Dance history: John Wheaton (deceased 5/26/22) served the West Coast Swing Community for more than 30 years. In 2018, the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame recognized him in the Special Achievement category for his dedication as a community member and event director for 3 popular swing dance events, Monterey Swing Fest, Halloween Swing Thing, and Jack and Jill O’Rama. He is a charter/founding member of the board of the World Swing Dance Council. Over the last 30 years John has directed over 100 weekend dance events, more than anyone else in theSwing Dance World. Many things like rotating partners in Jack and Jill’s to All Night Dancing that are now standard at events started at his events. For 30 years all of the dance workshops have been free at his events helping to grow WCS. He has judged, taught or MC’d at countless events over the last 30 years. He taught classes in Santa Maria for many years. In John’s spare time you wood find him on Hollywood movie sets playing hundreds of bit parts in film and TV. Yes, if you see a doctor on a show in a scene and you think, hey, that looks like John Wheaton, it probably is. John was a long time friend of Skippy Blair and received his teaching and judging credentials from her Golden State Dance Teachers Association (GSDTA). She was his mentor and he held a close relationship with Skippy Blair. He gave her a forum to teach classes and her Intensives at his events for as long as she wanted. John started the DJDK Memorial Fund, named after the late DJ David Koppelman. Money is raised at his 3 events and thousands have been paid to dancers in need from various health challenges.
John Wheaton
Permanent Stellar Star 2022
Special Achievement 2018
