Miami Dance Magic 2008 Staff

Skippy Blair’s love affair with Swing started in 1938 on the Steel Pier in Atlantic City. All the Big Bands of the day played there, and in 1941 Skippy and her partner, Red Rex, from California won the big yearly Jitterbug contest that was held there.

During the late 1940s and early ‘50s, Skippy married a marine and had 4 children, but still took time out for teaching tap dancing classes. In 1958 she opened her first studio and started training Champion Dancers and Teachers.

In 1974 she inaugurated National Dance Teacher Intensives which involved detailed, comprehensive training in dance knowledge, teaching and judging. They continue today and the seminars run anywhere from 3 to 7 days and are often integrated into major weekend dance events.

In 1975 Skippy appeared in the movie, "Queen of the Stardust Ballroom". She later appeared in the 1987 Movie, "Tales of the Hollywood Hills". She spent several years as a choreographer and performer for TV shows like "Let's Dance", "Truth or Consequences" and "Bob Barker's Varieties".

Skippy Blair's dance resume is formidable: Co-founder of the World Swing Dance Council, a Feather Award recipient, member of the Swing Dance Hall of Fame, founder of the Golden State Teachers Association, developer of the Universal Unit System®, Director of Dance Dynamics Studio, creator of the "Swing World" website for continuing dance education, and the author of 7 books and 14 videos. Her 1978 publication, "Disco to Tango and Back", has become a collector's item on Amazon.

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Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollmann have been a successful partnership for eight years. They are 10-Time US Open Champions, (1 Young Adult, 4 Classic, 3 Strictly Swing, and 2 Team Div.), 5-time NASDE Champions, and Multi-Grand National Champions. At the UCWDC World's event they were given the Star Award for the Couple with the Most Impact on Swing, and Jordan won Best Swing Choreographer. They have won Swing Couple of the Year for 6 years straight on the web site: www.usaswingnet.com.

Jordan & Tatiana have won Fox TV's "30 Seconds to Fame," appeared twice on CBS TV's "Star Search," danced in the motion picture "The Polar Express", appeared twice on ABC TV's "Good Morning America," and had speaking roles in the movie "Love 'N Dancing."

They travel 47 out of 52 weekends per year, competing and teaching packed workshops all across the USA and Internationally. They are Certified Teachers in the Golden State Dance Teacher's Association.

A powerful showman on the swing dance circuit, Robert Cordoba is an inventive; professional swing dancer and instructor. A six-time U.S. Open Swing Dance champion, Robert is a veteran dance competitor, first appearing on the swing dance circuit in 1990. Robert capitalizes on over 20 years of training and performing in Ballroom and Latin. He combines a powerful refined style with a wide variety of polished open and closed movements. To his credit Robert has performed in numerous shows and commercials. He along with Deborah have continually averaged about 40 weekends a year traveling both nationally and internationally to spread West Coast Swing. They are among the first pioneers to take, teach and perform West Coast Swing exclusively in Europe and the South Pacific. They have helped get it firmly entrenched in many countries including, England, Scotland, New Zealand and Australia. They also were asked to be advisors to the first ever WC Swing Club in Australia.

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A veteran dance performer with numerous stage and production credits. Deborah Székely (Saykay) uses high energy and power to create a unique and forceful Swing Dance performance. A four-time US Open swing dance champion with technique and ability accumulated and refined over 25 years of teaching and performing Ballet, Jazz, Tap and now Swing. She is also a powerful force to be reckoned with in the Invitaional and Strictly Swing categories, continually winning or placing near the top.Deborah brings a phenomenal style and presence to social and competitive West Coast Swing. Deborah's natural creative talents and years of training make her a remarkable instructor with the ability to easily relate the technique for mastering difficult moves and syncopations with ease in group and private lessons.

From the variety show at the UCWDC World Championships to the US Open Swing Dance Championships, with workshops and competitions all over the world and even an amazing group class with 1200 attendees in Scottsdale, AZ – Christopher & Katrina live to teach, perform, and compete.

Katie Marlow has been performing professionally since 1981. As a performer, she has assembled a wide range of credits stretching from cabaret revues, to theatre to television and feature films. She is a member of both Screen Actors Guild and Actors Equity Association. Beginning her performance career as a showgirl aboard the Cunard NAC Cruise Line, she later branched out to do commercials and feature films. Just a few of her credits include "A Chorus Line: The Movie" the television show "The Equalizer" and "Miami Vice". She later moved into choreography, putting together, the "Hot Nights in the City night club revue in Japan. In 1995 she founded Dancesation! Entertainment - an upscale production company who provides entertainment services throughout the United States for major corporations.

