About James

Take equal measures of geek/nerd, artist, and dancer... add a bit of crushed fresh spirituality, a shot of justice, then mix until deeply passionate... and you'll have something close to James.

He's an unusual mix of qualities (but then again: doesn't every artist want to think so?) but has a lot of fun giving space to each.

Origins

James grew up as an Air Force brat, moving around every three years wherever his family would be stationed next. He's lived mostly in California, but also out in Spain and Hawaii. Having now settled in San Luis Obispo, it's still slightly odd to him to not have a new house and set of friends every three years.

Work

By day James is a computer programmer and loves the thought involved in architecting a good design, the thrill of writing code that solves hard problems, and the beauty of usable interfaces that "just work."

He does miss being outside in the summer daylight, though.

Play

At different times he's dabbled in acting, script writing, video directing, editing, public speaking, music (flute), choir, photography, and calligraphy.

While still continuing to dabble, most of his focus (which he does have now, thankfully) is dance. Though he started with Salsa, his current passion is West Coast Swing. He continues to learn other dances (both partnered and classical) partly to become a better dancer but mostly because he loves it.

He dances in performances and competitions, but it's all the little moments that he really loves: feeling the music, laughing between classes, trusting the dance floor, hitting a break, spinning or lifting... it's all the little things that feed his passion.

Outlook

"Don't fear failure. Don't crave success. The reward is not in the results, but rather in the doing." - Wilson Greatbatch