How important were the Great Swing bands of the 30s and 40s to the culture and evolution of the dance we know and love today?
Well, lets just say that it is thanks to these musical entrepreneurs that were not milling round dance floors today doing the Sit, the Shuffle & Yawn or even the Man its Late, Id Better Be Truckin On Home. How simple musicians came to awaken popular culture to the freedom of improvisation in music and movement in that huge grand ballroom is no fairytale, but it is a story with plenty of magic. As with so many turning-points in human social history, the glory days of the Savoy Ballroom, known for its great bands and great dancers, notably Frankie Manning, is characterized as much by what didnt happen as what did. The management did not follow the practice of segregating coloured staff from patrons, or of hiring predominantly white bands like its neighbour the Cotton Club and other well-known Harlem clubs. The first Bands to play at the Savoyin 1926 set the pace for the next two and a half decades. They were picked carefully for their innate talent and prestige within musical circles – o
