by Jim Davis
l like the US Open," the lady at the next table said, "because you see the best." The 2002 US Open Swing Dance Championships in Anaheim, California, over the Thanksgiving weekend, brought together the best competitors in West Coast Swing, Carolina Shag and Lindy Hop too. The organizers celebrated the 20th year of the US Open with an extraordinary show of individual and team competitions in different types of Swing dancing.
The Open's organizers reached out to the Lindy Hop and Shag communities and got a lot in return -- a noisy, enthusiastic Lindy Hop contingent in the audience and some great individual and team performances from both Lindy Hoppers and Shaggers. Hop, Swing & A Jump took first place in the team competition with some amazing Lindy aerials, while the second place National Shag Dance Championships Dance Team showed how intricate, and intriguing, Shag footwork could be.
Kyle Redd and Sarah Vann Drake took first place in the Classic competition, edging out the defending champions Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollmann. Both couples' routines pulled in other swing styles -- Kyle's footwork got the Shaggers cheering, and Jordan and Tatiana danced part of their routine to a fast Lindy Hop favorite song.
While the top couples in Classic seemed almost evenly matched, Benji Schwimmer and Heidi Groskreutz blew away the audience and the competition with an amazingly athletic routine for their second Showcase championship in a row. Benji's farewell to the Open audience -- he leaves soon for a two year LDS mission to Oaxaca, Mexico -- was one of the emotional highlights of the weekend.
Tucsonans went to compete too: Jesse Dickson and his partner danced in Professional Strictly Swing, while Lacey Petterson and her partner danced in Advanced Strictly Swing. And former Tucsonan Kelly Dye teamed up with wild man Chris DeMaci for a great "Star Wars" spoof in Showcase.
Social dancers had workshops during the day and late night dancing with an excellent staff of DJs. One of the best nights of dancing was Sunday, when the main ballroom closed and everyone moved into the smaller ballroom that had been reserved for the Lindy Hoppers. "Westies" and Hoppers kept dancing until the early morning hours.
The Open moves north to San Jose for 2003. Their web site at http://www.usopenswingdc.com has results, photos, and video clips from the 2002 competitions and information about the 2003 event