He showed up in Oklahoma City last Saturday (9/14/2019) and gave workshops. His workshops were popular. A participant told me that "he was a fun guy and I really liked it". In following social dance party, he was a solid lead and seemed to bring good dance out of his partners, which is an essential character of great social dancers.
I did a little research with YouTube on popular West Coast Swing video, and surprised.
It was not Jordan & Tatiana's 2009 Moscow performance (1.3M views). Not Benji & Heidi's 2005 US open (3.8M views). Not my favorite, Kyle & Sarah's Jonny B Goode (141k views).
I can tell you, these WCS routine performances are by most respected champion dancers. I doubt any knowledgeable WCS dancers would say otherwise. No doubt they got over millions or hundred thousand views.
However,...
The most viewed video was none other than John Lindo's 2008 Jack and Jill (8.9M views as of today). Second most viewed video was also John's (6M).
[Phoenix 2008 Champions! John Lindo and Stephanie Batista]
Now, you can watch his dance yourself, and you know that he is a champion.
When we talk about dance champions, we may think of ballet company dancers, circus performers (Cirque du soleil), professional ballroom dancers (like the ones in Blackpool), or Broadway style shows. Television shows do bring amazing dancers (e.g., the world of dance) as well.
These dancers are amazing. But at the same time, it is glaringly clear. They are elites and for 99.9999% of people, their levels of dances are unattainable.
Here I'd have to say something obvious. John's body does not look like that of these elite dancers. Instead of radiating sense of awe, he gives us hope.
Somewhat like early Argentine Tango shows surprised us with "old" masters, not only by young up-and-coming dancers, there is a niche in people's viewing pleasure; a Hope.
In this era of all kind of videos and view counts metrics, John emerged as a champion of the niche.
People don't really care how WCS dance world is organized or run or who is respected or the history. Much like I personally don't care about these things in Ballet or competitive ballroom dance. (Certainly I do like great dancers and their videos, and see nothing wrong about them for getting high view counts, though.)
In such an era, hitting people's fancies is a right way for entertainer professionals.
There was an advice by a famous Tango teacher to her students; "think how you would stand out".
John stands out, in his way. That is admirable.
