Lifetime Achievement:
Sylvia Sykes body of work over her lifetime is wide reaching. With 57 + years of Swing Dancing, and recipient of 6 CSD Hall of Fame inductions, (only one to achieve this), her longevity and successes speak volumes. She began dancing in 1966, competing in 1970, and teaching in 1979. She has studied with many of the dance greats, including Dean Collins, Maxie Dorf, and Willie Desatoff. Her extensive studies and travels have made her an expert on regional dance styles and she is known for her expertise in, and the preservation of the older forms of Swing dance. In addition, she is credited with helping to preserve the Balboa by intently studying with Balboa legends and introducing the dance World Wide. In 1981 Sylvia along with Jonathan Bixby co-founded the Santa Barbara Swing Dance Club, a twice-monthly live-music dance club they continue to run. Sylvia began teaching classes and still teaches at the SBSDD. She has traveled extensively over forty weekends per year. Her dance troupe ran for fifteen years, performed with some of the great Swing bands, and nurtured other International teachers. She has been a member of the Santa Barbara Dance Alliance since its inception, has taught at the University of California, and has appeared in many TV shows and in several documentaries on Swing dancing. Sylvia actively judges and teaches various forms of Shag, Balboa, Lindy Hop, and West Coast Swing throughout the U.S., Europe,Australia, and Asia. She is an active competitor and has won or placed in virtually every Swing event she has entered, in a multitude of Swing forums. Sylvia also gained notoriety and respect within the West Coast Swing Community, and the Carolina Shag community, competing, judging, and teaching at organized events.
1981 – Co-Founded the Santa Barbara Swing Dance Club
1985 – U.S. Open Swing Dance Championships – 3rd Place
1986 – U.S. Open Swing Dance Championships – 2nd Place
1995 – U.S. Open Swing Dance Championships – 1st Place
1989 – Humanitarian Award presented by the U.S. Open
1989 – Santa Barbara Swing Community Award for “Contribution to Swing Dancing
”1991 & 1992 – Southern California Balboa Championship – 1st Place
1992 – Rebels Swing Club “Teacher of the Year”1994 – Can’t Top the Lindy Hop Award
1994, 1995, & 1996 – Feather Award for “Best Female Lindy Dancer – USA
1995 – Top Female NASDE point winner1997 – Feather Award for Best Female Teacher
1995 – American Movie Channel “Gotta Dance” (Lindy and Balboa)
1996 – Discovery Channel interview with Frankie Manning
One of a limited amount of swing dancers who earned 4 California Swing Dance Hall of Fame Star category inductions, Nova Star, Rising Star, Shinning Star, and Golden Star
2002 – World Swing Dance Council WSDC Hall of Fame Inductee
2005 – Honored as one of the Greats in Balboa
Couples History:https://youtu.be/iTxDXBg97V0
Jonathan Bixby and Sylvia Sykes started dancing together in 1966 when she was fourteen years old. They began competing in 1970 and teaching in 1979. They were staff dancers for the television show Shebang during the 1960s. From 1981 to 1984, they studied with the legendary, Dean Collins, who recommended Maxi Dorf for learning balboa. They were students of Dorf from 1984 to 1987. They also studied with with Balboa great, Willie Desatoff. And Lindy Hop great, Frankie Manning. Throughout his intense study they were able to move Swing forward from the 40’s and 50’s legends of the Hollywood movies. In 1985, Sylvia and Jonathan, co-founded the Santa Barbara Swing Dance Club, a twice-monthly live-music dance club that they continue to run.
Their influence and impact as a long standing swing dance duo who brought swing and Balboa to the masses is a tremendous achievement.They appeared on the television shows American Bandstand, and Gotta Dance.Jonathan and Sylvia represented the U.S. in the World Boogie Woogie Championships in Grenoble, France.They competed in the US Open Showcase Division in their early years as well as other organized swing events. While Jonathan slowed down and semi retired from his teaching travels, Sylvia continues teaching weekly classes and traveling the World to share her wealth of knowledge. Sylvia successfully crossed over into the West Coast Swing and Shag Communities during its hey day of the 80’s, 90’s and through the mid 2000’s.