Hubert Leon Raper
Mr. Raper started dancing in 1966. In the late 1960s and the 1970s he became heavily involved in swing dance. He studied and learned fast forms of swing dancing such as Flying Lindy from Dean Collins, Kenny Wetzel, Maxie Dorf, Willie Desatoff, Bart Bartolo, Jack Pina and many other great dancers who were in many movies. He danced in over 400 swing dance contests, including the 1973 World Swing Dance Championships at the Palladium in Hollywood, CA. He also taught many forms of dancing for many years for dance clubs, classes and private lessons.
Internet
In 1995, Raper was one of the early web site developers on the internet related to swing dancing. Prior to the internet (1970's to 1995) He U.S. mailed dance information to over 500 dancers throughout the U.S. His first domain names on the internet were: SwingDance.com (1995), LindyHop.com (1995), DanceCorner.com (1996) and RetroSwing.com (1998). This allowed him to provide swing dance information throughout the world. He now has many more internet web sites providing dance information. LindyHop.com was removed from him in February 2001 without notification by the domain registrar.
Dance Instructor
Over many years as a dance instructor Raper danced and taught West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing, Hustle, Flying Lindy, St. Louis Shag, Balboa, and advanced competition material such as aerials, lifts and drops. He also taught Waltz, Foxtrot and Country/Western 2-Step, Half-Time, Pony, Chocolate City, Line Dances (Electric Slide,etc) Shuffles, etc. In addition, he taught Latin Dances like Salsa, Cha Cha, Rumba, Samba, Tango. Also, other fun things like Macarena. Later in life he studied International Standard Ballroom Dancing for over 10 years. Mr. Raper retired from teaching dance in 2012.
Awards
Dance Club Founder
- Jitterbug Club of America in Orange County California (1974)
- Flagstaff Swing Dance Club in Flagstaff, AZ (1993 - still going)
- Verde Valley Swing Dance Club in Camp Verde, AZ (2000)
Author and Publisher
Who.is - Lookup Each Domain
Association Memberships
References
- Le chant des Eve, La danse des Adam, by Stephanie Del Regno, 2012 ISBN 978-2-36696-002-0 ... West Coast Swing (Page 294 Article & Picture)
- Queen of the Stardust Ballroom Movie (February 1975) ... Mr. Raper was a dancer in the movie imdb.com
- Bug-Bitten Boogies Bounce To Jammin; Slammin' Beat, Orange County Register, October 27, 1974 (Article & Pictures)
- Dance Terminology Notebook, by Skippy Blair, 1995 ISBN 0-932-980-11-2 ... Mr. Raper was a Proof Reader of this book - Dancer - Teacher
- Disco To Tango and Back, by Skippy Blair, 1978 ISBN 0-932-980-01-05 ... Jitterbug Club of America (Note Pg 189)
- Resident Has Links to the Stars, Camp Verde Journal, October 2, 2002 (Article & Picture)
- Cutting a Rug Ballroom Style, Camp Verde Journal, by Rachel Flegenheimer, November 1, 2000 (Article & Pictures)
- Let's Go Do the Hop!, Bugle Newspaper, by Pamela Williams & Paula Blankenship, Nov 11-1998
- St Louis Shag - Updating the Count, Strutters Quarterly, Autumn 1998
- ST. LOUIS SHAG - Updating The Count, Jitterbug Magazine, October 1998
- Hijacking in the 1960's & 1970's, NTA Magazine (National Teachers Assn.), Sept 1998
- Swingin' It, Lumberjack Magazine, by Rachel Flegenheimer, Aug 26, 1998
- Swing to the Music, Lindy Hop Class, Camp Verde Journal, Photos by Shelly Cason, July 29, 1998
- Dancin' On The Internet, Country Dance Lines, July 1995
- Unlocking The Mysteries Of West Coast Swing, Jitterbug Magazine, October 1995
- Unlocking The Mysteries Of West Coast Swing For Newcomers, Country Dance Lines, July 1995
- Raper's Dance Corner - Who's Who In Swing Dance, NTA Magazine (National Teachers Assn.), April 1996
- Ask Your Dance Instructor For Help, NTA Magazine) (National Teachers Assn.), Nov 1995
- Unlocking the Mysteries of West Coast Swing for Newcomers, NTA Magazine (National Teachers Association), Sept 1995
- Learning Plateaus, NTA Magazine (National Teachers Assn.), Feb 1995
- Ladies, developing your double turn technique, NTA Magazine (National Teachers Assn.), Nov 1994
- Gentlemen - Are You A good Leader?, NTA Magazine (National Teachers Assn.), Oct 1994
- How to Impress Your Dance Partner, NTA Magazine (National Teachers Assn.), Sept 1994
- Turn Technique, NTA Newsletter (Nationall Teachers Assn.), June 1994
- West Coast Swing Dance Technique, NTA Newsletter (National Teachers Assn.), May 1994
- Dance Technique Lead & Follow-Through, NTA Newsletter (National Teachers Assn.), Mar 1994
- Learning How To Dance, NTA Newsletter (National Teachers Assn.), Feb 1994
- Swing Time, Lumberjac News, Mar 4, 1992
- US Swing Dance Council, Swing Dance Journal, October 1992 (Article & Picture)
- Thousands of spins later, he's still swinging, Arizona Daily Sun, June 8, 1992 (Article & Picture)
- Champion dancer two-steps his way from Hollywood to NAU, Lumberjack News, April 8, 1992 (Article & Picture)
- Swing Around The Circuit, Jitterbug Magazine, September 1992 (Article & Picture)
- Arizona Daily Sun, April 16, 1989 ... (Words & Picture)
External Links