Laura Keat |
Jeremy Otth |
Laura Keat has been specializing in dancing, performing and teaching jazz dances of the swing & big band era since 2003. Laura values inclusivity, individuality, clear instruction and uplifting dance experiences. Laura has experience teaching and performing across the globe spending most of her time traveling within the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. She has many accolades including championship titles at ILHC (International Lindy Hop Championships), NJC (National Jitterbug Championships/Camp Hollywood), US Open and many more. She has had to opportunity to perform on the TV show, "Dancing With The Stars," "Agent Carter," as well as multiple commercials and music videos.
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Jeremy Otth has amassed a great amount of knowledge on the historic essence of vintage swing dances from many of the original jitterbugs and swing dancers. Along with his seemingly inexhaustible amount of energy, Jeremy’s natural talent and dedication led him to accumulate championship titles at many acclaimed dance competitions such as the International Lindy Hop Championships, National Jitterbug Championships, American Classic Balboa Championships and the US Open Swing Dance Championships. Jeremy is now able to share that breadth of knowledge and passion for these classic partner dances by entertaining and educating feet from Southern California to around the world.
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Kelly Arsenault |
Nick Williams |
Kelly, from Knoxville, TN, has been dancing as long as she can remember. As a child she took ballet and jazz, but she was especially drawn to modern dance. At age 11, Kelly joined the Tennessee Children’s Dance Ensemble. She was with the modern dance company for 6 years, performing around the globe including Taiwan, Singapore, and Indonesia.
Kelly attended the University of Tennessee from 1997-2001, during which time she was a member of the UT Dance Company. She was also a dancer and choreographer for Circle Modern Dance Company. In 2003, Kelly moved to New York City where she continued her modern dance career performing with Von Ussar Danceworks and MAD About Dance. And it was also in New York that Kelly discovered her love for Balboa and Lindy Hop. She holds repeat victories at the Balboa Rendezvous for 2006, 2007, and 2010. She is the 2008 ABW American Balboa Classic Champion and the 2012 ABW Showcase Champion. She has won the Balboa Strictly Divisions at ILHC and the European Swing Dance Championships as well. Kelly's love for swing dancing and teaching has taken her all over the United States and across the world, including Canada, Europe, Korea, and Australia. |
Nick Williams has embodied the passion and spirit of swing dancing ever since his first lesson in 1998. His in-depth understanding of Lindy Hop, Balboa, and Collegiate Shag stems from studying with the original dancers. His successes include World Lindy Hop Champion, U.S. Open Swing Dance Champion, American Lindy Hop Champion, National Jitterbug Champion, International Lindy Hop Champion, Ultimate Lindy Hop Champion, American Classic Balboa Champion and California Balboa/Swing Champion. He is also an accomplished choreographer and has been featured on the hit television show So You Think You Can Dance?
As an instructor, he is known for his ability to break down movements and technique to create a fun and lighthearted learning environment.In 2004, Nick was honored to be recognized by the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame. |
Jennifer Lee |
Matt Mitchell |
JENN LEE (Seattle, WA) travels all over the world for Balboa. If there is great Balboa, you’ll find her there, dancing until the wee hours with the biggest, most contented smile on her face.
