John Mills passed away this last Friday at 3am. He and his wife Ann Mills have been great mentors and inspirations for the newer generations of dancers. He was a friend that will be greatly missed.
Although we know him as a lindy and swing dancer, he was best known for being a hoofer in his younger years. I fondly remember David Rehm and I interviewing John and Ann at their house. John was 90 years old at this point. At one point John he became very exciting telling us about his hoofing years. He was telling us how he used to do wings and accomplish more sounds than other dancers. He put on some shoes and decided to demonstrate even though it had been years since attempting them. Sure enough, this 90 year old dancer was doing amazing wings right before our eyes. Thankfully, we did capture it on video.
Unfortunately, I don’t have that video readily available, but here is a short tribute video of John dancing with Ann and Rusty Frank.
R.I.P
Nick, thanks for sharing your memory of John. It’s a small & simple thing to note, but it brought me true joy that in spite of the crowded dance floor you & Denise managed to be the only couple I saw pull off “The John Mills Move” this past wknd when the band dedicated a song to his memory.