Skippy was a choreographer and dancer on TV with the Al Jarvis “Let’s Dance Show”; Bob Barker’s Truth or Consequences; Barker’s Varieties; and Kastles in the Air. She also appeared with Larry Kern in the movies “Queen of the Stardust Ballroom” and “Tales of the Hollywood Hills.”
1963 – Founded the Golden State Dance Teachers Association®
1978 – American Dancers Hall Of Fame Award from Terpsichore
1981 – Ph.D. in Philosophy from Golden State University, Glendale, CA
1989 – Rebels Club “Legends of Swing” Award from Kenny Wetzel
1991 – California Swing Dance Hall of Fame recognition
1992 – “Feather Award” Recipient – as the person who most influenced couples dancing” in the U.S.
1993 – Co-Founded the “World Swing Dance Council”
1993 – The prestigious US Open “Humanitarian Award” from Jack and Mary Ann Bridges
1994 – National Swing Dance Hall of Fame Inductee
1996 – California Swing Dance Hall of Fame Gold Medal Award
2004 – Voted USA Swing Dance Network “Person of the Year”
Skippy Blair has been training champion dancers and teachers for over fifty years. She is the founder of the Golden State Dance Teachers Association® (GSDTA) and co-founded the World Swing Dance Council, of which she is the Secretary and Education Coordinator. She has written seven dance text books – including Disco to Tango & Back (now a collector’s item), Dance Power, and The Dance Terminology Notebook. She is the developer of the Universal Unit System® and Dance Dynamics® and has been involved in the prestigious US Open (teaching, judging, and evaluating) since the very first US Open Event.
Known as the Teacher of Teachers, Skippy (who celebrated her 81st birthday in 2005) still conducts Dance Intensives all year long. The list of certified graduates who teach Skippy’s Unit System include such Swing notables as: Tom Mattox, Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollmann, Wayne and Sharlot Bott, and Mary Ann Nunez – plus thousands of teachers who have graduated from the program and use the system to reinforce their own teaching and judging skills. Skippy taught dance for many years in public schools and universities all over the country. Today many of her GSDTA certified teachers have taken over those projects.
Skippy began her dance career teaching tap dancing at the age of thirteen. For twelve years, she was a choreographer and dancer on TV with the Al Jarvis “Let’s Dance Show”; Bob Barker’s Truth or Consequences; Barker’s Varieties; and Kastles in the Air. She also appeared with Larry Kern in the movies “Queen of the Stardust Ballroom” and “Tales of the Hollywood Hills.”
Skippy passed away in 2021.
