Jean Veloz is a dance legend – and she seems to still be kicking up her heels well into her 90s!
She’s no doubt one of the many dancers happy to see Swing, Lindy Hop, and other Jazz-era dances revived around the world. She starred in Hollywood dance classics such as Jive Junction (1943) and The Horns Blow at Midnight (1945).
And Veloz is still happy to show up and show the young ones how it’s done!
While her heydays were in the 1940s, when she went by her maiden name Jean Phelps, there are videos of her at age 95 from as recently as 2019 still strutting her stuff.
Her late husband Frank had a dance show in the 1950s – on which she would often appear. “The Frank Veloz” show ran for 5 years and taught viewers basic swing dance steps as well as the Lindy Hop, tango, waltz, rhumba, and samba.
Veloz came out of retirement during the 1990s swing revival to help teach dance to the next generation – and then she began performing again!
In one of her many viral videos, this time posted by the AZ Lindy Hop Society, Veloz performs one of her iconic dances – a whopping 74 years after she danced the original!
In the caption, the Society explains what’s happening in this 2017 performance:
“93 1/2 year old legendary dancer Jean Veloz performs a routine she first did for a movie called “Swing Fever” in 1943. She had not performed the routine in 74 years. 93 year old Jean is seen with her 19 year old self doing the same dance routine on a big screen behind her with a clip from 1943.”
In the recreation, Veloz is joined by Steve Conrad from the Arizona Lindy Hop Society and Joel Plys.
“One Girl and Two Boys,” as it’s called, was performed for the 20 year anniversary of Camp Hollywood, an annual Swing Dance event held on Labor Day weekend in Los Angeles every year.
Part of the routine was also performed by the dancers for the NBC TV show “Little Big Shots: Forever Young.”
As the two men vie for her attention during the dance, Veloz is full of personality on the dance floor and overhead on the screen. It’s such a fun watch and it’s hard to believe that the clip is from three-quarters-of-a-century ago!
Not only can Veloz largely keep up with her younger self, she still looks thrilled to be out on the dance floor.
Her son-in-law even weighed in in the comments on the YouTube video:
“…the concept was brilliant, a 94 year old swing mavin communicating directly with the generations younger embodiment of HERSELF as just a kid. Woah, I am so proud of Jean!!!”
And let’s not pretend that at 93 anyone should be doing flips in the air.
The dancers point to the screen during some of the aerial highlights in the performance.
After all, there’s no reason to actually break a leg out there – Veloz is a legend with nothing to prove anymore.
Overall, it was a delightful performance and an indication that dance may just be one of those things that can keep you young!
As far as we know, Jean’s still at it. She did an interview on her husband’s career at the Rock That Swing Festival 2020!
Be sure to scroll down below to see Veloz’s amazing performance.
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