George Velasquez

GGinrhinestones

GGinrhinestones

Well-Known Member
It is with great sadness that I learned yesterday of the passing of George Velasquez. George was a well known dancer in Atlanta, and has been mentioned several times here on DF. Many of our members were lucky enough to know him and share dances with him in the past.

George, to me, was an inspiration both on and off the floor, but like so many truly inspirational people, I doubt he had any idea he had touched my life as he did so many others. I clearly remember him telling a group of us dancers once to never take for granted this wonderful passion we have, and the ability to fulfill it. Thanks to George, I am never too tired, too sore, or too anything to stay off the floor...or do anything else in life. He proved that there are no limits in dance except your own attitude. He will be sorely missed.
 
Wow. GG, thanks for posting that. I've spoken to George many times. Watching him dance was always amazing. I had heard a few weeks ago that he was very sick. Godspeed, George.
 
I guess I should clarify the whole weeping thing (I had to explain to DS just now that women cry for all sorts of reasons.)

I find this so touching. So touching. When you've been around dancers for a while, you will have heard lots of reasons why people "can't" dance. I lost my job. My wife doesn't like it. My teacher quit the studio. It's too far to drive. You name it. All good reasons.

But then, every once in a blue moon, you see someone who has a bona fide great reason to give up on dance, and you see him choose to dance in spite of it all. It brought me to tears in a good way.
 
pygmalion said:
I guess I should clarify the whole weeping thing (I had to explain to DS just now that women cry for all sorts of reasons.)

I find this so touching. So touching. When you've been around dancers for a while, you will have heard lots of reasons why people "can't" dance. I lost my job. My wife doesn't like it. My teacher quit the studio. It's too far to drive. You name it. All good reasons.

But then, every once in a blue moon, you see someone who has a bona fide great reason to give up on dance, and you see him choose to dance in spite of it all. It brought me to tears in a good way.
Click to expand...

Exactly. :)
 
pygmalion said:
But then, every once in a blue moon, you see someone who has a bona fide great reason to give up on dance, and you see him choose to dance in spite of it all. It brought me to tears in a good way.
Click to expand...

That's the truth. And to take that further: If ever anyone had a good reason to give up on life, George had one. (Several...) But he never did.
 
So I didn't know about George until now. Just did a little Youtube search, and I'm completely speechless.
 
RSF tribute to George,

George Velazquez:​
2012 RSF Ballroom Dancing Lifetime Achievement Award​
-- Sarah Olson​

The world has lost a great dancer and a great human being. George Velazquez was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died a few weeks later on Thursday night, October 11, 2012. Rick Pride, his long-time friend, Hector Bonilla and Brittany Bines were at his side. On October 12, 2012, Eddie Ares’s RSF had prepared a special award ceremony to bestow a Ballroom Dancing Lifetime Achievement Award to George at the competition finals in Atlanta. The ceremony was still held, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.
Many dancers know George Velazquez, but may not know his entire history. George started performing in the 70’s in New York. He earned the nickname “White Lightning” because of his quick spins. He studied theatre arts at Juilliard in New York City. His dancing performances include (to name but a few): Madison Square Garden (where he and his partner received a standing ovation), the TV show “Dance Fever,” and being part of the original cast of the long-running Broadway show, “A Chorus Line.” He was also an opening act for Comedian Buddy Hackett and choreographed and danced in several major motion pictures. This all occurred before his leg was severed by a hit and run driver in Atlanta in 1994.
This would have caused most dancers to give up dancing. Not George. As Paul Harvey used to say, “…now for the rest of the story….” Even when a number of surgeries eventually resulted in losing his entire leg, over the past seventeen years, he continued teaching, coaching, judging at ballroom dance competitions, and performing (with crutches for smooth and no support for Latin dances).
George was such a unique and talented person, PBS will be making a documentary about his life and his talent, entitled “Dancing Out of the Dark.”
In July, 2011, he leaned on his crutch in his backyard and it went into an underground yellow jacket nest. The yellow jackets swarmed, causing him to fall and injure his right arm. Because of past surgeries and poor circulation, gangrene set in and the arm had to be amputated just below the elbow. Now he had one leg and one arm. The dance community combined forces to help buy George a prosthesis that looks more like a hand. Ever gracious, George said, “If it weren’t for so many hands in the soup, I wouldn’t have one myself.” To all who helped to “give George a hand,” he gave a big thank you—“two thumbs up!”
George’s true talent was not his dancing, but his character. Long ago he stated that “I want to be able to make a difference in somebody’s life…Your life is over when you’re six feet underground.” “I just work with what I have.” His “working with what he has” extended not only to the dance community across the country, but also to the Amputee Coalition and other amputee support groups. For example, George started Captain Pegleg George Cruises each year for amputees so that they can experience the same type of support and joy of dancing.
George inspired many people over the years. At the Memorial Service, the stories that were shared showed a man rich in compassion, talent, and a spirit full of joy. In many ways, his life is not over, because the pieces of himself live on in those of us who knew him personally—we have been truly blessed.
“Dancing Is the​
hidden language ​
of the Soul!” ​
Thank you, ​
George Velazquez, ​
for showing us the steps!
 
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