Giving his parents a handful with his ability to be extremely creative, an unbound imagination, and seemingly never ending supply of energy to run around like a mad man. They dubbed him the family monkey and then later Mr. Hollywood! Growing up in a family of Latin American decent, Mikey was a part of the first generation in his family to be born in the USA. His family get togethers are always plentiful in food, laughter, music and of course dancing.

One night, his brother came home from his very first dance lesson and promptly taught Mikey the Charleston right there in the living room. The fear of trying something brand new was a source of excitement for him. So at age 12, Mikey began to take dance lessons with a local dance instructor at a recreation center in Orange County, CA. He was so enthused that he took classes in other dances like salsa and ballroom, but swing dancing had captured his heart. So much to the point even his brother would take him to clubs around Los Angeles and Orange County. Sometimes resorting to being snuck in because he was too young.

His interest spiked when in 2004 when he attended the biggest and best dance event in the world, the Mecca of all things swing and jazz, known as Herrang Dance camp in Sweden. For two weeks he was immersed into a world of laughter, excitement, music, and dance. Much like the family atmosphere he was so used to all his life. He felt at home with the vintage swing dances like the Charleston, Balboa, Solo Jazz, and Lindy Hop. Discovering that all of this is not just something that he does but that this whole world of music and dance is who he is. From that point on Mikey set out to learn, understand and share as much as he could about this truly American tradition in the form of dance.

The perfect union of ethereal grace and classic gritty style to every part of the dances he is so passionate about is something that is so instilled inside of him, he dreams about what he could do with the dance. Mikey can be seen in the many performances and contest he’s won such as the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown, American Lindy Hop Championships, International Lindy Hop Championships, US Open Swing Dance Championships, and World Swing Dance Championships.

Mikey has lived the majority of his life as a student of the vintage swing dances. His hard edged & self-expressive approach to lindy hop can be seen in every song he dances. He brings that same fantastic energy to the countless amount of classes he has taught around the world. Focusing on a classic jazz-dancing look matched with a thought out technical feel. He wants to share his unique approach to vintage swing dances, in the hopes that his students may be able to appreciate this American art form as much as he does.

Member list

Nikki Marvin

Shesha Marvin

Laura Keat

Nick Williams

Adrienne Weidert

Jeremy Otth

Mary Freitag