Ryan Boz and Alexis Garrish aren’t your typical teens. While they enjoy activities like hanging out with friends and socializing, the driven pair have been racking up tons of awards.
Boz from Raleigh, North Carolina, and Garrish from Damascus, Maryland, are highly skilled dancers with a number of titles under their belts. Versed in various styles such as hip-hop, jazz, and ballet, the teens are natural stars— but nothing shows their talent like their amazing swing dancing routines.
Swing dancing is a group of dances that emerged during the 1920s to 1940s. The various styles generally correspond with the music trends of the time, but the ones that managed to live on through the decades are namely West Coast swing, Charleston, and the Lindy Hop.
Ryan Boz and Alexis Garrish have been performing together for years, but they started turning heads in the dance world with their appearance in the US Open Swing Dance Championships.
The US Open Swing Competition is the oldest in the world, currently being in its 36th year. For swing dancers, it’s one of the most popular events for swing dancers, with organizers hosting competitors from 27 countries.
Competing in 2016, the pair won first place in the young adult (14 to 17-year-old) category.
Clad in complementing outfits with shimmering accents, the teens showcased their fancy footwork, drawing cheers from the crowd. As mentioned, their fun, high-energy routine earned them first prize.
At that moment, however, they immediately started planning how to come back with something better— and man, did they ever succeed!
In this video, we see Boz and Garrish competing in last year’s competition.
Although they had found great success the year before, when footage of their 2017 routine was shared on YouTube, it immediately went viral.
Once again wearing black outfits with a dash of shimmer, the teens set themselves up on stage. Over the loudspeaker, their pre-recorded voices explain:
“This is a tribute dance to those that came before us.”
With that, their performance begins.
The teens lock hands, beginning a smooth flow of movements to the song “Fever” by Elvis Presley.
Their synchronous steps flow together, with Garrish nailing every sassy expression. After a moment, the music suddenly shifts to a modern-day version of Jackie Wilson’s “Baby Workout”.
As the music shifts from song to song, the teens pay homage to the various styles of swing dancing.
Watching them is like taking a trip through time, their happiness betraying joy at being able to show off their skills. At the end of their performance, the two run into each other’s arms— not yet knowing they’ve just won first prize.
Since being uploaded, the amazing routine has been viewed more than 100,000 times.
People can’t get enough of the performance and have been singing the dancers praise:
“The closer you are together, the brighter you shine. May God keep you safe and well protected.”
“You both are more than amazing. I love watching you guys.”
“The more I watch these young people dance, I am amazed.”
See the award-winning performance below!
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