George Lloyd

      by Margaret Batiuchok

Born in Miami Florida in 1921, George grew up with other future swing stars such as Panama Francis and George Kelly. He moved to New York in 1940 and two years later joined the service. He won two Lindy competitions when he was in France and returned to the New York area where he choreographed USO shows. After demobilization he settled down to become a Savoy regular, joining the famous Tuesday night 400 Club and carried on dancing at the Savoy until it closed in 1958.

George was a private man who went about his business unnoticed until he was given the spotlight. Possibly he felt unappreciated at times, but then his manner did not invite attention. His delicate personality did not allow him to totally forget his experiences of not being welcome because of his color, nor being judged fairly because of his lack of affiliation with a certain group. Flamboyant expressions of joy were not his thing. His joy was more subtle and private and to see him smile was a rare and wonderful occurrence. Intent on perfection and subtle detail, George's best performances were given when it was not asked for!

George danced by feeling the music. He didn't intellectualize, think of steps or routines or even plan ahead. He just stayed right on the music and his feelings at the time. His mood didn't change much except from serious to happy, or from relaxed to energetic. George didn't have a large variety of new steps; it was the way he moved that marked him out. He was never a professional dancer. We never rehearsed except to work out some semi-aerials. Dancing with George could even be romantic as it was more intimate, meant just for him and his partner, and if anyone else was watching it might give him a little more inspiration to show off.

Back in his early days in Florida George was a natural athlete (track champion) and good in math while in high school. He started to dance when he was seventeen, following the example of his mother who was a good ballroom dancer. Back at the Savoy he adopted the new sliding style that was wasn't just confined to the Lindy. He combined the cool elegance and underplayed energy of Honi Coles, the slick sliding grace of Jimmy Slyde with the excitement of a tornado. He would swing out hard, moving really fast and precisely in time, with jumps, leaps and intricate syncopations, all with clean comfortable partnering. He had sparkle and pizzazz, when putting energy into a fast number he never lost his cool, balance or grace. Unfortunately, many weren't privileged enough to see all this because his failing health in later years prohibited such movement. He had hurt his back in 1969, had a disk operation and in the 1970's broke his arm. After that he gave up aerials and concentrated on sliding, which he argued let the floor do the work for him.

George worked from a narrow base and took small steps. His posture was fairly upright with a slight 20-degree torso tilt towards the floor. He stayed pretty much in one place and could dance well in a very small area if the need arose without losing his smoothness. His weight was mostly on the balls of his feet and he used his feet, ankles and knees rocking back and forth from heel to toe whilst lifting and dropping the knees slightly. This control prevented his weight from falling heavily into a flat foot, and helped him achieve a wonderful rhythmic lightness. George conserved his energy, but when he felt like it he could take off into flight. His feet could move like lightning underneath him as he did some fancy syncopation, without it affecting his torso. George held his partner close and comfortably, and was serious when he danced for fun.

He never got round to entering the Harvest Moon Ball until the Savoy was about to close. He competed with his partner Barbara Bates (she weighed 105 pounds) in 1957 and 1958 and they did 13 air steps in 3 minutes. When they didn't win for the second year, George said he'd never enter again. But in 1983, he met me, Margaret Batiuchok, and six months later we entered the Harvest Moon Ball. We didn't practice or do any aerials, just strictly floor work and won! (We were the first interracial couple to win, and most likely the first to enter; the following year the Lindy portion was dropped from the Harvest Moon Ball.)

His lead was easy, precise and comfortable - a dream to dance with. Many of the dancers around New York remember George for his elegance and grace on the floor. Others remember his quiet unassuming manners or his impeccable taste in clothes. I remember him as all this and as a loving loyal friend and partner.