Skippy Blair (March 15, 1924 – June 30, 2021) [1] [2] was an American ballroom dancer credited with popularizing " West Coast Swing." [3] Blair was a member of a group that successfully lobbied the State Legislature in 1988 to have West Coast Swing designated as the official State Dance of California.[ citation needed] She was also the founder of the Golden State Dance Teachers Association [1] and a co-founder of the World Swing Dance Council. [4] [5] [1]
Blair danced in the 1975 film Queen of the Stardust Ballroom. [5] [1]
In 1994, she was inducted into the National Swing Dance Hall of Fame. [5] Her students include US Open champions Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollmann. [6]
Blair created the Universal Unit System, a complete system of dance notation that allows dancers to "read" a dance much like musicians read music. [5]