THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO JOINED US FOR WORLD LINDY HOP DAY 2024!
Sunday, May 26th, 2024
Celebrate the rich history of Lindy Hop! Mandi Gould and partner Osman Omar will be teaching special workshops to mark this important global event!
We will also welcome Alexander Hall whose uncle, Charlie Meade, we will be honouring. Charlie Meade is a longtime dancer from Harlem and was a friend of Frankie Manning’s. Zoey Gould will also be helping with the workshops.
🎟️ REGISTER HERE
Workshop Details
Workshop #1 – What Every Lindy Hopper Should Know
This is the good stuff. Whether you’re an Advanced dancer or you’re still trying out your first swing outs, this is the foundational work that gives Lindy Hop its “oomph” and soul.
- Level: 1.5 and higher (Pre-requisite knowledge: Some experience with Swingouts required.)
Community Pizza Lunch
We’ll be bringing in pizza for a picnic-style lunch to break bread and relax between classes together.
Workshop #2 – Tribute to Frankie, Norma & Legends of Swing
Sure, Frankie Manning had some wonderful set patterns and routines that he used to teach in his workshops. But we’ll go beyond the moves and dig into the core of how Frankie, and also Norma Miller and other legends of Swing, expressed themselves through rhythm.
- Level: Intermediate and higher
Workshop #3 – Secrets of Social Dancing
How can you put your dancing together in a way that opens more doors to creativity, playfulness, and partnered communication? How can you elevate your relationship with the music to become a more dynamic dancer? Let’s get serious and let’s play!
- Level: Intermediate and higher with extra feedback for Advanced students
🎟️ REGISTER HERE
Workshop Schedule
Sunday, May 26th
Dovercourt House, 2nd Floor, 805 Dovercourt Rd.
- Doors @ 11am
- 11:15 to 12: 30 – What Every Lindy Hopper Should Know
- 12:30 to 1:10 – Pizza Lunch
- 1:10 to 2:25 – Tribute to Frankie, Norma & Legends of Swing
- 2:25 to 2:35 – Break
- 2:35 to 3:50 – Secrets of Social Dancing
Pricing & Discounts
Proceeds for the day will be donated to the Black Lindy Hoppers Fund.
- Full day – $75 – nearly 4 hours of workshops AND includes community Pizza Lunch!
- Workshop #1 only – $25 includes community Pizza Lunch!
- Students & underemployed – 20% discount. Use code: TRUSTSYSTEM
- Free for students of Black and African diasporic heritage. Use code: BLHF
Why is World Lindy Hop Day important?
World Lindy Hop Day honours an important part of history. Not only is Lindy Hop a super fun swing dance and form of creative and musical expression, it also holds cultural significance as the dance emerged during a time of racial segregation in the United States. Since the development of Lindy Hop in the late 1920s, the has continued to spread around the world and now has global representation in most countries. Celebrating World Lindy Hop Day allows us to appreciate and remember the Black community who created and popularized this dance, as well as the diverse groups that continue to share the joy of Lindy Hop around the world.
The date for World Lindy Hop Day was picked to mark Frankie Manning’s birthday. Frankie was one of the founders of Lindy Hop; he was an American dancer from Harlem, dance instructor, and choreographer, and a member of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, the greatest Lindy Hop performance troupe of all time. Learn more about Frankie Manning here.
Did you know that Mandi isn’t just the co-founder Bees’ Knees Dance? She’s also one of the founders of World Lindy Hop Day globally, was a member of the board of the Frankie Manning Foundation for 9 years, and was the producer of Frankie 100 in NYC. Having been lucky enough to work intimately with Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, and other important figures in Lindy Hop, Mandi will be sharing her wealth of knowledge alongside Osman on May 26th.
Workshop Levels
The daytime workshops on May 26th will be appropriate for dancers at a “beyond beginner” level (1.5) and higher, straight through to intermediate and advanced. For beginners, please see our new classes. Additionally, Mandi and Osman will be teaching the beginner lesson for Toronto Lindy Hop’s World Lindy Hop Day dance on Saturday, June 1st.
About the Instructors
Toronto has strong ties with Frankie Manning. Our city had the privilege of hosting Frankie Manning on 4 different occasions:
- 1996 hosted by Simon Threlkeld of Swing Toronto
- 2002, 2006, 2008 hosted by the Toronto Swing Dance Society
In fact, one of Frankie’s very last workshops before his passing was in Toronto.
Toronto also hosted legacy dancers Norma Miller, Dawn Hampton, and Chazz Young on various occasions.
Mandi’s Connection to Frankie Manning & World Lindy Hop Day
Mandi Gould was honoured to assist Frankie in his workshops in 2002, 2006, and 2008. After Frankie Manning passed away in 2009, the Frankie Manning Foundation was formed and Mandi Gould acted as a member of the board of directors from 2011 to 2020. She was also the primary organizer of Frankie 100 in NYC in 2014, the largest Lindy Hop event of all time, which included the show Swinging’ Frankie’s Way at Harlem’s World Famous Apollo Theater.
In 2020, Mandi chose to withdraw from the Frankie Manning Foundation and her participation in shaping of the global Lindy Hop scene, in order to make room for Black leadership with the formation of the Black Lindy Hoppers Fund. In alignment with the BLHF mission, she is passionate about the Lindy Hop legacy and bridging the gap of knowledge, access, and development for Black Lindy Hoppers.
Scholarships for Black Students
Bees’ Knees Dance would like to welcome and encourage people of Black and African diasporic heritage to attend the World Lindy Hop Day workshops for free. Please use code BLHF at checkout.