The Liberty Swing Dance Championships in New Brunswick, New Jersey look like a blast every year. The event involves West Coast Swing competitions, various workshops, and 4 nights of social dancing.

It’s all run by the legendary swing dancer John Lindo, who was sorry to have to cancel this year’s “Johnvitational” due to COVID-19 and run parts of the schedule online. But you can watch some “best-of” videos online here.

Our personal favorite is a great demonstration by Robert Royston and Alexis Garrish (starring Lindo himself).

Royston is a well-known choreographer as well as a dancer. He holds an impressive 8 U.S. Open Swing Dance Championship Titles in 5 different divisions, as well as 6 World Country Dance Championship Titles (in 2 divisions), 3 USA Grand National Championships Titles (also in 2 divisions), as well as national titles outside of the swing world in the Hustle, Salsa, and Cabaret!

It’s no surprise that he’s earned a place in the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame. (Oh, and he’s choreographed videos and tours for Taylor Swift!)

Garrish’s career is still ramping up – and she’s got plenty of years to earn more accolades.

But she’s got a U.S. Open Swing Dance Championship under her belt (in the Young Adult Division) and world championships in the two-step, polka, triple two-step, nightclub, cha-cha, waltz, and East Coast & West Coast Swing categories.

It’s no surprise that these two knock this dance in the “Jack and Jill” portion of the invitational out of the ballpark! (“Jack and Jill” competitions are when dancers are assigned both their partners AND their songs right before the performance begins – no practice allowed!)

Lindo starts off by picking Garrish to dance next and then carefully choosing her partner as they walk up and down the row of potential dancers.

He gets quite a laugh for this stunt, acting like a protective dad choosing a suitor.

As they “walk with purpose,” Lindo brings them to Royston, who seems pleased to get to dance with the young star.

We’re not sure how many times they’ve danced together in the past, but they certainly do have chemistry!

John gives him the keys to “Alexis” (Get it? “A Lexus”) and the crowd is fired up and left with big smiles as the two give each other some quick hints before the music starts.

Lindo is pretty committed to his comedy routine. Then again, it is his show!

But the dancers are ready to dance and we’re ready to watch.

It’s always awe-inspiring to watch Jack and Jill performances because you get to see dancers improvise on the spot – and yet it always looks like they’ve practiced for months! And these two clearly have the charisma for improv.

Every Jack and Jill performance has a Part II as well, and the dancers get no say in the pace or style of the music.

It’s clear, however, that with the opening notes, the two recognize their next song and start to stage a little play-acting to go with their dancing.

Either that or they’re really depressed about the song choice!

But don’t worry, things perk back up!

And you should definitely scroll down below to see it all unfold. It’s a fun few minutes!

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Source: Liberty Swing Dance Championships via YouTube, Robert Royston.net, West Coast Swing RVA via Facebook