Sylvia Sykes
Encyclopedia
Sylvia Sykes is a swing
dancer, dance instructor, judge and choreographer. In particular she is considered by most to be the leading authority on the dance Balboa
.
Sylvia Sykes studied with Dean Collins
and was a member of his last dance troupe. She also studied balboa with Maxie Dorf and spent years learning from the greatest Southern California
balboa dancers. Sylvia is an inductee into the National Swing Dance Hall of Fame, as well as the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame. She is a U.S. Open champion, was the NASDE top point winner, two time California Balboa Champion, took third place in the National Carolina Shag Dance Championships, and has won many Strictly Swing and Jack & Jill dance contests through the U.S. in Lindy Hop
, balboa and West Coast Swing
. She was twice voted Swing Dance Teacher of the Year and is a four-time Feather Award winner as Best Female Lindy Dancer in the U.S.
She has performed with Count Basie
, Glenn Miller Orchestra
, Artie Shaw
, and Les Brown
, and she has appeared on many television shows such as American Bandstand
and Gotta Dance
for the American Movie Channel. She also represented the U.S. in the World Boogie Woogie Championships in Grenoble
, France
with her original partner Jonathan Bixby
.
She is best known for reviving Balboa, which is rapidly gaining popularity around the world, and is a regular guest at the balboa dance camps.
Sylvia has been the head judge for many national swing events as well as being an expert teacher on how to judge.
Sylvia Sykes currently teaches with her dance partner Jonathan Bixby
in Santa Barbara, CA. where they have continuously taught weekly swing dance classes for nearly 3 decades.
Swing (dance)
"Swing dance" is a group of dances that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s-1950s, although the earliest of these dances predate swing jazz music. The best known of these dances is the Lindy Hop, a popular partner dance that originated in Harlem and is still danced today...
dancer, dance instructor, judge and choreographer. In particular she is considered by most to be the leading authority on the dance Balboa
Balboa (dance)
Balboa today is commonly used both as a term to describe a fusion of dances that originated in Southern California during the 1920s and 1930s, and also referring to a specific dance from that era that was the original Balboa .The original Balboa dance is a form of swing dance that started as early...
.
Sylvia Sykes studied with Dean Collins
Dean Collins
Dean Collins was an American dancer, instructor, choreographer, and innovator of swing. He is often credited with bringing swing dance, or Lindy Hop, from New York to Southern California...
and was a member of his last dance troupe. She also studied balboa with Maxie Dorf and spent years learning from the greatest Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
balboa dancers. Sylvia is an inductee into the National Swing Dance Hall of Fame, as well as the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame. She is a U.S. Open champion, was the NASDE top point winner, two time California Balboa Champion, took third place in the National Carolina Shag Dance Championships, and has won many Strictly Swing and Jack & Jill dance contests through the U.S. in Lindy Hop
Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American social dance, from the swing dance family. It evolved in Harlem, New York City in the 1920s and '30s and originally evolved with the jazz music of that time. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based...
, balboa and West Coast Swing
West Coast Swing
West Coast Swing is a partner dance with roots in Lindy Hop. It is characterized by a distinctive elastic look that results from its basic extension-compression technique of partner connection, and is danced primarily in a slotted area on the dance floor...
. She was twice voted Swing Dance Teacher of the Year and is a four-time Feather Award winner as Best Female Lindy Dancer in the U.S.
She has performed with Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Glenn Miller Orchestra
Glenn Miller Orchestra
The Glenn Miller Orchestra was originally formed in 1938 by Glenn Miller. It was arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, while three other saxophones played the harmony...
, Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw
Arthur Jacob Arshawsky , better known as Artie Shaw, was an American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. He was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings....
, and Les Brown
Les Brown (bandleader)
Les Brown, Sr. and the Band of Renown are a big band that began in the late 1930s, initially as the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils that Brown led while a student at Duke University. He was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences...
, and she has appeared on many television shows such as American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
and Gotta Dance
Gotta Dance
Gotta Dance is a 2008 documentary film and Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award Finalist directed by Dori Berinstein. The film "chronicles the debut of the New Jersey Nets' first-ever senior hip-hop dance team, 12 women and 1 man - all dance team newbies, from auditions through to...
for the American Movie Channel. She also represented the U.S. in the World Boogie Woogie Championships in Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
with her original partner Jonathan Bixby
Jonathan Bixby
Jonathan Bixby is a swing dance instructor in Santa Barbara, California. Although Jonathan is a member of the California Swing Dance Hall of fame he is perhaps most famous for the role he and his original partner Sylvia Sykes played in reviving the now popular but once near extinct dance Balboa.-...
.
She is best known for reviving Balboa, which is rapidly gaining popularity around the world, and is a regular guest at the balboa dance camps.
Sylvia has been the head judge for many national swing events as well as being an expert teacher on how to judge.
Sylvia Sykes currently teaches with her dance partner Jonathan Bixby
Jonathan Bixby
Jonathan Bixby is a swing dance instructor in Santa Barbara, California. Although Jonathan is a member of the California Swing Dance Hall of fame he is perhaps most famous for the role he and his original partner Sylvia Sykes played in reviving the now popular but once near extinct dance Balboa.-...
in Santa Barbara, CA. where they have continuously taught weekly swing dance classes for nearly 3 decades.