|
SPOTLIGHT
Thirty
years ago, he won the most prestigious hustle dance of it's time. Truly
the brass ring of dance, but the curtain would fall, as his time in New
York would be cut short. Alex Kim moved to Korea to work in the family
business. Alex made a name for himself in 1977 winning the very first
Hustle title held at the Harvest Moon Ball.
Throughout his high school days, Alex was an active free style dancer
but the new wave of partner dancing was catching his eye. He grew up in
Westchester County in Larchmont, NY. It wasn't until he was
19 that he began to learn the hustle." There was a fabulous Hustle
dancer from the Dominican Republic living in Westchester
County, his name was Paco Cordero," recalls
Alex. Paco taught at Rollyn Dance studio in Yonkers
along with Sis, a ballroom instructor. Sis was a very
accomplished teacher and was an active member of Dance Masters
of America. Alex began to study the hustle with his cousin,
Hyela Kim, who lived in New Rochelle. Hyela was a ballet
teacher that taught at Rollyn. She began to learn the hustle first and
encouraged Alex to join her. Growing up, Alex was greatly
influenced by his "all time favorite couple" Fred Astaire &
Ginger Rogers. "When I started dancing, I was always
studying other dancers from different areas to see what they did
differently". Alex was able to take bits and pieces of various styles
to mold his own look. He realized that most of the top
competitive dancers were Hispanic and were physically superior to
himself. To over come this, Alex began to take ballet and
jazz classes to improve his all around skills. The time paid
off as he strengthened his legs, improved his spins,
developed his lines and made his dance movements smoother. "We
used to go to Alexis dance studio on Monday nights, all the
dancers went there" explains Alex. That is where he would see Artie
Phillips, Maria Torres, and Kenny Gonzalez dance. In addition, he
would go to clubs in Westchester County: Peachtree,
Milkyway, Lollipop as well as clubs in Manhattan: Ipenema,
Library and Adam' Apple. Alex and Hyela began to
create a look all their own. In addition to being
Asian, they began to stand out from all the other dance teams.
"I feel that I had a great mix of influences, we had Latin styling
from Paco Codero, a classic ballroom look from Dance Masters
of America and a high energy punch - speed, spins and aerial
work courtesy of Eddie Vega" recalls Alex. Growing
up in NYC had its ups and downs. Money was not plentiful
and automobiles were not common among
teenagers. Alex was the only one in his circle of friends that
had a car. He became the main transportation for his good
friend and mentor Eddie Vega.
"I used to pick up Eddie and Lourdes
every night from his apartment in the Bronx and then we would go to
clubs every night" explains Alex. Being the guy with the
wheels had additional benefits. Eddie
Vega was extremely creative and constantly developing new
moves. Everytime that Eddie would whip up a new step or dance
pattern, Alex was one of the first dancers to learn it. Hyela and Alex
continued to grow as a team. "Sis, told me to enter a prestige contest
and she choreographed the routine for us. I later found out it
was called the Harvest Moonball" remembers Alex. It was the 1st year
that they put hustle in the event. Holding the winning trophy
in front of all the people, packed into the Madison Square
Garden, was a cherished memory and achievement for him. After
this great victory, Alex and Hyela would continue to compete in many
other competitions, sanctioned by the Dance Masters
of America. Their skills strengthened and they maintained an undefeated
record. His trophy cabinet was full and he couldn't
get enough of the hustle. All in all, he had over 400
trophies at home, a collaboration of dancing, bowling and golf.
In addition to his dancing talent, Alex was a member
of the Professional Bowler's Association and carried a 2 handicap in
golf. But the mirror ball would come to a screeching
halt for Alex and Hyela. In 1979, Alex left New
York to fly to Korea to work for
his father's fishery company. Unfortunately, hustle never
reached Korea. Dancing came to an abrupt end
for Alex. "I have nothing but fond memories for the
time that I spent with Eddie, learning, leading him and going out to
eat after dance". In 1994, Alex moved to Los
Angeles, to take over an auto body
center. He had been living in California for nearly 12 years
before he realized that there was still a hustle faction alive
and well. Alex has been dancing ever since. "The measure of a
great dancer is the hunger to give back" shares Alex. He
is now trying to spread the hustle to the salsa community, "I
find it much easier to get salsa dancers to do the hustle than trying
to get non dancers to learn the hustle" explains Alex. On a trip to NY
to attend Lori Brizzi's Hustle Congress, Alex was reacquainted
with friends from nearly 30 years prior - Billy Fajardo, Kenny
Gonzalez, Diane Nardone, Maria Torres. " I think it was amazing
that at NY Hustle Congress, I was talking to a friend when
Nelly Cotto walked by and she stopped, and was staring at me,
the only time that I ever saw Floyd and Nelly was at the contest, and
30 years later she remembered me" explains an overwhelmed Alex.
Today,
Hyela still live in NYC but stopped dancing around
1979. She became a very successful business woman in the clothing
industry. Alex has been teaching salsa dancers in LA,
for free, for the past 2 years. He has been working very hard to get
back into top shape and form so he can compete in
the US Open and at the World Hustle Championships. Alex Kim
has been working and sharing notes with Salsa Champion Alex DaSilva,
(best known from the hit show "So You Think You Can Dance").
Alex K. has been teaching hustle, lifts and tricks to
DaSilva. Mr. Kim continues to live in LA along with his 17
year old son who is an avid hip hop dancer. Alex, is a credit to
the vision and determination to grow and give back
his love for the hustle. Look out for the return of Alex in
2008.
Hustle Dance Teams -
Vintage pixs
Click to Return to the -
|