My Favorite Swing Leads
Sheri and I had started talking about dancers we really enjoy watching and dancing with and thus today's article. Just something random and off the cuff ... unfortunately I do not know the names of all the leads I respect, and thus am sticking mostly with California leads simply because that is where I'm the most familiar.

One notable name missing from the list is Steven Mitchell. I have to mention his name because of the great talent that he is. Unfortunately, I have actually never really seen him swing dance socially (maybe once or twice). I've only seen him teach. But that's why I have him here at the top with the Honorable Mention!

Anyhow, on with my list:

Top 10 Favorite Leads of Swing

1. Tyler Goudie (CO): Verrry smooth, very creative. If you watch you can probably see who his influences are, but he's really made his moves and styling his own too. He's lead is very definite, but not strong which is a hard balance to achieve (I know I still work at it a lot). So. Cal is lucky to get him for the summer!

2. Shesha Marvin (CA): I like him for the same reasons I like Tyler. He uses his height and "lankiness" to his advantage and really feels the music. Probably not as well known as he deserves to be since he pretty much sticks to So.Cal. Wish he'd go compete at a huge national event because he'd do really well and his name really deserves to be out there.

3. Charles Nainan (CA): Another So.Cal local. He isn't a "big" dancer (as in tall and lanky or as in a performance dancer) and so may not be as fun to watch as the other leads on this list. However, I consider him to be (arguably) the top lead in So.Cal, and definitely the top social dance lead. Sheri and I have always talked about the advantage taller, lankier people have in swing dancing. Well, Charles is about my height (5'4") and is not tall and lanky and manages to be one of the best dancers I've ever seen. He's creative, musical, and best of all he has a very pleasant disposition. You won't spot him often on the national scene as he doesn't compete, but he does go to some of the bigger events (like Beantown).

4. Nick Williams (CA): I would simply call him "The Natural". At every type of dance he excels and looks natural doing it. Everyone knows he's a great lindy hopper and bal dancer. I then saw him doing some charleston at SCX 2004 and remember thinking to myself, "What can this guy NOT do?"

5. David Frutos (CA): Another So.Cal lead. I would put him here just for his disposition (and thus the "David Frutos Award" from the infamous Nocturne.Com Awards a few years back). You could also put him here because of his incredible knack for social dancing, performance dancing, and choreagrphy. Put them together and he should make any Top Leads list.

6. Ryan Francois (CA): There really isn't a whole lot that hasn't been said about Ryan. He's a big dancer with a lot of energy and fun to watch!

7. Mark Eckstein (NY): Besides the great personality, he is really fun to watch and quite versatile in various dancing styles (and has a bit of a resemblance to Frank Sinatra). It is his dancing (along with the rest of Minnie's Moochers) that Sheri and I were exposed to at ALHC 2000 that really opened our eyes to musicality and grooviness!

The next three also have the subtitle of "I Miss Watching You" as I do not see them dancing much anymore and/or have been rumored to leave the social dance scene.

8. Erik Robison (CA): No list would be complete with Erik. Sheri and I found some old videos of Erik and Sylvia dancing way back in 1997 (before Sheri and I had even started dancing) and their dancing was well ahead of its time. Even as dancing has evolved, I think any lead today would still be happy to dance like how Erik did back in 1997.

9. Justin Zillman (CA): Before Sheri and I were exposed to dancers outside of So.Cal, there were not many dancers we identified with in So.Cal. Erik and Sylvia were one couple. Justin and Jenn were the other couple. Before we traveled to Connecticut (ALHC 2000) to compete, we started going out of our way to go the Memories to watch Justin and Jenn dance to inspire our own dancing. Justin has such a natural coordination with swing and definitely inspired us. Unfortunately I don't see him out dancing much anymore

10. Jason Esparza (TX): I've only seen him a few times, and all of them were at ALHC. The last performance I saw of his was his ALHC 2002 Classic performance. His style is unique and creative and the boyish charm works for him. We were looking forward to seeing him at ALHC 2003 this past year (and actually introducing ourselves) but he wasn't there and word from Danielle (whom he won ALHC 2000 Juniors with) was that he had cut back on dancing.

There's my list. Stay tuned for my favorite Follows!