Big Band Swing pros come to USU

“If you don’t like swing, you don’t like fried chicken.”

This was the back of 92-year-old Frankie Manning’s t-shirt on Saturday as he taught a room full of people how to dance Big Band Swing and the Lindy Hop.

Lindy Hop pioneer in the 1930s and ’40s, Manning and dancing pair Steven Mitchell and Virginie Jensen taught workshops on swing this weekend as the guests at the annual Harlem Nights Bash. People traveled from Rexburg to Provo for the weekend, said Ben Sundberg, the activities chairman for the Big Band Swing Club.

Sundberg said they are lucky to get Manning, Mitchell and Jensen. It is the second time Manning has come and the first time Mitchell and Jensen have come to USU, he said.

Stephanie Ashby, a junior in chemistry, said she enjoys coming to the workshops because there are different dance styles.

“When you all learn in the same area, everyone has basically the same style. At the workshops, you get a different view and make it your own,” she said.

Manning said he loves swing because it is a partner dance and it brings people together.

“You fall in love for about two and a half minutes. You’re in love with the person you’re dancing with and the music and the moves,” he said. “I haven’t seen a Lindy Hopper who wasn’t smiling.”

Another draw of the dance is history, said Mitchell, who drew Manning back into the world of dance in the 1980s.

“You get a chance to step in the past,” Mitchell said, pointing at Manning. “I don’t think people realize what a gift this is. In other fields, you don’t get to work with your inspiration. He is the closest I’ll ever get to Ella Fitzgerald or Duke Ellington, listening to his stories.”

Manning said, “It gives these youngsters a chance to dance a dance that maybe their grandmother or great grandmother danced at one time.”

The room was full of sneakers and saddle shoes, as Manning looking 30 years younger than his actual age demonstrated dance moves.

As people tried the moves, Manning called out, “If I can get this low, I don’t want to see anyone with their heads higher than mine.”

The weekend ended in Hyrum’s Elite Hall with the annual Hellzapoppin’ dance competition.

“It’s a marriage between the dance and the music,” Mitchell said, explaining why people dance. “It’s difficult to explain because it’s so spiritual. It speaks to you.”

“I like the freedom of the dance,” Jensen added. “Whatever is in your heart you can see.”

-dilewis@cc.usu.edu