Jean Veloz is an American dancer who was born Jeanette Phelps in the 1920s. To many, she represents the Hollywood-style representation of Lindy. Lindy is a name given to the variety of dance established in the early 1930s in America. Lindy is a combination of tap, breakaway, Charleston and jazz and rose to become one of the most popular styles for swing dancers worldwide.
Jean’s career took-off at an early age. Just like other teenagers in the 1940s, she took dancing as a pastime together with her brothers. She would later join a dancing competition together with one of her brothers, Yay, in which they emerged winners out of the over 500 contestants.
Later in 1942 after relocating to Los Angeles, Jean and her brother managed to dance at the hottest clubs, where they would showcase their skills amongst the elite. One year after, Jean registered for a contest hosted at the American Legion Stadium located in Hollywood. The ultimate prize was membership card for the screen actors guild coupled with an appearance as a dancer in the movie Swing Fever. She won the competition, thereby opening up numerous opportunities for her.
Frank Veloz and Yolanda were the most famous couple when it came to the dancing world. All this was as Jean and Ray rose the ranks. Immediately after the retirement of Yolanda, Jean became Frank’s dancing partner. The same person she would marry in 1963.
Jean retired in 1981 after her husband’s death. She was later inducted into the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame after coming out of retirement. She is 90 years old at the moment and portrays no signs of slowing down.