The BAMEO Story

Ben and Cameo McHenry came together nearly 11 years ago with the goal of simply creating a routine for one night. One hour of choreography and a 2nd place in Classic the next night was just the beginning of what has become one of the top WCS partnerships in the world.
 
Ben started dancing WCS at 11 years old, and he very quickly fell in love with the dance. At 16, he had already competed and placed in the Champions division. Now age 34, he has been teaching for over 10 years. Known for his extremely outgoing personality, and his love for social dancing in WCS, he continues to bring joy into WCS dancers lives everywhere across the world. In 2017, Ben was also inducted into the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame.
 
Cameo started dancing almost immediately after birth. Daughter of Michael and Amber Cross (The 1st US Open Swing Dance Champions ever), she was exposed to WCS almost immediately. Dance has always been her life, as she changed her focus to classical ballet which took her to great heights going through the University of Arizona School of Dance on full scholarship, and then dancing with River North Dance Chicago in Chicago, IL. In Chicago, she found her way back into WCS, and this eventually led her to California, which is where she currently resides. In 2016, Cameo was inducted into the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame and in June 2018, won a local Northern California Emmy for her work in BaseBallet II: Into the Game.  Cameo is the current US Open Classic Swing Champion with Ben Morris.  At age 35, Cameo brings a wealth of knowledge and experience not only related to WCS, but also dancing as a whole that is extremely valuable for WCS dancers to gain an understanding of to apply to their own bodies and movement.
 
Ben and Cameo (BAMEO) have now traveled all over the United States, and all over the world including countries such as France, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, England, Ireland, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Finland, Scotland, with many more on the horizon. Together, they have made 8 US Open Classic Division finals, placed top 3 in multiple NASDE Classic Divisions including 3rd (x2) and 4th at US Open Swing Dance Championships, 3rd at Seattle Easter Swing, 1st at Swingtime in the Rockies, and 1st at MADJam just to name a few. Separately, they have consistently placed/won in Jack & Jill and Strictly Swing divisions at competitions all over including Swingdiego, US Open Swing Dance Championships, Capital President’s Day Weekend, Boogie by the Bay, and many others. Together, they combine knowledge from many components of dancing in general, movement/body mechanics, and WCS specifically. They are known for focusing on many of the most complicated concepts in WCS, and finding ways to simplify them, making them easier to understand and apply. Whether they are teaching, running events, performing, or just social dancing, their goal is to spread their love and passion for WCS to dancers all over the world, and they look forward to many of years of doing just that.