The Track - E039 - Nick Williams

The Track with Ryan Swift

In this episode, I am joined by dancer, instructor, and choreographer, Nick Williams. Since his first swing dance lesson in LA in 1998, Nick has studied Lindy Hop, Balboa, and Collegiate Shag with its original dancers and spent countless hours studying vintage dance clips. He has won titles at virtually every top-tier event, including the World Lindy Hop Championships, US Open, ALHC, National Jitterbug Championships, ILHC, Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown, and American Classic Balboa Championships. Nick’s choreography has been featured on So You Think You Can Dance, and he has been inducted into the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame.

Nick and I sat down at Lindyfest 2019 to talk about his early years of dancing - where he experienced bullying in the late-90’s LA swing dance scene, his challenging first experience at ALHC, and how dancing with Sylvia Sykes became a gateway for opportunity in the larger swing dance scene.

We also discuss his obsession with loafers and how that shapes his dancing, finding opportunities to dance in film & television, and how he pushes his creativity through song & dance, like recreating Gene Kelly’s iconic “Singin’ in the Rain” routine for a live audience.