James BiancoI first began dancing in 1997 following the rise of excitement for swing dancing generated by media phenomena such as the "GAP commercial" television ad and the film "Swingers". While I wasn’t exactly caught up in the frenzy that affected so many others, I was curious enough to register for a ballroom class that offered a sampling of ballroom dances. These included
East Coast Swing, Cha-Cha,
American Tango, and Waltz. After 10 weeks, these classes were cancelled due to low enrollment. It would be another six years before I took another dance lesson or stepped foot on a dance floor.
In April of 2003, while waiting for a haircut appointment, my mother happened upon a small, local dance studio. She left with a coupon that offered two beginner series classes for the price of one. At the time, My younger sister was extremely interested in learning and wanted a partner, so she dragged me along as I kicked and screamed. For most of my life, I have been an extremely shy person. The fact that during my first foray into ballroom lessons I was surrounded by friendly elderly people whom reminded me of traditional, friendly grandma and grandpa archetypes helped to alleviate my anti-social fears. My sister was smart enough to remind me of the fun I had with my earlier experiences with swing dancing, however, and this helped to relax me enough to end my resistance to
Salsa lessons. As a consolation, she offered to take
East Coast Swing lessons with me. Over the next year, I would continue to take classes in other dances, including
American Tango, Rhumba,
Merengue, Cha-Cha,
Bolero,
Samba, Waltz,
Viennese Waltz,
Quickstep, Nightclub Two-step,
Foxtrot, Hustle,
West Coast Swing, and a few others.
In November of 2003, roughly six months after I resumed dancing, one of the assistants at the ballroom noticed my passion for swing dancing and referred me to classes offered by Shesha and Terra of the OC Swing Dance Club. This, in turn, led to my indoctrination into the world of the
Lindy Hop. It did not take long before I was an addict. After six months of
Lindy Hop lessons, I decided it would be my main focus and decided that lessons in other non-swing related dances would be placed on the back burner. This focus has remained strong until this day, now over 5 years later.
