22 Facts About Norma Miller

Norma Adele Miller was an American Lindy hop dancer, choreographer, actress, author, and comedian known as the "Queen of Swing".

Norma Miller knew she wanted to be a dancer very early on:.

On Easter Sunday in 1932, when Norma Miller was dressed up from church services, she was dancing outside the Savoy Ballroom, too young to enter.

Norma Miller just threw me up; my feet never touched the ground.

Norma Miller attended Manhattan School of the Arts on the Upper West Side.

In 1935, Norma Miller competed in a dance contest called the Harvest Moon Ball at Madison Square Garden.

Norma Miller said she lost the contest because her blouse opened.

Norma Miller danced and sang in the number "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" which featured singer Ivie Anderson and Duke Ellington's orchestra.

In 1942, Norma Miller joined Whitey's Lindy Hoppers on a three-week tour with Cootie Williams and Pearl Bailey that included performances at the Apollo Theater, the Howard Theatre in Washington, DC, and the Royal Theatre in Baltimore.

Norma Miller left the group due to "accounting differences" with Whitey, who was known to pay the performers poorly.

Norma Miller toured Canada and the United States and lived in Los Angeles before returning to New York in 1946.

In 1959, Norma Miller moved to Las Vegas, where she lived for much of the 1960s and 1970s.

Norma Miller turned to comedy at the advice of Foxx, who told her:.

From February 1972 until 1974, Norma Miller traveled around Vietnam, performing her solo comedy routine for American troops in the Vietnam War.

For several years in the mid- to late 2010s, Norma Miller lived in both Fort Myers, Florida, and Italy.

From 2015 to 2018, Norma Miller wrote new lyrics and songs that were arranged and recorded with the Italian Billy Bros.

In December 2016, the CD A Swingin' Love Fest with Norma Miller is issued with the Orchestra.

On October 21,2018, Miller performed a last concert at the Teatro S Cecilia in Palermo; she was almost 99.

Norma Miller presented and taught workshops at Herrang Dance Camp until 2018, when she was 98.

On May 5,2019, Norma Miller died from congestive heart failure at the age of 99.

Norma Miller wrote or played a major role in several books, including:.

In 2003, Norma Miller was honored with a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts for creating and continuing to preserve "the acrobatic style of swing dancing known as the Lindy Hop".