Norma Miller facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Norma Miller
Miller in 2009
Born	Norma Adele Miller (1919-12-02)December 2, 1919 Harlem, New York City, U.S.
Died	May 5, 2019(2019-05-05) (aged 99) Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.
Resting place	Woodlawn Cemetery
Nationality	American
Occupation	Dancer, choreographer, comedian, author, actress, singer, songwriter, creative director
Years active	1932–2019

Norma Adele Miller (December 2, 1919 – May 5, 2019) was a famous American dancer, choreographer, actress, author, and comedian. She was known as the "Queen of Swing" because of her amazing Lindy Hop dancing.

Early Life and Dance Beginnings

Norma Miller was born in 1919 in Harlem, New York City. Her parents, Alma and Norman, were from Bridgetown, Barbados. Norma was named after her father, who sadly passed away before she was born.

Even though her family didn't have much money, Norma started dance classes when she was very young. By age five, she was already performing at amateur shows in theaters.

Discovering the Lindy Hop

In 1929, during the Great Depression, Norma and her family moved to a small apartment. From their window, they could see the famous Savoy Ballroom. The windows were often open, so Norma could hear the amazing music from the house band, led by Chick Webb and featuring singer Ella Fitzgerald.

From her fire escape, Norma would watch dancers perform exciting moves like the Black Bottom, the Shimmy, the Charleston, and the Shim Sham. She practiced these dances in her living room and at school.

On Easter Sunday in 1932, when Norma was just 12 years old, she was dancing outside the Savoy Ballroom. She was too young to go inside. A famous dancer named Twist Mouth George Ganaway saw her. He was so impressed that he invited her into the ballroom to dance for the first time!

A Career in Swing Dance

Norma went to the Manhattan School of the Arts. She often danced at the Renaissance Ballroom & Casino, where young people could dance on Sunday afternoons.

Joining Whitey's Lindy Hoppers

In 1934, Norma and her high school dance partner, Sonny Ashby, won the Savoy Lindy Hop Contest at the Apollo Theater. The very next day, Herbert "Whitey" White, the dance master at the Savoy, hired Norma. She became the youngest member of his famous dance group, Whitey's Lindy Hoppers.

In 1935, Norma competed in a big dance contest called the Harvest Moon Ball at Madison Square Garden. After this, she went on a seven-month tour across Europe.

Dancing on the Big Screen

In 1936, Whitey's Lindy Hoppers toured the U.S. with the famous singer Ethel Waters. In 1937, while touring in California, Norma made her first movie appearance. She danced and sang in A Day at the Races, a movie by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She performed in the song "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" with singer Ivie Anderson and Duke Ellington's orchestra.

Norma rejoined Whitey's Lindy Hoppers in 1938. They competed again in the Harvest Moon Ball, hosted by Ed Sullivan. Norma and her partner placed in the top three, and Sullivan invited them to perform on his TV show, Toast of the Town (which later became The Ed Sullivan Show).

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers also performed in the 1941 movie Hellzapoppin'. Norma had a memorable role as a dancing cook. She did amazing flips, slides, kicks, splits, and lifts. After filming, the group went to Rio de Janeiro to perform. Because of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, they couldn't find a way home and stayed for 10 months.

New Paths and Comedy

In 1942, Norma left Whitey's Lindy Hoppers due to disagreements about pay. The group soon broke up because many of the male dancers joined the military during World War II.

In 1943, Norma took different dance classes and started working as a producer for Smalls Paradise, a nightclub in Harlem. She toured Canada and the United States.

From 1952 to 1968, Norma led her own dance groups, the Norma Miller Dancers and Norma Miller and Her Jazzmen. In 1954, her group toured with Count Basie. She also performed comedy shows with Cab Calloway and George Kirby. While living in Miami, Norma faced racism, like being forced to ride in the back of buses.

In 1959, Norma moved to Las Vegas, where she performed with famous comedians like Redd Foxx and Sammy Davis Jr.. From 1972 to 1974, she traveled to Vietnam, performing her comedy for American troops.

The Swing Revival and Later Years

Starting in the 1980s, Norma Miller played a huge part in the swing revival. This was a time when swing dancing became popular again. She taught swing dance classes at universities like Stanford University and the University of Hawaiʻi.

In her later years, Norma lived in Fort Myers, Florida and Italy. From 2014, she began working with the Italian Swing Dance Society, performing in Italy for five years.

From 2015 to 2018, Norma wrote new songs that she recorded with the Italian Billy Bros. Swing Orchestra. In 2016, they released a CD called A Swingin' Love Fest with Norma Miller. At age 98, she went on a European tour with the Orchestra. She performed her last concert in Palermo, Italy, when she was almost 99 years old.

Norma also continued to write. In 2017, a new edition of her book Swing, Baby Swing! was released. She also taught workshops at the Herräng Dance Camp until 2018, when she was 98.

Personal Life

Norma Miller never married.

Death

Norma Miller passed away on May 5, 2019, at the age of 99. She had just finished producing new music.

Published Works

Norma Miller wrote or helped write several books:

• Me & John Biffar: A Love Story: This book is about her friendship with filmmaker John Biffar.
• Swing, Baby Swing!: This book explores how swing dance has changed over time.
• Swingin' at the Savoy: The Memoir of a Jazz Dancer: This is Norma's autobiography, telling her life story and about meeting famous people like Frankie Manning, Ella Fitzgerald, and Duke Ellington.
• Stompin' at the Savoy: The Story of Norma Miller: This is a children's book about her life, published in 2006.
• The Redd Foxx Encyclopedia of Black Humor: Norma co-wrote this book with Redd Foxx in 1977.

Discography

• Healthy, Sexless & Single, Norma Miller; 1972.
• A Swingin' Love Fest with Norma Miller, Billy Bros. Swing Orchestra; 2016.
• Electro Swing New Generation 01, by Bart & Baker, feat. "Gimme da Beat"; 2017.

Film and Television Appearances

Norma Miller's most famous film appearance is in the Lindy Hop scene in Hellzapoppin', where she danced with Whitey's Lindy Hoppers.

Films

Television

Documentary Appearances

Broadway Productions

• Swingin' The Dream, 1939, dancer
• Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1939, 1939, dancer
• Run, Little Chillun, 1943, dancer

Awards and Recognition

In 2003, Norma Miller received a special honor called the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. This award recognized her for creating and helping to keep alive the amazing, acrobatic style of swing dancing known as the Lindy Hop.

See also

In Spanish: Norma Miller para niños

• List of dancers