Together, they are considered to be one of the most highly accomplished and versatile dance teams in the world. They are the 2002 IDO World Champions for both Hustle and Cabaret Exhibition. They are the only couple in the history of the United States to hold two separate world championship titles in the same year. Other titles include 2000 US Open Cabaret Champions, 1999 United States Hustle Champions, 2002 NADC Cabaret Champions. In addition, Billy and Katie were four times invitees to the prestigious Blackpool Dance Festival Open Exhibition Championships, an honor reserved for only a select few throughout the world. With their exceptional talent of being able to perform both theatrical dance and social partner dance on a world class level, they hold the distinctive position of being in demand on a number of circuits, including the Ballroom circuit, the Hustle circuit, the Salsa circuit and even the Swing dance circuit.

Jameson Kilburn is co-owner of Top Hat Dance Studio of Philadelphia and Lancaster where he can be found teaching group classes and private lessons in Ballroom, Latin, Swing, & Hustle. For the past 10 years Jameson has continued to study, teach, compete, and perform in the arena of professional partner dancing.

Recently Jameson received a score of "Highly Commended" on his certification examinations in International Standard dancing with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD). Jameson is also a proud member of the National Dance Council of America (NDCA) and has been an active board member of the International Hustle Dance Association (IHDA) for the past 4 years.

He can be seen at many different dance events throughout the country teaching, judging, performing, and competing and is best known for the way in which he "de-mystifies" the technical side of partner dancing to make it obtainable by everyone.

Jameson's dance career started in the theater where he was featured as a dancer in Kiss of the Spider Woman, Anything Goes, La Cage aux Folles, and most recently Evita. Jameson has since enjoyed choreographing for competitive routines, shows throughout Pennsylvania, and most recently for 2008's installment of Dance Theater in Hempfield, Pa. Jameson has placed in the Top 3 both in the Professional and Pro/Am divisions in numerous competitions; including the International Hustle & Salsa Competition, Mid-Atlantic Dance Jam, Big Easy Dance Classic, Dance Seattle, Philadelphia Festival Championships, North American Dance Championships, and the World Hustle Competition.

Jameson has always said, "Dance should be fun! And most importantly, it should be what you make of it". That statement can be seen in his approach to teaching, performing, and dancing in general. His greatest reward is helping a student achieve a goal; he views it as the best way of returning the favor to all of the wonderful coaches and teachers who have, and continue to help him, on this journey we call dance.

Daniel is currently on the board of the International Hustle Dance Association. In addition, Daniel received his Associate certification in International Standard with a "highly commended" score by the ISTD (Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance) in 2007.

Choreographic credits include: International Hustle and Salsa Competition 2006, Stephanie Sands presents...2000, 2001, and 2002; Hempfield High School Dance Theatre Program 2001, 2002 & 2008; "La Boutique Fantasque" at the Fulton Opera House; "Oklahoma", "The King and I"," Fiddler on the Roof", "Little Shop of Horrors" & "Annie" at Garden Spot High School; excerpts of Top Hat Dance Studio’s “Spirit of Dance” 2003, 2004, and 2005; Ephrata Performing Arts Center: "Evita" in 2005 and "Gypsy" in 2006.

Tony Duarte, award recipient at the 4th International Miami Salsa Congress 2005, is considered by many as one of the best and top dance instructors in South Florida and abroad. Tony being a Choreographer, Teacher, Performer, and Coach, is the instructor of instructors and is the Founder and Director of Salsabor Tropical. Tony takes pride in being one of Florida's best salsa dance instructors always striving to pass his knowledge of many years of training and teaching on to others.

Tony started dancing at a very early age when he was 9 years old. He was part of the National Folklore of his native country Nicaragua, and growing up studied Jazz, Hip hop, and break dancing; At the age of 16 Tony moved to Miami, Florida. In 1990, he started to train with Arthur Murray Dance School, and became a certified Member and Bachelor Professional Ballroom Dance Instructor and trainer to teach Mambo/Salsa, Rumba, Merengue, Cha-Cha, Bolero, Waltz, Swing, Hustle/Disco, Foxtrot, Samba, and American Tango. Through the years, he has performed and taught Ballroom Dancing. In addition, during this time he developed an interest and a unique passion for salsa dancing. This passion inspired him to study and master the different styles of Salsa, including dancing on Clave, New York / Puerto Rican style (on 2) Mambo/Salsa, Salsa/Casino Rueda (on 1) or (on 3), Salsa L. A. style (on 1), and Afro-Cuban dance; The mastering of the different styles of Salsa/Mambo music rhythm and time has led him to develop a unique and flashy style, and it has allowed him to teach the different styles of Salsa/Mambo dancing.