Fourteen years ago, a friend took her swing dancing, and she’s been devoted to that scene ever since, first as a student, then later as an avid competitor, organizer, advocate, and now as a popular instructor. Her teaching style reflects her creativity, music background, collaborative approach, and partner communication. She is thrilled to be dancing and collaborating with some of the best Balboa partners out there. Her film titled “One Girl and Two Boys” won the Jazz Dance Film Festival, and she holds 1st place titles from the California Balboa Classic, All Balboa Weekend, the Eastern Balboa Championships, the Snowball and, Lindy Focus. |
Since 1998, Matt has been honing his dance skills; starting with East Coast, he quickly moved into Lindy Hop and other Swing-era dances–with a very short detour into Ballroom. He’s studied with top Lindy Hop and Balboa contemporaries as well being influenced by the original greats (Frankie Manning, Dean Collins, Maxie Dorf and Willy Desatoff). From 2007 through 2011, he was one of the lead instructors for Get Hep Swing (assisting the incomparable Valerie Salstrom) and helped choreograph Hustle and award winning Swing routines. He strives to bring solid fundamentals and just-the-right amount of connection to Lindy Hop and Balboa, while creating room for musicality and playfulness. In 2011, he relocated to his home town of Austin where he’s enjoyed teaching Lindy Hop and Balboa for Four on the Floor, and is a contributing instructor for BalAustin. Nationally and internationally, Matt has been an instructor at Boogie By The Bay, the Eastern Balboa Championships, Dance Renaissance, and the Canadian Balboa Championships. He competes regularly in Balboa, consistently making the finals and has several placements at ABW, EBC, CBC, ILHC, and Camp Hollywood. He was also a stand-in for Kevin Bacon in Footloose.*
*Recreating the famous dance scene in a skit. C’mon, he’s not that old. |
Shannon Butler |
Jeron Tuell |
Third generation jitterbug, Shannon Butler learned swing and mid-century dances from her mother, who passed on the tradition and love of dance her shag-dancing grandparents started, while receiving formal training at her great aunt’s school. Shannon credits this social-focused introduction to dance for shaping her welcoming approach to teaching. By 1997 she was competing in, teaching, and performing 20th century vernacular dances. Shannon studied with original-era dancers including Frankie Manning, Norma Miller and Big Apple and Shag dancer Betty Wood, and partnered with dance historian Lance Benishek. Her favorite dance moment was the honor of sharing a stage with Norma Miller and The Nicholas Brothers. She teaches dance to elementary school students by day, and in the evenings, dancers of all ages and ability. Sought equally for her knowledge of Shag and uncommon dances as her reputation as a patient instructor and community builder, she has taught nationally and internationally including: Camp Hollywood, Rock That Swing, Hep Cats Holiday, Boston Tea Party, Nevermore Jazz Ball, Midwest Lindy Fest, Jamborama, and Hot Rhythm Holiday. Wherever she goes, she strives to make learning fun and ensure dance is accessible to all.
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Jeron has loved dancing Collegiate Shag ever since he had the chance to see it on the dance floor, at his first-ever social dance. Ever since then he has done everything he can to learn as much Shag as he can.
Outside of just learning to dance Shag, he is passionate about teaching it, as well spreading the love of Shag wherever he goes. As he spreads his love for Shag, he also wants to make the Shag community welcoming for everyone, and allow for others to have the space to show their love for it, too. |
Tabitha Robinson |
Joe Robinson |
Tabitha Robinson fell in love with swing dancing in 2001 in Orlando, Florida. She quickly jumped into Lindy Hop, Shag, Balboa and Charleston just wanting to dance as much as possible. She met her now-husband Joseph Robinson there, and the two began a partnership of competing and teaching together. She helped start and run two Collegiate Shag teams, one in DC and one in Austin, and most recently helped start a Chorus Girl team. One of her passions is choreographing team routines and routines for her and her husband. She also loves to fly through the air and is always up for trying new air steps.
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Joseph Robinson found swing dancing in 1998 in Orlando, Florida after being persuaded by some friends. He danced 6-7 nights a week, never wanting to take a break. He was instrumental in starting the UCF Swing Club and has one of the most vast collections of vintage dance clips. He eventually met his dance partner and wife Tabitha Robinson and the two began to compete and teach together. He loves the music and the dance and his focus has always been on maintaining the authenticity of the original dances and being creative within that structure.
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Amanda Pincock |
Zach Lockett-Streiff |
Amanda discovered swing dancing as a teenager in 1994 in Southern California, and feels lucky to have been part of the “Swing revival” of that time. After moving to Austin in 2014, she started focusing on Shag. She fell in love immediately, spending countless hours studying it, watching clips, and of course discussing it with other Shag dancers. That same year, she won her first Shag competition, and has been teaching and performing regularly ever since.
