Dancer, Instructor and Choreographer. She was an accomplished dancer and choreographer from Houston, Texas, and was trained in both jazz and classical ballet. She founded and directed the Houston Jazz Ballet Company and had her own dance studio. She choreographed at the Houston Playhouse Center as well as for the Houston Youth Symphony and Ballet Company. Swayze spent ten years teaching dance at the University of Houston. Her most notable students, in addition to her son Patrick, were Debbie Allen, Randy Quaid, Jaclyn Smith, and Tommy Tune. When she was hired to choreograph the John Travolta film "Urban Cowboy," her career changed forever. After the release of the Travolta movie in 1980, Swayze moved her family to Simi Valley, California. She quickly established herself as a dance instructor in Hollywood and started her own studio, Swayze School of Dance, in Simi Valley, and choreographed for films such as "Hope Floats," "Liar's Moon," "One Last Dance," "Younger and Younger," and others for the next thirty years. Her training is credited with launching her son Patrick's career as a star in "Dirty Dancing" in 1987.
Dancer, Instructor and Choreographer. She was an accomplished dancer and choreographer from Houston, Texas, and was trained in both jazz and classical ballet. She founded and directed the Houston Jazz Ballet Company and had her own dance studio. She choreographed at the Houston Playhouse Center as well as for the Houston Youth Symphony and Ballet Company. Swayze spent ten years teaching dance at the University of Houston. Her most notable students, in addition to her son Patrick, were Debbie Allen, Randy Quaid, Jaclyn Smith, and Tommy Tune. When she was hired to choreograph the John Travolta film "Urban Cowboy," her career changed forever. After the release of the Travolta movie in 1980, Swayze moved her family to Simi Valley, California. She quickly established herself as a dance instructor in Hollywood and started her own studio, Swayze School of Dance, in Simi Valley, and choreographed for films such as "Hope Floats," "Liar's Moon," "One Last Dance," "Younger and Younger," and others for the next thirty years. Her training is credited with launching her son Patrick's career as a star in "Dirty Dancing" in 1987.
Bio by: Debbie Gibbons
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Swayze or Karnes memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