This passion for Salsa dancing helped Tony decide and created Salsabor Tropical Dance School and Dance Company (Salsabor Tropical little Divas & Salsabor Tropical Student Dance Team). The dance teams perform with emphasis on Mambo and combine moves from the other styles of salsa dancing with fusion of Jazz, Hip hop, Ballroom technique, and spiced with hot moves and technique from Afro-Cuban, & Rumba dancing that is hot and fun to watch. Tony is now the leading and premiere instructor in South Florida teaching Salsa / Mambo lessons on 2 New York / Puerto Rican style.

Chris Hemmer & Vicky Kay: Christopher Hemmer was born with a passion for dancing and music and has spent most of his life learning and teaching dance.

Having lived in the Washington, D.C. area, Christopher had the opportunity to train with numerous top professional trainers and choreographers, such as Al Franz, the McDonalds (Scottish champions), Lee and Peggy Santos (American champions) and the undefeated international modern world champions, Michael and Vicky Barr. In addition to becoming a gold level certified ballroom and social dance teacher, Christopher's passion for dance and music took him to new heights, obtaining top teacher and rising star awards at numerous competitions and events throughout the country.

Starting his professional dance career in 1978, Christopher's roots and training began on the pinnacle of the Disco era. Chris has continued his dance training and teaching ever since.

Christopher has achieved Gold Level Certification in 15 different dances. He is trained in both American and International styles, primarily teaching American style Ballroom, Latin and Social dances. Having this "across the board" knowledge of all facets of ballroom and social dancing, and with many years of training by top pros, gives Chris the edge.

While managing dance studios in the DC and Florida areas, Chris became a master teacher trainer and choreographer. Christopher eventually owned and managed and his own dance studio in Atlantis, Florida, where he thrived as a premier dance instructor.

Chris teaches private and group lessons in West Coast Swing, Hustle, Salsa, Mambo, Cha-Cha, Merengue, Samba, Rumba, Rumba-Bolero, Tango, East Coast Swing, DC Hand-Dancing, Jive, Jitterbug, Quick Step, Foxtrot, Waltz and Viennese Waltz to name a few.

Chris believes, in the field of dance, that you never stop learning, that's what separates him from many of the other professionals, who only know/or are able to teach in one area or style of dance. Chris can teach you "everything" you need to know to excel in dance because of his across the board knowledge and experience, which transcends all the different styles and types of dance.

Chris is just plain passionate about dance and life in general. He loves passing that knowledge and skill on to his students. Always giving 110%, he gives many others the gift of a passion for dance by his fun, caring and creative nature and teaching skills. His passion resides in teaching, performing and just dancing in the social arena.

Rudy Infante: Rudy Infante has been active in the Salsa World since the mid-eighties. He started his career in music at an early age with the study of the guitar and piano. It was not long after that Rudy was attending jazz combo and commercial music classes at Miami Dade Community College registered under his fathers name while still in high school.

His passion for latin jazz and the rhythmic beat of salsa music along with his ability to interpret it clearly and fluently through his primary instrument, the piano, captured the attention of local artists who had him busy playing all over town almost every night of the week. His career flourished and soon became the pianist for hire for international performers with highlights reaching as far as backing up Willy Chirino, Celia Cruz, and Tito Puente.

Rudy was always fascinated and drawn by the dancers that he often saw from the stage and was thrilled by the way that these people were interpreting the music though their own bodies. Rudy made it a goal to learn to do that which he saw from the stage at every venue, and at every city he traveled to. After many hours of practice, countless rehearsals, and numerous lessons given to his friends "just for fun", he was strongly encouraged to take his teaching of the art of dance to another level. With this, he began his study of the great teachers of salsa dance both local and international; absorbing every detail that he could. Rudy created L.A. Salsa Dance Studios and has been teaching salsa dance to people of all walks. Rudy Infante, with his attention to detail, his patience, his ability to communicate, along with his thorough understanding of the principles of latin music, make him a very unique instructor with a rapidly growing following.

Bruce & Beth Perotta: Beth Perrotta earned a masters degree in Special Education here in S. Florida and has taught special needs children for over 24 years. Along with being a professional teacher, she studied dance as a lifelong passion starting in middle school. With her focus on ballet and jazz she continued to perform throughout high school, college and beyond, dancing in musical productions with the “Pennington Players” professional theatre group in New Jersey. In the 80’s she trained in ballroom to enjoy social dancing. Many years later, shortly before meeting Bruce at Goldcoast Ballroom in 2002, she re-trained with local ballroom professionals which re-kindled her passion for dance and brought her to the dance scene in S. Florida.

