We had the good fortune of connecting with Hilary Alexander and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hilary, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I think staying on message and being consistent is an important part of any successful business or brand. From the beginning my event has always been about fun and had a light, playful attitude, which I think people really respond to. When people think about coming to my event, they know that they’re going to be in for a good time. It’s a place to connect with friends, meet new people, see inspiring things, and hone your own dance skills. It’s a place for community and shared interests. Most events are already at an advantage because people come wanting to have fun, and bring their own creativity to make that fun for themselves and others. Those who know me know that I encourage that creativity and everyone’s sense of ownership over the event – it can be whatever people want it to be; I won’t stand in the way. While we’ve adjusted here and there since the event’s inception in 1998 to better represent the needs and wants of our audience, I think we’ve kept our core values intact, and have been consistent in our timing/location/pricing so people always know what to expect. This has made for terrific word of mouth and return customers.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have now been in business for nearly 25 years – which is something I never imagined possible when I first undertook to put on a “big party for all my friends” that has now become a giant international party for my friends and more. I have seen lots of ups and downs over the years as the swing dance world has been affected by changes in trends, economic downturns, 9/11, and now Covid-19 which has been by far the biggest challenge the partner dance and event world has ever seen. So far I have always just put my head down and gone about my business, and that plus being very resourceful financially (can I pay off this credit card using another credit card…?) has allowed me to stick around for this long. There’s a time in business where you’re a hot new thing, then there’s a long painful period where you’re yesterday’s news, then if you outlast that period you get to be an institution, which is I believe where my event sits now. I think persistence is definitely the name of the game.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m an East Sider by nature (I was from the East Village in NYC and am now an East Sider in LA) so most of the things I would take a visitor to fall on this side of town. I would probably visit The Trails outdoor restaurant in Griffith Park and then take a hike up to The Griffith Observatory. I’d also take a trip to the beautiful Huntington Gardens. Four Cafe and Cacao Mexicatessen are a couple of my favorite lunch spots in Eagle Rock. But for a really special LA experience I would take them on a hike at Malibu’s Solstice Canyon and then dinner at The Malibu Cafe.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First I’d like to shout out the creators of Lindy Hop, the Black Americans from Harlem in the 1930s who originated this dance, most notably Frankie Manning and Norma Miller, who later in life came back to teach thousands of others this dance that we’ve come to love so much. None of us would be doing this if it weren’t for them, and we owe them everything. Next I’d like to thank the second generation of dancers in the 80s who found these legends of Lindy Hop (see above) and brought their dance to the small towns and cities by way of workshops, camps and classes that people like me got to attend – Sylvia Sykes, Erin and Tami Stevens, Melinda Comeau, Jonathan Bixby, the Harlem Hot Shots from Sweden. I’d like to thank these early swing dance organizers for creating a place for me to learn and be inspired to create an event of my own.

Website: www.camphollywood.net
Instagram: camphollywood
Facebook: Camp Hollywood
Youtube: youtube.com/camphollywood

Image Credits
Steve Hwan did the dance photo

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