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Name
Doug Silton, Lindy Instructor
Contact Phone:
310.508.6419
Contact Email:
swing@DougSilton.com
Location:
Pasadena, CA, United States
Hometown:
Arcadia, CA, United States |
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My Story:
I started swing dancing in 1992 when I was a kid - and then got really into it when Swingers and the GAP Commercial came out. The first Lindy class I ever took where I realized that it was Lindy Hop was at a little cafe in Monrovia, CA back in 1995-6 when I was at Arcadia High School. The instructors were Jeremy Otth a girl who had gone to my high school. I remember getting really dizzy doing Swingouts, and decided that I was better suited for East Coast Swing. Eventually, in 2000, I didn't get as dizzy and I was at the Derby almost every night (except Tuesdays for Paladinos). I met this girl at the Derby who told me to suede my shoes - and that it would change my dancing forever. And it has. Thanks, Abi! Then in college, living in Florence, a girl asked me to translate her swing classes into Italian for the local community - this is back in 1998-9. So that was my first teaching experience. When I moved back to LA from Maine where I was in college (2000), I was really into groovier type lindy hop. So one of my students, Lance, and I decided to open a venue that catered to that kind of music. Ella. Solomon Burke. You know. That kind of music. We didn't really want the word Lindy in there, but in one of our meetings the name LindyGroove got tossed in as an option and it stuck. So we're going on 7+ strong years as one of the largest weekly Lindy Hop venues in the world!
Instructor Bio:
Doug Silton began dancing in 1992 and since 1999, he has been teaching, competing, and performing internationally. Doug is a three-time American Lindy Hop Champion (2001 Strictly Division, 2002 Classic Division, 2006 Blues Division), a 2-Time World Swing Dance Champion, and is a top competitor on the Lindy Hop circuit, NASDE West Coast Swing tour, and in CSA Carolina Shag competitions. Doug is the only competitor to ever be a finalist in Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, and Carolina Shag in the same year at the US Open Swing Dance Championships (2002).
In the salsa world, Doug has been competing in Jack & Jills for the past few years, placing in the top 5 at the Advanced/Pro Level. He is the 2007 World Swing Dance Championships Salsa Champion and the 2007 Reno Dance Sensation Salsa Champion. In May of 2008, he competed with Espie Hernandez at the 2008 Mayan Pro Salsa Competition, the second largest street Salsa competition in the world, coming in 8th Place.
Doug teaches group and private lessons daily 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. Click here hfor his Los Angeles and international travel & tour schedule, and to purchase Instructional and Event DVDs, see the Store.
Doug is the co-founder of LindyGroove in Pasadena, CA, currently the nation's largest weekly Swing/Lindy Hop dance venue, teaching his popular (and free) Connection & Musicality class most Thursdays. Doug's second home in Los Angeles is at his monthly SoulNBlues swing dance, on the 4th Saturday of each month in Pasadena, where Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, Blues Dancers, and fans of Soul and Grindin' Blues music can groove and dance! Doug teaches another free class here, combining elements of West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, and Blues - everything you need to get your Soul-Swing-Dancing-On!
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, Salsa, Hip-Hop, Blues, Bachata, Breakdancing, and Balboa.
Website:
http://www.DougSilton.com
Additional Questions
When/where did you first start doing Lindy Hop?
I'm part of the generation that got really into Lindy Hop from Swingers and the GAP Swing commercial.
Why did you first start doing Lindy Hop?
Girls! But really - I'd been doing East Coast Swing since I was 12. Lindy seemed like the next fun, logical step!
What is the size of your local Lindy community?
Los Angeles, baby. We're huge! Next to Seoul, Korea we're the largest in the world!
How often do you go out dancing or take lessons?
I dance 7 days a week. I take class or private lessons a few times a month.
What is your favorite thing about Lindy Hop (both as an activity and as a community)?
Social, Fun, and a great outlet for my OCD energy!
What do you do for a living?
Dance Instructor
Male/Female:
Male
Year you were born?
1978
What bit of non-swing info about you would the Lindy community find interesting?
I was on Wheel of Fortune when I was 12 - teen week. Yes, I won. ;)
How has Lindy Hop changed your life?
Dancing IS my life! Thanks to Lindy Hop!
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