Bruce Perrotta played semi-pro football for over 20 years. Getting to the point where the rigors of the game were catching up to him, Bruce found dancing to be “much easier on the body and that the people he lined up with were a lot better looking…” In 1998 the switch to dancing was a no-brainer for Bruce who is also an expert level chess player and National level champion in “miniatures/war-games/simulations. In 2000, he was exposed to the dark side, (West Coast Swing) and has been consumed with it ever since.

Bruce then became involved as a board member and served as president of the South Florida Swing Society, but has focused his energy the last few years at the grassroots level to work at the growth of the dance community. He has developed workshops weekends with national level instructors and dance evenings to share with the community. These activities elevate the level of dance through strong fundamental instruction and introduce new music and dance ideas from around the country. All of this adds up to a formula to encourage the South Florida dance community to grow and become a current part of the national dance scene.

Bruce and Beth began competing together around the country in West Coast Swing in 2003. They began training together in CA in 2005 with Skippy Blair’s Golden State Dance Teachers Association. After completing 180 hours of teacher training, they passed the GSDTA dance teachers certification exam. Bruce and Beth have now been teaching the GSDTA’s West Coast Swing curriculum for over 2 ½ years at Goldcoast Ballroom in Coconut Creek as well as the Palms Ballroom in Royal Palm Beach, Florida.

Bruce and Beth are also directors of Floorplay Dance Clubs South Florida Chapter. Trish Berlanga, a local pro, directed and grew Floorplay’s chapter dance for 6 years in Jupiter. When Trish relocated out of state a year and a half ago, Bruce and Beth were asked by Trish and the owner of Floorplay, Mark Traynor, to become the new directors of the clubs dance. Bruce and Beth have been hosting the club’s monthly dance ever since, at Floorplay’s new home, the Palms Ballroom in Royal Palm Beach.

Bruce and Beth are also owners of DanSynergy Inc. and creators and hosts of Swingin’ Friday’s weekly West Coast Swing dance party at Goldcoast Ballroom. They travel frequently on the NASDE (National Association of Swing Dance Events) circuit, competing in West Coast Swing. They continue to train with top professionals around the country, bringing back the most current style, information and ideas in West Coast Swing to the South Florida dance community.

Since 2004 Beth and Bruce have made their passion for dancing and their desire to grow their local dance community a priority. They have been teaching LA Style WCS and coordinating, funding and hosting West Coast Swing champions from the national level to introduce the local dance scene to the most current instruction in this evolving dance style.

Kelly Faust: Kelly began studying music at an early age. As a child she played multiple instruments and participated in music competitions while in school. She began dancing at the age of 12 in Country and Western but soon found West Coast Swing and has been hooked ever since. She began competing and traveling the WCS scene in 1998.

Always having a love and appreciation for WCS music, she began DJ'ing local New York City and New Jersey dances in early 2007. She participated in the "Battle of the DJ's" at New Years Dancin' Eve in Boston this past year and had the opportunity to DJ at the event. Having done that, it opened up new opportunities to compete, travel, and DJ! Some of the events she has DJ'd so far have been New Years Dancin' Eve, Michigan Classic, Easterns Dance Challenge, and will be DJ'ing this year at Swing Fling, Virginia State Open, Tampa Bay Classic, C.A.S.H Bash, and Carolina Groove.

From that point on I have had the good fortune of Dee Jaying many of the countries top swing events including, The US Open, Dallas DANCE, Boogie by the Bay, USA Grand Nationals, Americas' Classic, Liberty Swing, Swing Diego, Swing Fling, Summer Hummer, Tampa Bay Classic, Capital, MadJam, Worlds and Phoenix. In 2005, I was lucky enough to win the AllswingDJ of The Year award.

Doug teaches group and private lessons weekly in Los Angeles, and has a line of own instructional videos for sale. He is the proud producer of Champion's Instructional Videos (group instructor videos) for both West Coast Swing and for Lindy Hop.

Doug is the co-founder of LindyGroove in Pasadena, CA, currently the nation's largest weekly Lindy Hop dance venue, teaching his popular (and free) Connection & Musicality class most Thursdays.

In his teaching, Doug focuses on connection, centering, and musicality, footwork, and lead/follow techniques, incorporating various aspects of his favorite dances: Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, Carolina Shag, Hip-Hop, Blues, and Balboa.