The Lindy Hop · 1928 – 2028
One hundred years of the Lindy Hop, told in paint, film and photographs.
A multimedia art show
The Frankie Project is a multimedia art show celebrating the first hundred years of the Lindy Hop and honouring one of its great pioneers, Frankie Manning. From the first Swing Era of the 1920s to the revival that began in the 1980s, the show traces the dance's story in paint, film and photographs, building towards the Lindy Hop's centenary in 2028.
Who was Frankie Manning?
Frankie Manning was one of the most significant innovators and choreographers of vernacular jazz in the Swing Era, the dancer who helped catapult Lindy Hop from the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem onto the world stage.
He performed alongside jazz greats including Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Billie Holiday and Cab Calloway. When new generations embraced Swing afresh in the 1980s, Frankie was at the epicentre of the revival, teaching, performing and telling his stories until his passing in 2009.
A personal history
Swing is in Denise's blood. Her grandmother was a 1920s flapper who taught her the Charleston; her mother, born in 1925 and raised on Big Band music, taught her to swing dance in the kitchen. When Denise discovered the "Lindy Hop" in the early 1990s, the name was new but the feeling wasn't. She had come home.
She knew Frankie for many years as friend, mentor and dance partner. He was her teacher for over fifteen years, and in 1994 he asked her to start teaching Lindy.
The show gathers the paintings she has made of Frankie and her circle of dance friends from the 1990s and early 2000s, the articles she wrote for dance magazines, memorabilia and photographs, clips from her personal film library of Frankie and Denise teaching and performing together, and a book about Frankie now in progress. It is a memoir of the rebirth of the Lindy, as she lived it.
“Ah one, ah two, you know what to do!”
Follow the project on Patreon
The show is a work in progress, and patrons make it possible. Each month patrons get dance clips from Denise's personal film library, much of it never released publicly, alongside paintings coming to life, first excerpts from the Frankie book, Frankie's own stories, and historical gems you won't find anywhere else.
If you love the Lindy Hop, I'd love you to join us. – Denise
$1/ month
A monthly update on how the show is developing and what's coming next.
$5/ month
A monthly behind-the-scenes post: a new article on the first 100 years of Lindy Hop, a virtual visit to Denise's studio as the show pieces are painted, or a sneak preview of her book on Frankie.
Plus The Inside Scoop
Join$10/ month
One dance clip a month from Denise's film library, some never made public. Authentic steps and styling from Frankie and friends.
Plus everything above
JoinMost popular
$20/ month
Technical and styling tips on the month's step, or a legendary story told by Frankie or one of his friends, with clips from Denise's personal film library.
Plus everything above
JoinMembership is handled by Patreon. Cancel any time.
Bring the Frankie Project to your scene
As the show tours, Denise would love to collaborate with local talent for live performances and workshops that help promote your scene. To bring the Frankie Project to your dance community, or to support the project with a one-time donation, get in touch:
