Jason Colacino and Katie Boyle were a popular West Coast Swing dance team before Colacino’s sudden passing due to pneumonia and an enlarged heart in 2009 at the age of 31. But videos of their performances still regularly make the rounds because of their unique talent.
In fact, one of their videos has gone viral multiple times for the duo’s flawless moves to the fan-favorite song “Honky Tonk Women.”
Originally recorded in 1969 by the Rolling Stones, it’s been covered by many a country artist since that time. Despite the country-music sounding name, it was actually written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards while they were on vacation in Brazil and was inspired by Brazilian “Caipiras” music.
Colacino and Boyle’s performance defies categorization – it’s part swing dance, part line dance, and involves a lot of…well, what else can we call it but “elasticity”?
And this is no surprise since Colacino got his start in line dancing and mastered salsa, Argentine tango, jazz, ballet, and ballroom dancing prior to his performances as a West Coast Swing dancer. Boyle began her varied dance training at the age of 2!
West Coast Swing is a partner dance that is based on the classic dance, the Lindy Hop. The style relies heavily on improvisation between partners and that’s precisely what makes each routine highly personalized. There are even competitions that assign random partners to see how well participants can lead/follow. That means there’s little room for choreography but a lot of room for individuality and chemistry between dancers.
Colacino and Boyle’s routine starts off with some hip movements that would make Mick Jagger himself proud before the couple launches into a series of twists and slides that get the crowd up on their feet.
The couple seems to float above the floor with their fancy footwork – and that’s when they’re not entirely airborne during a series of lifts that show off their balance and strength.
They make it look easy and no single still from their performance can give a very good indication of just how good the routine is – so you’ll just have to watch it down below!
The routine was part of a competition and according to sources, they were later awarded the first prize. Not surprising considering their talents!
Even more than a decade later commenters are still lighting up YouTube with praise for the performance:
“OMG! Everytime I watch this I am awestruck!”
Many expressed grief over Colacino’s untimely passing:
“After having watched dancing videos of all types for over 50+ years, in my humble opinion THIS IS THE ABSOLUTE BEST I HAVE EVER SEEN!! Jason and Katie, the moves of both, and the music are all just stellar. I’m so sorry and saddened that Jason and Katie didn’t get to spend 100 years together! God bless them both!”
One version of the video (the one you can see below) was posted in 2011, over 2 years after Colacino’s death and yet has over 10 million views. Since viewers have been so impressed by the duo’s skills, their videos often rank in the millions of views.
Be sure to scroll down below for their memorable Honky Tonk performance and see what all the fuss is about.
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