Benji Schwimmer

Benjiman Daniel Schwimmer is an American West Coast Swing dancer, choreographer and teacher whose competitive record and television visibility redefined how swing technique reaches audiences beyond the dance floor. Born January 18, 1984, in Newport Beach, California, Schwimmer grew up inside a Southern California dance family; his parents, Buddy and Laurie Schwimmer, were professional dancers. He began competing at age five at the family studio.

Swimmer's first major competition success came at age seven, when he and his cousin Heidi Groskreutz won the US Open Young America division in 1991. That partnership continued into adulthood and became central to his artistic identity. In 2001, Schwimmer and Groskreutz entered the adult Showcase division at the US Open, where their appearance drew exceptional audience response. Four years later, in 2005, they won the Showcase championship—a partnership achievement built on staged lifts, counterbalances, rhythmic dialogue and dramatic pacing that depended equally on both performers.

In 2006, Schwimmer entered the second season of Fox's *So You Think You Can Dance* and won the competition at age 22, bringing West Coast Swing technique and vocabulary to a national television audience. The victory exposed his range beyond the competition floor while his swing background remained central to how he shaped musical accents and partner exchanges.

Returning to the US Open Showcase circuit, Schwimmer built a record across four distinct creative partnerships. He competed with Kellese Key in 2008, with Torri Smith Zzaoui from 2010 through 2014, and with Nicole Clonch Ramirez from 2015 through 2018. The California Swing Dance Hall of Fame documents 14 adult Showcase titles across these partnerships. Schwimmer and Clonch Ramirez's final years together deepened the dramatic vocabulary of their West Coast Swing, incorporating long-form narrative construction, restraint and acrobatic risk. He retired from Showcase routine competition in 2018 after their fourth consecutive first-place finish.

Schwimmer's work after competing spans television, concert performance, film and figure skating. His official biography credits him with choreography on *Once Upon a Time in Hollywood*. He was inducted as a Shining Star into the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame in 2008 and as a Golden Star for West Coast Swing in 2024. As of 2026, The Open lists him on its judging staff, a continuing institutional role that reflects his standing in the competitive community.