Amanda loves spreading her love of Shag and other swing dances with new and experienced dancers alike, and regularly travels to instruct. With a background in gymnastics and many years of teaching in and out of the classroom, she brings years of experience of teaching adults to her classes, and enjoys blending serious technique with fun, self expression, and love for the dance. Currently, she teaches regular Collegiate Shag classes at The Swing Syndicate in Austin, Texas, and leads an all-female Collegiate Shag team, The Shag Hags. |
Zach’s first encounter with partner dancing was overhearing his dad’s attempt to sign him up for lessons as a child. He promptly screamed in terror, and the studio never called back. He joined his college swing club in 2010 – much to his dad’s bewilderment – and the rest went downhill from there!
Sporting a bit of a rebellious streak, Zach likes to question convention through a respectful but pragmatic lens. The historical record is deeply important to swing dancing, but equally important is not forgetting the foundational African-American dance values in the process. In this spirit, Zach values authenticity and actively-engaged partnership. And puns. He’s a bit of a smart-aleck. Locally, Zach is one of the leaders of the Texas Shag scene (which is very near and dear to him). He is especially invested in helping the Austin Shag community grow, and refining his skills and self to meet the challenge. Teaching and social dancing are his passions, and he can’t wait to share both of them with you! *ahem* with y’all. (He also does Lindy and Balboa.) |
Grace Durant |
Scott Angelius |
Grace was first introduced to swing dancing in 2009 when she instantly fell in love. She has been dancing, competing, and teaching ever since. As a competitor, she has placed and won in regional, national, and international contests across Lindy Hop, Shag, and Balboa.
Grace loves seeing people grow as they learn this dance. As an instructor, she enjoys empowering her students. Focusing on connection, Grace teaches techniques that help dancers be versatile and creative. Enabling them to dance with anyone and feel freedom to express themselves. |
Scott started dancing in 1998 in what became a mecca of swing dance, Austin, TX. He helped build the community by teaching, running a successful dance company, and organizing events. Now in Knoxville, TN, he regularly teaches and mentors dancers.
Scott is passionate about teaching and working with dedicated, focused dancers of all levels. In class, he teaches what he loves: exploring and building on the fundamentals, partnership, listening, and self-expression. Scott has won numerous Lindy Hop competitions and was a member of the renowned team Lindy Hoppers’ Dozen. He also helps organize dance events. He is an organizer of the International Lindy Hop Championships and the Competition Manager at many of the largest dance competitions in the country. He has also developed a competition scoring management system, RP-Scoring, which is utilized by most large Lindy Hop events in the country. Previously, he founded and ran the Lone Star Championships from 2008 to 2013 and was an event director of Lindyfest from 2014 to 2020. |
Ruth Evelyn (She/They)
Dancing is Ruth’s happy place and passion. As an instructor in Blues, Balboa, Slow Balboa, Swing, and Solo Jazz, Ruth has taught all over the world - in 20 countries and counting. Ruth values connection and community. Her teaching reflects that, with classes ranging from silly and fun to intense and detailed. Students rave about Ruth’s ability to change their lives on and off the dance floor by dramatically deepening their body awareness.
In addition to loving teaching social dance as both a leader and as a follower, Ruth uses her degrees in dance and music to choreograph, perform, and work with people on their performance skills. Ruth has performed choreography at Lindy Focus, at ILHC, in the Opera House in Valencia, at Blue Note in Beijing, and beyond. Ruth also has multiple certifications in Franklin Method, an increasingly popular body somatics method, and coaching qualifications that inform her teaching. Ruth teaches with many different partners, and loves working with new instructors on their teaching.
She has a long-standing love affair with close-embrace connection, has sneakily swung out in the Louvre, and is curating a fine collection of fishtail variations.
When not dancing, Ruth reads, creates fancy cocktails, and cuddles with their cats.
In addition to loving teaching social dance as both a leader and as a follower, Ruth uses her degrees in dance and music to choreograph, perform, and work with people on their performance skills. Ruth has performed choreography at Lindy Focus, at ILHC, in the Opera House in Valencia, at Blue Note in Beijing, and beyond. Ruth also has multiple certifications in Franklin Method, an increasingly popular body somatics method, and coaching qualifications that inform her teaching. Ruth teaches with many different partners, and loves working with new instructors on their teaching.
She has a long-standing love affair with close-embrace connection, has sneakily swung out in the Louvre, and is curating a fine collection of fishtail variations.
When not dancing, Ruth reads, creates fancy cocktails, and cuddles with their cats.