It is heart-warming to see dancers who inspire us with their perpetual youth.
They defy old age with their talent and passion for their craft. Just like how a 90-year-old dancer proved that when it comes to dancing, age is just a number.
In a video uploaded by AZ Lindy Hop Society on their YouTube account, an old woman can be seen swinging her way across the dance floor.
Meet Jean Phelps Veloz, an icon of the Hollywood style Lindy Hop.
To the new generations of swing dancers, she provides a living bridge from the Los Angeles dance scene of the 1940s to the contemporary Lindy Hop revival that has swept the United States and the rest of the world since the late 1990s.
Born Jeannette Phelps, her career started after learning to dance with her brothers in the family living room.
Her career took off when she won in a Hollywood dance contest, earning her a Screen Actor’s Guild membership card and a dance cameo in the 1943 film Swing Fever. In 1995, Veloz was nominated, and in 1996, she was inducted into the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame.
Arizona Lindy Hop Society was founded in 1996. They promote jazz dance and music through live concerts, workshops, classes and exchanges.
The AZ Lindy Hop Society also has an education outreach program that teaches dance in public schools.
They are dedicated to preserving vintage vernacular jazz and blues dance and music within the Arizona community through social dance and education to bring joy into people’s lives.
Occasionally, they invite the dancing icon Veloz to grace their workshops with her presence.
At first, she just stepped out onto the dance floor to wave and greet the audience—but later on, she ended up setting the dance floor on fire with a surprise performance!
Agile as ever, Veloz maintained the grace of a swan as she proved how she became a Lindy Hop icon!
Her quick arm movements and nimble feet helped her perform some of the moves she used back then in her 1940s films.
Everyone in the dance hall was so impressed with her jaw-dropping impromptu dance number!
She shakes her knees and shuffles her feet playfully, exchanging groovy steps with her partner, Steve Conrad, the founder, director and dance instructor for AZ Lindy Hop Society.
She dances as if she is still young—so calm and collected, yet very energetic.
Her allure as a dancer is still evident in the way she moves despite how many years have passed by from the peak of her career. Jean was a popular example of the smooth Lindy style popularized by dancers like Dean Collins in the 1940s.
In addition to her flawless dancing style, she was also flat-out adorable on the stage making her the darling of the crowd.
The Lindy Hop, popularly known as Lindy, is a partner dance that originated in the 1920s and ’30s in Harlem, New York.
The dance itself consists of both 8 and 6 count steps and it includes footwork influenced by Charleston, Black Bottom and Tap.
Although the lineage and history of Lindy may be muddled, it was certainly born from the blending of African rhythms and movements with European structured dance.
Jean Veloz is a legend and an icon of Lindy Hop/Jitterbug whose unique style has been copied over the past decades by dancers all around the world.
Veloz is just 90 years young and she has no plans of slowing down yet!
If you want to be amazed by an age-defying performance by a world-class artist, click the link below to watch the whole video:
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