Brent

Barry

Michael

Benji

Kellese Key makes Swing dance history - again!

Anyone who has danced on the National Swing Dance Circuit knows that it takes an ENORMOUS amount of talent to win a Championship in the elite Showcase or Classic divisions.  Only the BEST have achieved that elusive goal.  It is a very exclusive club.
 
OK, suppose you work very hard and are able to pull it off.  Now try winning BOTH titles.

Then try doing it at one of the two most prestigious competition events in the country - the US OPEN or the USA Grand Nationals.
 
Now really impress us by winning these individual titles at BOTH of these events.
 
Then try doing it with 4 separate partners.
 
And just to make your achievement even MORE astounding, try doing it over an amazing span of 15 years. 
 
Only ONE person in America has done that.  Just ONE.  Her name is Kellese Key.  She is a Swing dance SUPERSTAR.  Or, as the judges say on "So You Think You Can Dance" - she is DA BOMB, RIDICULOUS and OFF THE HOOK.
 
Kellese has talent, she has technique, she has style, she has charm.  Most of all - she has VERSATILITY.  And, oh, that fabulous smile.  It's sweet icing atop a magnificent layer cake of talent.
 
Kellese won her first US OPEN Showcase title with Barry Jones way back in 1994.  She later won US OPEN Classic titles with her husband, Brent, in 1998, 2000 and 2003.  Then again with Michael Norris in 2007.
 
She also won the Showcase Division at the USA Grand Nationals in 1996 with Barry Jones.  She followed that by winning the Classic Division with Brent, in 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2003.  She won it once again in 2007 with Michael Norris.  And in 2008 and 2009 she won back-to-back Showcase Division titles with Benji Schwimmer.  Each time with less than two weeks of rehearsal.  You heard right.

Four partners, 14 major titles, 15 years, hundred hours of practice, thousands of intricate movements, innumerable competition memories.

Oh, yeah, one more thing.  Kellese was 23 when she won her first US OPEN title in 1994.  Do the math, folks.  We're talking a mature woman here who's had two kids and is competing against 20-somethings.  And winning US OPEN titles!  Move over Brent Favre - you ain't got nothin' on Kellese Key. 
 
Kellese is an amazing dancer, an amazing entertainer and an amazing woman.  Like a Renoir painting, she is stunning, remarkable, mesmerizing, and unique. 
 
Kellese Key is not just a Champion - she is a "Champion of Champions".  More importantly, she has secured a lofty place at the very top of the Swing dance world and in the annals of Swing dance history.  With her array of partners, her unmatched number of US OPEN Showcase and Classic titles, and her ability to win titles dancing both Swing and Shag, she is certainly the most versatile champion ever - and arguably the Greatest female champion ever.  Take a bow, girl.  You have achieved a lot.
 
Thank you, Kellese, for entertaining and inspiring America with your wonderful gift of dance for the past two decades. You are THE BEST of THE BEST.
 

US OPEN Championships
1994 with Barry Jones (showcase)
1998 with Brent Key (classic)
2000 with Brent Key (classic)
2003 with Brent Key (classic) 
2007 with Michael Norris (classic)
2008 with Benji Schwimmer (showcase)
2009 with Benji Schwimmer (showcase)

USA Grand Nationals Championships
1996 with Barry Jones (showcase)
1997 with Brent Key (classic)
1998 with Brent Key (classic)
2000 with Brent Key (classic)
2003 with Brent Key (classic)
2007 with Michael Norris (classic)
2008 with Benji Schwimmer (showcase)

Special Awards and Accomplishments
1996 Dancer's Choice "Feather Award"
1998 First person to win Classic and Showcase titles at the US OPEN
2003 Only Daughter & Mother dancers to win individual US OPEN Titles in the same year
2006 Induction into Dallas Dance Hall of Fame
2007 USA Swing Net "Impact Dancer of the Year"