by Robert White

This is the first part of a two-part feature with World Lindy Hop Champion and Balboa Mastermind Nick Williams. For the second part, Williams, an avid “clip collector” and historian, will take us on a You Tube tour of some of his favorite clips.  First, though, we sat down with Nick over IM to talk about Lindy Hop, Balboa, and the unseen dangers of shooting a commercial.

I’m sitting here (metaphorically speaking) with Nick Williams, champion Swing Dancer.  Let’s do the obligatory ones first…how did you start swing dancing?

NW. I started when I went to college at USC.  My longtime friend knew of a student-run club that offered a 12 week swing course.  We joined and immediately got hooked.  This was in the beginning of 1998. I had seen the movies like “Swing Kids” but never really mad e the connection or realized there was an entire scene with such awesome dances to go along with it. Visalia, where I grew up, wasn’t exactly a hip and happening town, so I had to find these things out when I moved to LA for school.  So I knew very little about jazz at all.

Was there a particular moment when you decided that what you wanted to do for a living was be an incredible swing dancer? Or did it just happen slowly?

NW. Well, I had been going out dancing with my USC friends and never realized there was a “swing scene.” There were so many clubs at that time that had swing nights in LA it was easy to get lost into it. Eventually I realized there was a scene with top dancers and friends that knew each other from club to club. Although I never thought I could be as good as they were. There was a point, around 2000, when I started to improve a lot and started to compete in the swing scene. It’s around that point that I thought it might be possible. I even became a Theater major, just so I had more time to dance. When I graduated I took a part time job that was flexible (though the money was terrible) so that I could build up my dancing jobs in order hopefully work full time. I was never sure that I would be able to do it full time. I looked into other part-time careers, but thankfully it took about a year and a half to go full time.

What was that job, if you don’t mind me asking…you know, assuming it was legal…

NW. I was a file clerk at a law firm. Good job, although I couldn’t stand working at a desk and doing tedious work. Also, I must mention that I was also on the USC Ballroom and Latin team for 3 years. I joined after I had been swing dancing for about 9 months. So I did that as well for the rest of my college days. Although I was always the swing guy in the group. So when I graduated I also looked into being trained to teach at ballroom studios because I didn’t know if I could do swing dancing full time. But now I’ve forgotten all my ballroom, oh well.

Okay, here I start treating the Interview like it’s a 1930s Tiger Beat teenage girl’s magazine. The ladies want to know…Balboa or Lindy Hop–do you have a favorite?

NW. I actually get asked that a lot. I don’t have a favorite, I love both. I know people associate me more with Balboa, but I thrive on both dances. For instance, Lindy Hop. I love the energy, the freedom, the athleticism, the ability to improvise and create, the partner dynamics, the versatility of making it smooth and controlled or making it look like Hellzapoppin. And Balboa [Here Nick is referring to "Pure" or Strict" Balboa--ed.] is awesome for its subtleties. The intricate footwork, the partner dynamic that is known only to the two people dancing together. The flow is amazing. It’s very intimate but swings at the same time. Bal-swing is a great in-between of Balboa and Lindy Hop. It has the subtle connection and intricate footwork of balboa. At the same time it can have an athletic flare. It’s great for its turns and variations, but also to calm down and have a very intimate partner connection.

In your opinion, what are some of your pros and cons with the current state of the Lindy Hop scene?

NW. Well, the Lindy Hop scene today is very Charleston based. The music, the moves, etc. I think it’s too influenced by Charleston. Years ago when there was a movement for classic Lindy Hop, I think people regressed too far back instead of stopping at the height of Big Band music and Lindy Hop.

Also, I see some dancers who are very unique (which is great) but those who copy those great unique people don’t fully understand the movement and the lead so they are doing a caricature of that person and it never turns out well. Although I am glad to see Lindy Hop become very individual to some people instead of a particular style.

I do miss when dancers cared a lot more for finesse and how their dancing looked, with an emphasis on lines, posture, partner dynamics, flow, etc. And I’m not excluding Harlem dancers in this, I’m referring to their dancing as well. And footwork, I miss the emphasis on that too.

Pros and Cons in the Balboa scene?

