the Cleveland Jr. Jitterbugs. Founding members include Derrick Summerville, Siobhan Tompkins, Catalino Lopez and Sasha Gross. To help fund the Cleveland Jr Jitterbugs, visit http://www.paalive.org/donate.html

		Stefan Durham and Bethany Powell Stefan Durham and Bethany Powell are from Texas and Maine, respectively, but were introduced to each other and to Lindy Hop in Oregon. Unlikely. Nowadays they think positive responses to their dancing are tops, but really feel they're still learning how to do this stuff right, and they must thank Frankie Manning for his vast contributions to the rhythms, the smoothness, the rawness, the joy, the glorious power of classic jazz dance, then and now."

		Vincenzo Fesi and Isabella Gregorio Vincenzo Fesi and Isabella Gregorio have taught around the world, including Herrang Dance Camp in Sweden, all over Europe, the USA, Korea and Australia. Vincenzo and Isabella believe they will be forever indebted to those who have guided them along the path to become dancers. Vincenzo started dancing in 1989 at the age of 9, but when competing at the Boogie Woogie World Championships in 1998, he was exposed to a new style of dancing: not just aerials or fancy figures, but musical interpretation and improvisation. He quickly became a fan of the swing styles of the 1930s and 1940s (lindy hop, balboa, charleston). Isabella has been dancing different styles since she was 9 years old; she also sings and studies Swing Craze era costume design. Partners since 2002, their classes and performances are full of energy and fun. With Henric Stillman and Joanna Eriksson, they created the Tutti Frutti Show troupe. They also run the Swing Crash Festival in Como, Italy. (June 17-21, 2009 www.swingcrashfestival.com)

		Harlem Hot Shots The Harlem Hot Shots is a Swedish group of professional dancers whose specialty is entertainment authentic to the Swing Era. Dances such as jitterbug, lindy hop, charleston, black bottom and tap are the company’s core repertoire, but performances also include acrobatics, singing and comedy. The group has gained international acclaim and performs frequently in Sweden as well as worldwide.

		Hot Club Stomp Hot Club Stomp is a newly formed performance group composed of champion lindy hop, balboa and collegiate shag dancers from California. Among their many competition titles, they have also been featured in film, television shows and music videos. They were inspired to form the group in honor of Frankie's 95th birthday. Members include Mikey Pedroza, Nikki Marvin, Nick Williams, Carla Heiney, Jeremy Otth, Laura Keat, Shesha Marvin and Ria DeBiase. They are honored to debut the group at this historic occasion and excited to wish Frankie a Happy Birthday!

		The Jitterbug Kids The Jitterbug Kids (JK) is a NY Lindy Hop dance troupe made up of 2 to 3 teen couples. The JK got their name after a trip to Lincoln Center in 2001 for the Midsummer Night Swing Concert. The kids started dancing for fun, incorporating their routines. Encouraged by the reactions of enthusiastic spectators, their teacher Sarina Robinson-Richards founded the Jitterbug Kids. They continue to perform throughout the city and beyond. The JK’s are honored to have lindy legend Frankie Manning as their role model and mentor. Their mission is to recapture Harlem’s Swing legacy. For more info, email thejitterbugkids@yahoo.com

		Killer Dillers Members: Nathan Bugh, Juan Villafane, and Kevin St. Laurent This vintage jazz dance troupe is dedicated to the spirit of live performance, creativity and authenticity. This weekend, Nathan Bugh, Juan Villafane and Kevin St. Laurent bring to the stage a recreation of the Berry Brothers number "Fascinating Rhythm" from the 1941 film "Lady be Good." Coming from California, Buenos Aires and New York City, these gentlemen pull from disciplines of tap, gymnastics, lindy hop, and vernacular jazz movements to bring back a very solid number that is really cooking with gas!

		Minnie's Moochers Members: Simnia Singer-Sayada, Jenna Hallas, Ramona Staffeld, Caitlin George Wellman, Sylvie Yntema, Sarah Spence Adams, Kate Engle, Lucy Engle, Ben Furnas, Skye Humphries, Robin Coleman, Andy Reid, Finian Makepeace and Mark Eckstein. Minnie's Moochers is a group of old friends who began dancing together in the 1990s. They have forever been inspired by Frankie Manning and are honored to be dancing together again, in his presence and yours, on his birthday

		New York’s Lindy Hop All-Star crew Website \| YouTube Members: Evita Arce, Eden Atencio, Matt Bedell, Roddy Caravella, Kate Graffunder, David Graybill, Michael Jagger, Jennifer Jones, Paolo Pasta Lanna and Maggie Moon. This collective began back in 1999 with an ambitious vision to unite a dazzling crew of talented local dancers, including notables Janice Wilson, Roddy Caravella, Angie Whitworth, Beverly Moore and the Late Great Tyrone Cooper (of Mamma Lou Parks). Their first performance was with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra at Roseland Ballroom. Later editions of this collective have performed at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and abroad in locations as far as Amman, Jordan and Tokyo, Japan. Now reincarnated with an expanded cast of New York talent, they’re making a splash with fresh new numbers by Choreographer Evita Arce. In Salute to Frankie, Our costumes are in the spirit of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers.

(Photo by Ryan Swift)		Tribute to the Four Congaroos Members: Michael Faltesek, Casey Schneider, Jeremy Otth, and Laura Keat Members of the Tribute to the Four Congaroos have come together to recreate an amazing and memorable performance by the Four Congaroos (Frankie Manning, Ann Johnson, Willamae Ricker and Russell Williams), filmed for the 1948 movie "Killer Diller." This dynamic team formed to share their passion and desire to preserve the history of lindy hop and the legendary Frankie Manning. The performance experiences of members includes "Dancing with the Stars," the Jerry Louis MDA Telethon, work with the Harlem Hot Shots, and countless dance events around the world. All four also teach and compete internationally.

PERFORMERS