 Benjamin Ricard and Genevieve Kerouac Benjamin Ricard is the founder and owner of Portoswing, a dance studio dedicated to swing dancing and its various forms. He has been performing with the Hop Swing & A Jump dance team since 2002. Genevieve has been a circus artist and acrobat for the last 9 years. Benjamin and Genevieve have been partners since 2003.
See them in action on YouTube.
Their list of accomplishments is extensive. It includes Showcase winners at the 2005 World Lindy Hop Championships, 2006 and 2007 National Jitterbug Champions and 2007 World Swing Dance Champions. Their awe-inspiring performances have taken them onto many TV shows and live performances at corporate events. Besides being great performers and dancers, they are wonderful and caring teachers. They have been teaching worldwide for the last few years and the success of Portoswing dance studios is a reflection of their dedicated work.
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 Jean Veloz It all began when Jean Phelps and her brother Ray made the trip from their home town of Santa Maria, California to Los Angeles for a big dance contest at the Hollywood Legion Auditorium. Avid swing dancers who made it to all the big band concerts in the Santa Barbara area, Jean and Ray won the contest—a Screen Actors Guild membership card and a role for Jean in the movie Swing Fever. Jean quickly became a devotee of Dean Collins, and eventually was featured in the 1944 MGM comedic short, Groovie Movie. Tom and Debra featured Jean and Ray at their first dance workshop weekend, Hooray for Hollywood in 1998, and have been happy to welcome them back to the DC area many times since, including hosting them as featured guests at the dedication of the World War II Memorial activities in May 2004. Visit JeanVeloz for Jean's photo album, film clips and more. Back to TOP ^ |
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