Norma Miller, still dancing

When my toe heals, I plan to go swing dancing again!


They invented the lindy-hop at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, and Norma Miller was the Queen of Swing. It was a club in Harlem, but white people started coming for the music and the dancing, and it became one of the first integrated spaces. This routine in the movie Hellzapoppin' still amazes because they did not speed up the film; they really do dance that fast. The movies brought the lindy to the world.

The Ken Burns documentary "Jazz" has a bit with an interview with legendary dancer Norma Miller, who tells the story of dancing there for the first time when she was just a kid.


She would go on to become a pro, one of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers with her dance partner Frankie Manning. Norma Miller has written many books, and she is an eloquent teacher as well.

. The swing revival happened when young people sought out these dancers, to learn from them and keep the tradition alive. This video interview, made in 2006, features Frankie Manning at 91with Chazz Young and Norma, talking about dance, their lives and memories,  and just being gracious and cool.


In this clip, Norma Miller raps and sings about making her living teaching dancing lessons, and dances a bit with Chazz Young. She is 90 years old in this video, people!



Ari Seth Cohen, who celebrates women of  Advanced Style at his blog, shot this clip with his iPhone at the Lincoln Center event celebrating swing. Still dancing!