STAFF FOR 2024
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Erik Robison, with then-partner Sylvia Skylar, studied hours of old movies, soundies, and vitaphone shorts and actually had the opportunity to learn first-hand from many of the original dancers from these clips. They fell in love with the style and dedicated themselves completely to its revival of this Southerm California style. Erik and Sylvia named and trademarked their rendition of this authentic Lindy Hop style “Hollywood Style”. Hollywood style refers not to the geographic area of origin, but to the medium from which they learned, old Hollywood and its dancers. Just over a year after they started training the came and won ALHC's first American Showcase Division. That partnership took them all across the United States, and abroad, as performers and instructors. Now he calls New Mexico home but his passion for the dance has not waivered. He'll teach a master class for attendees this year.
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Chester Whitmore
The swing world knows Chester Whitmore as a tap dancer and eccentric dance protege of the late Leonard Reed, Fayard Nicholas and The High Hatters. He's a staple teacher at swing dance events and camps acround the world bringing humor and a quotient of fun into every class and performance. His energy shouldn't be missed.
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Roberto Cifarelli Photography
Paolo & Laurentina in Piazza
IV Novembre durante UMBRIA JAZZ 2016 |
Paolo Pasta Lanna
is a 30 year veteran of Swing Dance specializing in the Lindy Hop, Balboa, Collegiate Shag, Charleston and The Madison Time. In 1998 he and then partner Janice Wilson won the Lindy Division at the American Swing Dance Championships. Subsequently they toured with with Wynton Marsalis & The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, performed with “Swing Dance America”, “Forever Swing” The Musical Revue featuring Michael Buble. He co-founded and launched the first Summer Jamboree Dance Camp in Italy, The Shake, Rhythm & Roll Festival in Asbury Park, and directs Central Park Swings& Lindyland in NYC. He also coordinates & directs his dance teams Lindy Hop All-Stars, & The Rhythm Stompers, and continues to hone his skills in American born social dances, teaching, DJing, and performing throughout the world. |
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Crystal Johnson
Crystal Johnson won the Harvest Moon Ball Lindy Hop contest in 1972 creating a legency started by her father Tops Lee in 1940. Crystal danced with the Junior Parkets from the time she was 16 through her HMB win in 1972. Being a Junior Parket gave her the confidence she needed to dance as a regular attraction on the Apollo stage in her teen years and travel in the US. She leads the Harlem Lindy Hop group of former Mama Lou Parks dancers who want to bringLindy Hop back to the forefront in Harlem. She is a workshop teacher and coach passing on the routines she learned as a Mama L Parks dancer in the 1960s and '70s. She credits 1955 HMB champ George Sullivan with making her the dancer she was and coach is is. Don't miss her Advanced Swing Dance class this year. |
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Kelly Palmiter, returns to reprise his role as Emcee, has been movin’ and groovin’ his way around the United States and Canada for the past 2 decades as a competitor, coach, teacher & performer. Initially focusing on Lindy (including Shag, Charleston, and Balboa), running the Motown Shagdown. Kelly, also, now teaches and competes in West Coast Swing, Hustle, Salsa, Argentine Tango, and other Swing, nightclub and social dances. Students of all ages (children through seniors) and all levels (beginner through professional) love his method of mixing fun, movement and technique to create the magic of dancing! |
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Paulette Brockington
Paulette was a protege of the late Frankie Manning. She does a variety of swing dance styles & is active as a competitor, coach and judge. She has taught in Europe, Canada and across the USA. She teaches many dance styles . She created the Savoy Dance Bum online jazz dance course which she has rebranded as Swing Era Hip Hop. She is a Fulbright Specialist available to countries around the world as a teacher through World Learning / the U.S. State Department. She has a Lindy Technique and Teacher Certification Workshop Series based on her teaching experience and vocabulary built under the tutelage of Frankie Manning and converations with Pepsi Bethel and George Sullivan. The program covers as many as 3000 steps and culminates in a Certificate of Completion. Join her for tap, Lindy and vernacular jazz (Swing Era Hip Hop and Black Bottom). |
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Jovon Miller is a dance educator, musician, and professional choreographer from Seattle, Washington. He is an award-winning dancer and choreographer, whose emphasis is primarily on various forms of tap, contemporary, and jazz dance. He received a BA in dance at Western Washington University, with a focus on modern dance. He is the founder and owner of Jovon Miller Productions, where his mission is to utilize his gifts in order to create artists and give them performance opportunities while teaching life lessons through dance. He's taught at the Torino Swing Festival. He is sought after for his ability to coach dancers and take their performances to the next level. |
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Barbara Billups
The American Lindy Hop Championships is happy to welcome Miss Billups back as our guest for the weekend. Although new to Lindy, she competed in 1958's New York Daily News Harvest Moon Ball finishing in third place. She soon joined Sonny Allen and the Rockets which toured the United States and Canada nonstop for more than ten years. When the tour ended she teamed up with her best friend, Sugar Sullivan (1955 Harvest Moon Ball champ), teaching around the world |
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Odysseus Bailer
Odysseus Bailer is one of the main staples in
the NYC swing and blues dancing scenes. as
a DJ and a dancer. He has been one of many voices speaking out against cultural appropriation and how to advance the blues and swing scenes in a positive direction towards cultural appreciation going forward. He believes “no single person, dance, or movement embodies the entirety of blues”. A lot of times we as a scene gets too focused and caught on trying to put things into a perfect neat box. Blues and Jazz music and dance is messy, intricate, sad, complex, confusing, challenging, nuanced, inspiring, beautiful, loving, caring, innovative, celebratory, rebellious, varied and etc, because Black American Culture complex, intricate, and nuanced. Also, as a scene, as instructors, and as dancers we forget that we all have our own understanding and knowledge of blues and jazz music and the associated dances, based on our understanding and forever education of the culture from which it originated. |
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Ron Jones
This year's DJ Coordinator is a freelance swing dance instructor, children's basketball coach, swing dance DJ and computer technician. He started Uptown Saturday Night swing dances (in partnership with Swing WIth Us NYC) in Harlem in 2018. Those dances ended with the COVID shutdown. He now teaches for NYC's Parks and Recreation Department at Pelham Fritz Recreation Center at Marcus Garbet Park, Senior Connect and for other organizations such as the Frankie Manning Foundation, Sunny Side of the Street, and Lindy Hop Beach Party along with other events.
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Others may be announced |
| Judges: Crystal Johnson, Erik Robison, Barbara Billups and others TBA |
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