In 1935, a dancer named Frankie Manning won a dance competition with a daring feat: He flipped his partner over his back and onto her feet, the Lindy Hop "air step" that would make Manning, honored in today's Google Doodle, arguably the most famous swing dancer of all time.
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Frankie Manning was part of a new generation of Lindy Hoppers, and is the most celebrated Lindy Hopper in history. Al Minns and Pepsi Bethel, Leon James, and Norma Miller are also featured prominently in contemporary histories of Lindy Hop. Some sources credit Manning, working with his partner Freida Washington, for inventing the ground-breaking "Air Step" or "aerial" in 1935. One source credits Al Minns and Pepsi Bethel as among those who refined the air step.
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This story, however, is inaccurate. It is more accurate to say that his first air step in the Lindy Hop likely helped to develop the spectacular air step routines which Manning's generation of Savoy Lindy Hoppers, the second generation, perfected. Manning went on to dance extensively with one of the most influential Lindy Hop troupes, the Whitey's Lindy Hoppers (also known as Whitey's Lindy Maniacs, Whyte's Hopping Maniacs, The Harlem Congaroos, The Hot Chocolates, and other names). The troupe was based at the Savoy and managed by White.
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The 8th X Games were held in Philadelphia in 15–19 August 2002. The events included Moto X (Big Air, Step Up and Freestyle), Skateboarding (Park, Vert Best Trick, Vert Doubles, Vert, Street and Street Best Trick), BMX (Park, Flatland, Vert, Dirt and Downhill), Wakeboarding (Men and Women), Aggressive Inline (Men's Vert, Men's Park and Women's Park) and Speed Climbing (Men and Women).
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An Aerial (also acrobatic, air step or air) is a dance move in Lindy Hop or Boogie Woogie where one's feet leave the floor. As opposed to a lift, aerial is a step where a partner needs to be thrown into the air and then landed in time with the music. Each aerial consists of a preparation ('prep'), jump or trick itself and the landing. The first Lindy Hop aerial was performed by Frankie Manning in 1935.
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However, early versions of air steps in the Lindy Hop were performed already from the very beginning of the 1930s. An Air Step is a dance move in which at least one of the partners' two feet leave the ground in a dramatic, acrobatic style. Most importantly, it is done in time with the music. Air steps are now widely associated with the characterization of lindy hop, despite being generally reserved for competition or performance dancing, and not generally being executed on any social dance floor.
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These rivalries were often played out in formal competitions between groups. Since the beginning of jazz dance, acrobatics were an essential part of vernacular dance, commonly known as flash dancers who toured with bands across United States during the first part of the 20th century. The first generation of Savoy Lindy Hoppers, George Snowden's generation, introduced the early versions of air steps and acrobatics to the Lindy Hop by the very beginning of the 1930s. Savoy Lindy Hopper Frankie Manning has claimed that he devised the first air step in the Lindy Hop.
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The Universiade Village The Universiade Village is a residential neighborhood for 14,500 residents that was constructed within the Kazan Federal University campus to house competitors and officials during the Kazan 2013 Summer Universiade. Nearly 400 sporting and cultural events have been staged on the campus since it opened its doors in 2010. Shortly after the first move-in phase, an open-air step aerobics marathon was held that brought together up to 1,000 Universiade Village residents. The campus had already hosted football, volleyball, and chess championships that can rightfully be called ‘international’ as a number of international students competed in them.
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