Dance History: Phil began dancing in the late 70’s in Long Beach California, as a student of Earl Manning. He partnered in hustle with Cookie, a fellow student. Also, in the early years, Phil taught alongside Tom Maddox at Sundance Studio. An active competitor, Phil competed in ballroom, hustle, swing and country dancing. Additionally, he was a Jack & Jill WCS competitor at the Champion level from 1990 to 2003, winning or placing in the top three at many events, before retiring from competition in 2003. Phil held the role of West Coast Swing Dance Representative for the master’s dance tour in the early 1990s. He introduced and taught WCS dancing at country/western dance events throughout the US in the 80’s and beyond.
Phil was owner of Swingtime Dance Studio in Bellflower, CA from 1985 to 2002. During that time, he taught thousands of people to dance, bringing joy to their lives. He continued to teach WCS, ballroom and country dancing in Southern California. Over the years, he has been teacher and coach for many US Open Swing Dance Champions and Country Western World Champions.
Phil attained world recognition as a choreographer for teams and couples. His teams have won seven UCWDC World Championships and one US Open Swing Dance Championship, including US Open Champions Swingtime Dancers and 5-time UCWDC Champions Midnight Cowboys. Phil was the Chief Judge at many events, including City of Angels, Desert City Swing, High Desert Dance Classic and Paradise Country & Swing Dance Festival. He has served as Competition Director for the US Open. Phil has served the swing community as MC at Fresno Dance Classic, US Open, Phoenix 4th of July Convention and many other events over the past 30+ years. Sadly, Phil passed away Nov 23, 2020.
