“Sammy & Candy” (Samuel Coleman and Candice Michelle Franklin) met as dance students years ago at Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. As dancers, Sammy, a Frankie Manning Ambassador, amassed a wealth of historical information, legacy connections, and performance chops through the Swing dance community and Black Lindy Hoppers Foundation, while Candy focused on the creation of live nu-jazz music and the contemporization of classic Jazz standards in producing Jazz Ain’t DeadⓇ. Both took interest in studying the trajectory of Jazz dance for its vernacular contributions, from the slave quarters to American vaudeville to Swing, Locking, House and Hip Hop, while Candy has continued in Caribbean folkloric and Latin dances such as Rumba, Salsa, and Cha Cha Cha for their vernacular influences, as well as their concert dance derivatives found in Latin Jazz and Katherine Dunham’s modern jazz stylings for the stage. However, it wasn’t until the Covid pandemic, when they put their talents together for a gig with Jazz Power Initiative and Jazzmobile at Marcus Garvey Park, did this high-energy dancing duo form a Lindy Hop team!
Since then “Sammy & Candy” have performed with Jazz Ain’t Dead, The Gotham Kings, and Gatsby Entertainment, and at many venues such as Lincoln Center “Summer for the City,” Dizzy’s Jazz at Lincoln Center, Harlem SummerStage, National Jazz Museum in Harlem, the Cotton Club, the Intrepid Museum, and Riverbank State Park.
“Sammy & Candy” have also enjoyed several teaching assignments with New York City’s Department of Education, DOE Office of Arts and Special Projects, DEL Tracing Footsteps Journey into Jazz “Let’s Lindy!”, and Harlem School of the Arts. “Sammy and Candy” also enjoyed working with autistic and special needs children teaching 45 classes in 7 weeks for the DOE in three Bronx public schools.
Additionally, “Sammy & Candy” work with prominent New York community organizations such as Harlem One Stop teaching at free community Swing parties (indoor and outdoor events), and, Jazzmobile and the NYC Department of Aging in conjunction with JASA and East Harlem Caanan Senior Center offering classes and opportunities to learn routines and perform Lindy Hop live with the JAZZ AIN’T DEADⓇ band and dancers!
“Sammy & Candy” are presented by Jazz Ain’t DeadⓇ and are available for teaching, performance, interviews, and roundtable discussions across the US and abroad. #JazzAintDead #SammyandCandy