NW. I do love that many people are still concerned with technique and learning the dance properly. I do worry that people don’t care as much anymore about how the original dancers danced it. Bal-swing is in a very creative place right now which is awesome, but sometimes there is too much emphasis on trying to create something as opposed to something that works well within the boundaries of bal-swing.

Also I see more emphasis on Bal-swing moves…what’s the latest and greatest. It would be nice to also be able to focus on the finesse of both balboa and bal-swing a bit more, which gets lost sometimes. But the scene is moving forward and in a positive direction from what I see. I just hope great dancing wins over flash and trash.

Next year, you’re taking part in a workshop that has never been done before (The Balboa Experiment). To oversimplify it, it is a week-long intensive Balboa / Balboa-Swing workshop with only 24 students and an emphasis on technique, creativity, and peers working with each other. In relation to this new idea, what are your thoughts on the current state of workshops. In your opinion, is the experiment filling a hole? Is this something you’d like to see more of, something you like to see for Lindy?

NW. I think the Experiment is creating a needed balance. Big workshops should not end. They are extremely important and vital to the scene. But there are ideas and ways of learning and creating that cannot be done at big workshops. The Balboa scene is finally ready for an event such as The Experiment. It would be nice to see it for Lindy, but I don’t know how that scene would take it.

For two years, you were a choreographer for So You Think You Can Dance. How was that?

NW. It was a very interesting experience. Reality TV show with dancing. We only had 4 1/2 hours to teach a couple with no Lindy Hop experience to do an all-out routine with aerials. Not an easy task. It was a good experience though, definitely a learning experience. I learned how to work with non-Lindy Hoppers better. How reality tv shows work. What I can and cannot compromise.

NW. Haha, well, industry people don’t usually know much about Lindy Hop, nor do many of them care. So when it comes to music, costumes, dancing, sometimes they make requests or demands that Lindy Hoppers would cringe at. Thankfully SYTYCD gives the choreographers a lot of creative control, which was nice. But sometimes you do need to fight for content. I don’t want to end up on film or television, having compromised too much, and not be proud of what I’ve done.

Are you allowed to share any of the demands they made that would make us cringe? [Author’s Note: Getting involved with television work can sometimes mean you’re not allowed to talk about it.]

NW. Well, costumes were the only battle the first time. They wanted something a bit flashier (not zoot suits but more than what they ended up wearing). Because of that we knew what to expect the second time and were prepared. I have to say, though, SYTYCD people were probably some of the easiest people to work with compared to any other industry things I’ve seen or been involved with. They really want to see good dancing. That’s why I love the show. I recently shot a commercial and a music video, and it much, much more difficult compared to SYTYCD.

Oh, yeah, tell us about your new commercial.

NW. Well, it was Carla Heiney, Jeremy Otth, Laura Keat, Chris and Beth Grover and I that recently shot a commercial for the Jitterbug phone. We danced in front of a green screen which was interesting. The song is a bit cheesy, but we got to dance they way we dance so hopefully it turns out well. It was a very difficult day. Very hectic.

How so?

NW. It wasn’t always clear what they wanted us to dance, and we had to dance a lot on an extremely hard surface. Then run and costume change and dance again. I was sweating bullets. About 1/4 to 1/2 into the shoot, I jumped into a jazz split and tore a leg muscle.

Damn.

NW. The medic worked on me for a bit. I thought it was all over for me. Eventually I started to walk it out. Needless to say I finished the shoot with a torn muscle. I even did a few aerials with it. I wasn’t able to do everything I normally could. It was quite a day.

Any idea when we’ll be seeing that commercial?

NW. Hopefully within the next couple months. They are doing at least a couple different spots (a normal one and a holiday one). They might even have clips on their website of Lindy Hop and other things. Possibly print add, who knows? I’m not sure how big the commercial will be, if at all, but it was a great learning experience.

(Author’s Note: This interview was conducted over IM, which is great so writers don’t have to fuss with tape recorders or typing, and the interview can happen a little more organically. The bad side is, you don’t hear our laughing, and the responses can sometimes seem a little stilted, like Hemingway had written them sober. Please excuse it if any of the interview comes across that way. )

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