CincyHop Community Activity

Join The Lindy Chorus!

A CincyHop Community Activity Presented by SupermurgaNati!

11:15am-12:45pm Sunday, Aug 3, 2025 @ Oakley Kitchen

Cost: Free w/ CincyHop Event Pass or Sunday Dance Pass

After traveling the world and performing as the lead dancer and choreographer for Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, then going off to serve in World War II, then returning home, putting away his dancing shoes, and working at the Post Office, Frankie Manning famously answered the call and came out of dance retirement in the 1980s to became Lindy Hop’s greatest ambassador. He travelled the world again. This time teaching the dance and spreading the love of one of America’s greatest art forms, a Black dance that had sprouted in Harlem, cultivated and stewarded by the descendants of slaves from its aesthetic and social roots in African culture.

Lindy Hop is a joyous gift shared by one of America’s most mistreated yet most powerfully creative communities. Today, that gift has spread - again - around the world and it is the reason we dance together in fellowship & celebration at CincyHop. Frankie did a LOT of the spreading, giving generously, energetically, creatively, and with the highest level of expertise. Sadly, Frankie is no longer with us physically, but his legacy continues to grow. It is strong in his work and in us!

Frankie created The Lindy Chorus as a social choreography and an educational performance. It was meant to teach much of Lindy Hop’s core repertoire, but more importantly, it was a routine that Lindy Hoppers could do together anytime and anywhere. Today the routine is maintained by us. It is our responsibility to maintain it, enjoy it, and share it with others. On Sunday morning at Cincy Hop, we will congregate at the church of Lindy Hop and do just that. This is an opportunity to learn Frankie’s choreography if you don’t already know it or to refresh your memory if it is fading. You are invited to put on your Sunday dance shoes and join the Lindy Chorus!

To support or learn more about Frankie Manning and the efforts of countless beautiful people inspired by him, visit https://www.frankiemanningfoundation.org/

Class Level and Details:

All students are welcome to attend and choose the level to which they participate. Frankie’s routine is not easy to learn in only an hour and a half, but we will do our best. Ideally students should already know the 8 count Lindy Swing Out and Circle as well as the Charleston basic and Tandem Charleston. It won’t hurt if students know the Texas Tommy and Suzy Q as well. One of the key points of this routine is that you can do it with anyone else who knows it, so you don’t need to bring a partner.

For those of you who want to prepare ahead of time, links to a written version, a Youtube video playlist, and mp3s of the song (Wednesday Night Hop by Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy) at different tempos can be found here:

https://www.supermurganati.com/teaching-performing-collaborative

Links:

Event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/14DenXLmYZf/

CincyHop: https://cincyhop.squarespace.com/

Image: The Lindy Chorus being performed at Beantown Lindy Hop Camp in 2002. Pictured right to left: Frankie Manning, Caitlin George, Kenneth & Helena Norbelie, Rob & Diane Van Haaren, Ben Lovelace, Trina Dobbs, Joel Domoe, Melanie Myers