Who Is The Dancing Kid at Twin Peaks High School?

One of the more memorable scenes from David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks pilot takes place at Twin Peaks High School. On April 8, 1990, the kid who “moonwalks” as the school bell rings danced his way into the hearts of many fans. For decades, people wondered about the student’s identity. During the Real Twin Peaks 2024 event in Snoqualmie Valley, Washington, fellow Twin Peaks Blog author Vinnie Guidera and I introduced him as a surprise guest during our film locations panel.

THE DANCING KID AT TWIN PEAKS HIGH SCHOOL

The Twin Peaks pilot was shot on location in Snoqualmie Valley, Washington in towns like North Bend and Snoqualmie. For the Twin Peaks High School scenes, the crew used Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie. They enlisted the school’s drama club for students in several scenes.

One of those scenes included a kid who dances from his locker as the school bell rings. I tried for years to identify him, combing through every page of Mount Si High School Yearbooks – the Tenas Coma – from the years 1988 to 1991. I followed up on tips of possible names of somebody who knew somebody who heard that somebody was the kid. No luck.

Then, I received a tip from long-time Twin Peaks fan Aaron Cohen who learned from someone named Lourdita Teresa that she found the kid. I couldn’t believe it until Aaron connected me with Jim Pennington who confirmed his identity.

Jim was a junior at Mount Si High School when his famous dancing scene was shot in Feb. 1989.  The high school’s seniors were invited to be in the pilot. Since Jim was in the drama club, he was included in the fun too.

At some point, the casting director told the group of students director David Lynch had something to ask. Lynch then poked his head into the classroom and said, “Can anybody do a moonwalk?”

Jim was into breakdancing at the time, so “poppin’ and lockin’,” and the moonwalk were his specialties. But he felt didn’t have the right shoes. One other guy did a moonwalk, but Lynch asked for second choice.

“Anybody else?,” he said.

“I can do a sideways moonwalk,” Jim responded.

“Sideways moonwalk? What does that look like?,” continued Lynch.

Jim did a quick example by the locker and Lynch loved it.

“Let’s do it!,” he exclaimed.

A quick dance rehearsal was followed with minor direction from Lynch.

“Can you fix your hair in the mirror or something?,” Lynch asked. You can briefly seen Jim playing with his hair as James Hurley (James Marshall) speaks with Donna Hayward (Lara Flynn Boyle).

Jim did one take and spun around. Lynch asked Jim if that was how he would do it since the locker door was left open. He tried again and again. In all, the dancing shot took four takes. Students were huddled in the classroom, anxiously watching Jim as he moonwalked across the hallway.

James Marshall talked with Jim in between takes, and he remembers Sherilyn Fenn giving him positive encouragement after the shot was captured.

Jim also remembered Ron Garcia and the giant Panavision Panaflex camera. An uncredited image of Ron at work appears in the 1989 Mount Si High School yearbook.

Jim, who still resides in Washington state, was a wonderful surprise guest during our Twin Peaks film locations panel.

He posed for photos and signed autographs for attendees all weekend.

Thank you Jim for being a part of our wonderful and strange Twin Peaks community. You can follow him on Instagram at @OneBadMagician.